Mega-Troop Operations

[Beavah]

 

In da parent thread, jblake laid out his thoughts and reasons for building a "mega-troop" (which I'll loosely define as a troop of 100 or more).

 

Those certainly exist, eh? I've known and seen a few, and jblake fairly accurately describes their corporate structure of multiple ASPLs, an age-based/stratified program and the like. Far be it for me to stand in da way of his enthusiasm.

 

So, for other folks who have had experience in or with Mega-Troops, what advice can we give to him as his troop grows, what problems to watch out for, etc.?

 

B

 

[kb6jra]

I live in an town that had 3 "mega" troops...HAD. Each troop had well over 100 youth. They ran a very agressive program and had events and outings almost every single weekend.

 

An operation of this magnitude requires a lot of support. Physical, financial and emotional. When a troop gets this big, the unit dynamics change, and not necessarily for the good. Many boys feel lost in the numbers, issues with bullying and cliques seem to go un noticed, youth leadership is often streched beyond its fragile limits and adults are often very territorial and looking for a way to advance as they would if it were a place of business.

 

Many troops this size cannot camp together, most camp areas are not suited to hundreds of people and dozens of cars. Most Summer Camps are not suited to mega units either, usually they take contingents to several camps each summer, requiring several additional adults to support the contingents. Quite a logistical pain. Doesn't bode well for building troop camraderie.

 

One other thing I've noticed around here, these 3 giant troops have one thing in common, an adult leader, usually the Scoutmaster, who is so driven and focused that he makes the program work for everyone. The minute his attention wavers or he decides to step down, the walls come crashing down until this indespensible man or woman comes to the rescue of the troop. Since he or she is so indespensible, they never leave and hold control until they are forced to leave by the masses, thier spouce, or thier physician (Lem you need to take it easy).

 

All 3 giant units in our area have imploded in the last 5 years, and mostly due to adult issues, which often is the case in any unit. Adults just don't have enough sense to let the program work for the kids, instead they all want to be top dog in the troop, and ultimately cause it's demise.

 

I think the perfect troop IMHO, is 4 patrols of 6 plus 4 youth leaders. Just like a Jamboree troop, this just seems to fit like a nice pair of boots.