Transitions

As most people know, changes can be both good and bad. The same happens when new leaders come into scouting units. There is a sense of the unknown from both the boys as well as the new leader. Last Wednesday was no different at my first team meeting, if you can call it a meeting.

I was pretty excited about Wednesday and being with the young men again. I knew going into the position that it was going to take a lot of work, but I was having some anxiety attacks trying to get things together so the boys have a good experience. When I got to the church, I had only two boys and they were not in uniform. Not a problem yet because I haven't told them of my expectations for them yet. My goal was to get to know the young men better and to catch them up on their advancements. One boy was not registered in my unit and had some merit badges missing from his record (due to him not being registered in our unit) and the other had no rank advancements recorded.

Our Troop is getting ready for their week long summer camp in a couple of weeks and i have three boys going with them and so what was supposed to be my first team meeting became a info dump on camp that should have been done a couple of months ago. The scoutmaster and my assistant team coach really had no clue what was going on and it made me upset. I eventually talked to both of my young men and got their records fixed.

Word of advice: Please record advancements in a young man's book and some form of back-up. If it wasn't for a young man's book and his former scoutmaster's signatures in the book, I don't think his record would have been corrected.

Even though I had a plan and I was a little upset during the meeting, I left thinking that any leader could take that experience and have it set the tone for the rest of their tenure. Days like this will happen to anyone. Sometimes you need to look at the bigger picture. I have three boys going on this summer camp. It was important for them and for me to know what they will be doing and to help them prepare for camp. I also accomplished what I wanted that night and was actually surprised how excited the boys were knowing how close they were in advancing. I was able (I hope) to build that relationship of trust. I also had one of the boys parents show up and i was able to talk to him and I was able to build his trust also.

So, we've decided that the month of July we'll take it easy due to camp and youth conference. In August, we will start on our program and get things rockin'.  

Training

When I was in church yesterday, one of my good friends came up to me and told me about this article that is in the Ensign, produced by the LDS church.

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2014/07/scout-training-was-the-answer?lang=eng

When I was a troop guide on my first wood badge course staff, this thought came into my mind as I listened to a training given by another staffer. When I was a Unit Commissioner, I emphasized this thought: "How can we expect the boys to do their best if we as leaders don't give our best?" When we lift our arm to the square with the scout sign, we say "On my honor, I will do my best..." does the scout oath only apply to the boys? You can only answer this personally, but I hope it's no.

Scouting, especially in the LDS church has certain tenancies. Cub Scout Programs are very strong, Boy Scout programs are strong, but when a young man enters Varsity or Venturing, the programs are almost non existent? Is there a reason for this? Yes. When someone gets called into Varsity or Venturing, the leaders feel like they know everything and won't get trained. The thought is scouting is scouting when Varsity & Venturing are totally different.

Usually about the time a young man enters Varsity & Venturing, they are getting interested in what I call the four "P's": perfume, petro & paycheck. It's hard to compete with these things when a program is not existent. Leaders get frustrated trying to do everything themselves and eventually give up.

If a leader commits to get trained and receive all the training that is available to them, miracles will happen. These young men need to know that you can be trusted and will be there for them. The young men are at a vulnerable time in their lives at this age and we as leaders could make the distance. If there are Varsity and Venturing programs running when a young man turns 14 & 16, they will not have anything to replace their mutual nights. If they know that their leaders are men of faith and live it, they will look to you as an example of how man of God lives and will strive the same for their lives.

The blessings are there for the taking. Are we willing to do everything we can to make a difference in these young men's lives? Is a couple hours on a weekend a sacrifice enough to make the difference in a young man? I'm pretty sure we all have a leader, a teacher or someone that has influenced us because they were interested in who we were and could see our potential. Can we be that same person?

A New Journey...

Well, I felt the need to make a new blog. I don't know who will be reading this and if it will be any use to some people, but this will be a way for me to share my experiences as a Scout Leader in my new unit.

But first, I must say a little about me. My family is really into Scouting. My father has been a leader since he and my mother got married. Naturally when I turned 8, I became a Cub Scout and started getting scout fever. I joined my first troop when I was 11 and was active till I was 18. I received my Eagle rank when I was 15 and consider it one of my greatest achievements.

My wife and I were married in 2006 and in our new ward, I was called to be a Cub Master. Little did I know that this would become my addiction back into Scouting. I immediately when took all the online training, took leader specific training and then at the Scout-O-Rama, I signed up for Wood Badge due to the persistence of my father. My father was anti- Wood Badge for the longest time but until I saw him change, I decided to make the change also and had a life changing experience.

My wife and I moved to Ogden and I was called as the first counselor in the Young Men's presidency. That means Varsity Scouting. I knew nothing about this program, but slowly got hooked. Then, a couple years later I was called as the Coach (even though I was already doing the job). Two years later, I was released and then called to serve in the Stake Young Men's presidency which included being a Unit Commissioner. During this span, I served on two Wood Badge Staffs

Last October, my wife and moved to West Valley City in the ward I grew up in. Last week I sustained and set apart as the Varsity Team Coach and will be starting a program from scratch. From what I've seen, it has been overwhelming because of records which haven't been kept or are non-existent. I have three boys right now that I need to help motivate and get excited about Varsity Scouting.

As I post about my experiences and challenges, please feel free to comment and give suggestions. Like in  Wood Badge, "Feedback is a Gift".