Troop Competition

[perdidochas]

Have you invited the Webelos dens to visit your meeting?

 

Have you offered Den Chiefs to the Webelos Dens?

 

Both are good recruiting tools.

[Stosh]

All the suggestions are great, and most of them the boys have tried. We've done joint projects, invited them, went to them, held special programs, invited them to the campouts, offered DL's, etc. and stuck with boy-led emphasis as being different than the other programs in the area without running any of them down.

 

Next week we have a special program with the Pack of the same CO and we'll once again see those boys and work with them. We did Scouting for Food with them a few weeks back. It's not that the contacts aren't there.

 

We'll survive and grow slowly as the boys realize that the program they have is working great for them. We'll pick up a few here and there who have the courage to break with the pack and go with us. This has been what's happening and we've picked up some really solid boys this way. These boys tend to be more independent thinker, natural leaders anyway.

 

I guess the only downer in the whole process is the necessity of the other troop to run down the competition to be successful in their efforts.

 

It would be nice to be able to give all the boys that dropped out of the other troop a second chance at scouting. Had not the message been drilled into them how terrible we are, maybe that could have happened.

 

Stosh

[Twocubdad]

We're trained to never do anything for a boy he can't do for himself.

 

But I think Oak Tree is on the right track. The adult leaders of the troop need to deal with the adult parents in the pack. I don't see that as a violation of the principle of Scout-led for a minute. There are things the Scouts need to do and there are things the adults need to do. This is an adult thing.

 

You wrote, "Basically, it's very difficult for a boy-led, patrol-method, troop to compete with a polished, adult-led/recruiting organization. The issue is basically the message that is being promoted in the community. Adult-led is growing, exciting, dynamic, and well-run. Boy-led is dying out, disorganized, no opportunities, and the leaders don't know what they're doing. "

 

That's right. Your problem is the perception the parent's have of a boy-led Scout troop. It is unlikely that your SPL is going to change that perception. He may be a great SPL but the Webelos parents still see him as a kid and they see you sitting in the corner, detached from the proceedings. They want to know that a responsible adult is in charge. Its scary enough to drop your child off with a coach or scout leader you dont know well, but youre telling them a 15-year-old is running things?

 

From the point of view of a new parent, the stories being told about your troop probably appear to be accurate. I tell new parents our troop meetings are absolutely chaos when you walk in the door. But I also try to get them to look for and understand what the senior boys are doing. Thats difficult and Ive had parents pull their boys out of the troop because they just never see the patterns amid the chaos. If were lucky, after a year they start to catch on.

 

One thing I think our troop does very well is our annual Webelos campout every fall. The boys put on a really good program introducing the Webelos to Boy Scouting. At the same time, the troop adults are leading the new parents through a similar introduction. We have a 90 minute classroom session we hold while the boys are on a hike and we will spend a fair bit of time with the adults just watching the Boy Scouts working with the Webelos. And we try to point our to the new parents when and how the troop leaders interact with the boys.

 

Still, it takes about a year. I had a new dad last year who just would not leave the boys alone. He helped set up their tents, organized games, let them make phone calls on his phone (we dont allow boys to have phones on campouts) and would sneak snacks to them. And he wouldnt listen to me or any of the other adults to back off. YOURE NOT TELLING ME I CANT SPEND TIME WITH MY OWN SON! was his battle cry.

 

This year, that same guy had two new parents off to one side explaining to them that the boy led system really works, but how tough it is for parents to step back. Wow! Things usually dont work that well!

 

I dont think you should do anything directly about the other troops denigrating your troop. Unless you have them on tape or in writing, theyll just deny it. And a district executive or commissioner would have to be a moron to get involved between two troops like this.

 

Rather, I think you YOU, the Scoutmaster need to do some politicking with your pack. Put yourself in situations where you can advocate for your troop. When the cub leaders start talking about camping, you chime in that you know the word on the street is that your troop never camps because you dont go to camporees, but your troop has a full plate of camping without the district activities. Your troop campouts are far better than those organized by the districts because...... Youve got a great program without the district events.

 

Sell your program. I wouldn't mention the other troops.

[gcnphkr]

If the decision to join a particular troop were 100% up to the boy then you would be right in having the recruiting fall to the scouts. But that is not the case.

 

The youth's parents will be a major part of that choice. Not just does their son like one troop over an other but are they comfortable with it. They look at things like how well organized are the meetings, how well is the program planned (do they have a calendar available to see what the troop will be doing over the next 6 months and what they have done in the past?) and what will it cost. So while the visiting scouts are having fun with the troop you and the other scouters need to be explaining these things, as well as what boy led is and how it works. Remember, all these parents have know is the adult controlled environment of Cub Scouts. Experiencing a boy led activity can be a bit of a shock. IIRC, you have two patrols, imagine the chaos of 50 scouts in 8 patrols breaking up into patrol corners. Heck, I get overwhelmed by it and I understand what is going on. If we aren't explaining to the parents what is going on and why then there is little chance that they will let their son join. If I can show and explain that under all that chaos the scouts are working together to plan and solve problems they might have a chance of getting it, at least enough to give it a shot.

 

Beyond that, the Webelos Den Leader is a major stakeholder in this. Often she will be the one that determines which troops to visit, camp with and to get a DC from. If they like your troop, and often that will mean if they like you, then they will work with you. If they don't then you will likely get no one from that Den. The same is true of the Cubmaster and Pack Committee Chair as they will often be the people the WDL turns to to get advice about troops. If you don't have an adult actively working with these three people (as well as the other DLs) then it will be very hard to recruit from that pack no matter how hard the scouts work.

 

From what you describe the source of the unit's negative image is likely closer than the other troop. That you've struggled with working with the pack that shares your CO tells me that. They should know the troop and you well enough to know that the rumors are not true. That they don't is an indication of a dysfunctional relationship which needs to be corrected. I'd start by getting some of your adults to start working with the pack. They can be on the committee, or at least go to the committee and den leader meetings to be available to say, "We can help you with that". That sounds like what the other troop is doing.