I left my troop, now what?

[Maric]

In December, I made the decision to leave my troop that I had been part of for five years. I left for a multitude of reasons, including poor leadership and lack of youth similar to my age. It hurt to leave, but for the past year the meetings have been very poorly ran with little variety in the program. I do want to move on to get my Eagle, since I am already at Life. How do I go about joining another troop or should I go back and cope with the troop I just left.

[resqman]

Local council can provide you with a list of other troops in your area.  They should have a contact person for each troop.  You can contact them to find out what night they meet.  Visit several troops, talk with the scouts, talk with the SM.  Each troop has its own culture and feel.  After visiting a few, you will likely find a troop that feels right to you. 

[Stosh]

First of all, welcome to the forum!

 

There's a lot of discussion on the forum about the problem of retention of older boys in the troop.  Many will say that outside interests will draw them away such as the "fumes", i.e. car fumes and perfume.  For the most part I would agree up to a point.  Sure, there are a lot of things out there that will draw the attention of young men to a more adult lifestyle as they mature, but maturity will also bring into focus the possibility that they can handle multiple activities in a balanced manner.  People work, have families, go to religious activities, community activities, etc. all carefully coordinated in their daily lives.  These issues are not mutually exclusive so I don't buy into the general premise that boys are leaving for these reasons.

 

On the other hand, what I do see happening is that after 5-6 years of the same-old, same-old, they get bored.  Seriously going to the same summer camp for 5 years in a row would not even suit me at all.  As a SM, I have rotated between 3-4 different camps just to keep my own sanity and stay with the game.

 

So, with that being said, there are a few options out there for the older scout. 

 

1) Quit out of sheer boredom and find something else out there that offers more to life than the same-old, same-old.

 

2) Bail out of the activity and find another troop that is different a different same-old, same-old but is different same-old, same-old to the one bored.  But one has to be cautious here in that there may be many of the older boys that have bailed from that troop and they lack Life level scouts.

 

3) As an older scout, roll up one's sleeves and start making things different in the troop you are at.  If one were to push for more challenging activities, different summer camps (even go as an single scout, meet new people, have a different program, see different scenery, take the NYLT week instead, or sign on a CIT for a week.  If there are other boys 15+ that are getting bored, form your own patrol and go to Northern Tier, Sea Base, Philmont, hike the Appalachian Trail or the take a week long canoe trip down the nearest river.  Expensive?  Sure, but these are older boys, they know how to fund raise, roll up the sleeves and if the adults aren't going to help you, don't worry about it, your patrol isn't made up of 10-14 year olds who are still learning how to do these things, Or maybe get in touch with the Green Bar Bill material and start training the younger boys about boy-leadership so that when the time comes they won't be in the same situation you are right now!!! 

 

If one gets adult pushback, don't worry about it, either they are going to go along with it because it helps them retain older boys, or they will see it as a threat to their adult led control of the troop.  If that happens, all one need to is respectfully say, "With all due respect, Mr. ScoutMaster, BSA is a boy led, patrol method program and we would prefer your assistance in making that happen for the older boys in the troop."  If one were to balance a older boy patrol i.e. venture patrol, with the needs of the troop, i.e. help out with the younger boys.  I see little or no resistance going to come from the adults.  Sound like a lot of work?  Sure, but then running a successful troop program is exactly that and the more boys that come on board with you, the less challenging it is for any one person. 

 

Remember that if one were to choose to stay and fix the problem, it's not just your problem you're fixing, it's the same-old, same-old problem that faces every scout in every troop in every part of the country.  Jumping around from troop to troop cannot solve that problem. 

 

My advice?  Stay and make a difference, you aren't the new kid on the block, but you have the rank and maturity to make a difference for the boys in your troop and those that will follow your legacy.  Scouting is an adventure, sometimes adventure just happens, but most of the time, one makes their own adventure along the way.

Edited January 2, 2017 by Stosh

[qwazse]

I'm sorry you had to make this kind of decision. As an older scout with some leadership experience, you should have a say in your troop's program. At the very least, your patrol should be a set of friends who would help you generate the variety you are looking for. Sometimes adults get in the way of that. But also, sometimes, youth don't invest in training (from reading their handbook cover-to-cover to going to an extra week of program like NYLT during the year), and as a result they aren't "holding up their end of the deal" in delivering the promise of scouting to their community.

 

So, given that you asked your question in a very good way. I'll try to respect you by giving you a little "tough talk." First, think about how much you may be part of the problem. If you could have helped your patrol plan a weekend, find a location to go, line up the adults, then maybe you need to talk to your SM about doing a better job, and give your troop another year -- this time with you doing everything you can do to really lead and generate an awesome program. If, on the other hand, you tried to do that, and adults kept shutting down your ideas. Then, maybe you should visit another unit. If that's the case, start finding out which troops are in your area and paying visits.

 

You are also old enough to join a venturing crew, and venturers, if they have been awarded at least first class rank, may work on Eagle until they are 18. (The crew advisor takes on the role of SM, but the council still manages your paperwork just like it would for all other Eagle candidates.) A venturing crew is a lot different than a troop. So, you will have to talk to each advisor to see if they share interests you'd like to try. But, a lot of boys, in joining a venturing crew, continue being members of their troop. As a result they bring back ideas for activities that scouts enjoy.

 

So, you have lots of options, and a lot of things to think about.

Good scouting to you!

[Stosh]

And by the way, accepting same-old, same-old as a way of life is not what being an Eagle is all about.  Scouting is an adventure, whether it be in your life, your family, your religious organization, your work, your community, your group of friends or your troop,  All of life is an adventure if you make it that way, but it is always up to you what you what you settle for.

[Stosh]

Jinx! 

[Eagledad]

Local council can provide you with a list of other troops in your area.  They should have a contact person for each troop.  You can contact them to find out what night they meet.  Visit several troops, talk with the scouts, talk with the SM.  Each troop has its own culture and feel.  After visiting a few, you will likely find a troop that feels right to you.

 

Likely the District Executive (DE) and District Commissioner (DC) have a good feel for programs in the Troops and Venturing Crews in your area. Call the council office and ask for the DE's phone number. The DE works with DC and they Are usually pretty good with guidance. Also, friends in school, church or sports might be glad to invite you to their unit.

 

Barry

[David CO]

I would suggest that you register as a Lone Scout.

 

You can always change your mind and join a unit if you find one you like.

[David CO]

If you join a unit you don't like, you are doing a disservice to both yourself and the unit.

[NJCubScouter]

Maric,

 

Others have given you good advice on how to find a new troop if you want one. As for whether you should go back to your old troop and "cope", that is something only you can answer. Nobody here has, or can ever really have, anywhere near as much information as you do about what you have been experiencing. I think it also depends on "how" you left, in other words, good terms, bad terms or somewhere in between. If you think you would be welcomed back, maybe you should have a discussion with the troop leaders and see if your concerns can be addressed to your satisfaction, including (as others have suggested) you becoming part of the solution to the problems.

 

And, Welcome to the forums! Sorry your first post has to be under these circumstances.

Edited January 2, 2017 by NJCubScouter

[Stosh]

@@NJCubScouter, I don't think anyone is suggesting for a moment that @@Maric go back and "cope", i.e. put up with the way things are.  I for one would not even consider that a decent choice for any Scout. 

 

Choices:

 

1) Quit Scouts and abandon Eagle.

2) Leave and find another troop (or Crew).

3) Do the Lone Scout thingy.

4) Stay and improve the problem in that troop he's facing.

 

I don't think anyone suggested

 

5) Stay and put up with it the way it is.

 

As a Scouter for many years I would never suggest to a Scout #1  The suggesion #2 has the caveat that it may appear the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, it may not be that way up close.  #3 is very difficult when the Council knows you live within a mile or so of other troops.  #5 is off the table as well for me.  If this gentleman Scout is wishing to take on a secondary "leadership project" besides his Eagle project, he might want to give #4 a shot.  It all depends on his level of maturity and temperament.  Not everyone can pull it off.  From what I have seen of other scouts, those that bite off more than they can chew and win, turn out to be some pretty impressive people that I for one hold in great respect.

 

#1) is the route I took when I was in Scouts and, like every 17 year-old that missed his Eagle, I have regretted it all my life.  My buddies and I didn't like the way our troop was run and instead of trying to fix it we all left.

Edited January 2, 2017 by Stosh

[NJCubScouter]

@@NJCubScouter, I don't think anyone is suggesting for a moment that @@Maric go back and "cope", i.e. put up with the way things are.  I for one would not even consider that a decent choice for any Scout.

That's what HE said, see:

 

... How do I go about joining another troop or should I go back and cope with the troop I just left.

I would not have used the word "cope" otherwise. But I think what we are both saying is that he does not merely have to "cope" or "muddle through" but can choose to try to go back there and make things better, if that option is still open to him.

[Stosh]

That's what HE said, see:

 

 

I would not have used the word "cope" otherwise. But I think what we are both saying is that he does not merely have to "cope" or "muddle through" but can choose to try to go back there and make things better, if that option is still open to him.

 

Okay, I see now where the word comes from, but as you said, he doesn't need to choose to go back and cope, but he can go back and make things better for everyone besides himself.  He's not the only one with that problem and his troop isn't the only troop out there with that problem, either.  The boys working with the adults are what make a great troop, not just the adults or just the boys.

Edited January 2, 2017 by Stosh

[NJCubScouter]

There have been some mentions here of Lone Scouting. Unless Maric's former troop is the only troop available in the area, I don't think his situation meets the guidelines for when Lone Scouting is appropriate. See http://www.scouting.org/filestore/boyscouts/pdf/511-420.pdf (page 4, middle section)

 

Eagle is not supposed to be a study-at-home course, unless it really has to be. And in this case there is no indication that it really has to be.

Edited January 2, 2017 by NJCubScouter

[Oldscout448]

Maric, there is some good advice here, given by guys with decades of experience who truly care about scouts and scouting.  In the end though you will have to make the call. I have only two things to add.

 

 You don't need an eagle badge to be a good even great  scout, but I've seen a awful lot of 30,40,50 year old men still kicking themselves for almost getting eagle and then for whatever reason stopping just a bit short.

 

You are not the first to switch troops at 16 (?) years old, nor will you be the last.  There is still time to make new friends, learn a little,teach a little, experience the different "flavor" that is unique to each troop . I have seen it work well a number of times.  But if you do transfer go in with an open mind and heart.  

 

See ya on the trail. Oldscout

Edited January 2, 2017 by Oldscout448