Committee Member

In the Nov.-Dec. 2000 issue of Boy's Life they

mentioned this site. someone asked the question

what to do becuase 70% of the boys in Webelos did

not go on to the troop. We have the same problem-

we have had a growing pack for the last few years

and until recently had few boys moving on to the troop. What can the troop (now consisting of 4 6-7 grade boys) to gain positive exposure and lick the peer pressure issue? How do we get more boys to join?

The troop can schedule activities, even campouts with the pack in question. Show the Cubs what scouts can do. Are any of your scouts Den Chiefs? That way the Cubs see how much a Boy scout knows and they see a role model. Have the Troop share its schedule with the Cubs and have the Boy Scouts talk about the latest event, Klondike, a fall camporee, camping under the stars, a great campfire program. DO you have any scouts that also plays sports and have him tell the cubs that scouting and the sport co-exisit, That both can be done

In short, have your Boy Scouts share with the Cub Scouts how much fun it is to continue scouting

The troop MUST be involved with the Pack. Our troop held a fall Webelos event. The boys had a blast.

We have a small troop and were stretched to thin to have den chiefs but whenever possible the troop responded to special requests. I.e., two boys went to a meeting with their camping gear and talked about preparing for a campout, what equipment they should buy, what they might like to have but don't have to, etc.

7 boys (out of 12) from one den crossed over two weekends ago. One additional boy from that den will come at the end of the month when he turns 11. Another boy is iffy but may still join. We also had two other boys join our troop from 2 other packs. They had a choice and chose our troop because of the efforts we made.

Also, we are now looking at doing a district-wide Webelos event in the fall. All our troops are pretty small and we're in a really rural area so we've got to work better together or we all lose out.

Hope this helps.

These are some of the same questions I've had since I've been doing the recruiting for my troop for several years. After doing some probing on this board and other places, something I've realized is that a majority of the time when kids do not want to cross over, it is the parents who do not want to continue. You can't believe how many parents I've heard over the years that have said "they" need a break from Scouts and maybe they'll come back in the fall. Or, even though the kids did sports and Cubs for several years, the kids suddenly "can't handle" doing both baseball and Scouts at the same. Or my favorite, "we like to do family activities during the summer". Since when is Scouting something that can't be done by families?

We just got a group of kids crossing over where their Webelos leader had an older son in another troop in our area (so she unfortunately went with them) and she prepared the parents and kids for what they could expect from Scouts. It was a great experience and the kids have shown in two weeks how incredibly prepared and excited they are for Scouts.

Another thing to watch out for is the kid whose coach and parents are convinced they will be an All-American in baseball, hockey, soccer, whatever and believe that if their son doesn't totally commit to that sport exclusively, then his career is doomed at age 11. My troop lost a great kid when he was twelve because his baseball coach convinced him and his parents that his only shot at the major leagues was to give up Scouts and all other sports and focus totally on baseball. This kid, who is probably the best athlete I've seen come through my troop in the past 19 years, quit baseball at age 15 because he was burned out.

One other thing that is a smaller version of what we contend with in Boy Scouts. The Arrow of Light is often played up as the ultimate achievement and the end of the Scouting road. The packs that view it as a great achievement that is merely a stepping stone in the continuing road of Scouting have much higher crossover and continuation rates.

Like everyone else has mentioned, get involved with the packs so they know who you are and what you do. I know it is tough with a small troop (we just went over ten Scouts for the first time in almost four years), but you don't have much of a choice. Also, I may be wrong, but it seems like you are relying on the same one pack to supply all your kids. Go out and find another pack. Even if they just supply you with one or two kids, that can stir things up enough to add some fresh blood to your troop and create a spark.

As the parent of a first year Webelos and an Assistant Cubmaster, I would recommend the following:

Make contact with your local Packs. Don't wait for them to come to you (as out local Troop is doing). Work with the Webelos Den Leaders to arrange some mutual Troop/Pack activities. Invite them on a camping trip. Show up at Den Meetings and Pack Meetings just to say Hi. Encourage your scouts to be Den Chiefs -- I have been begging for one for three years and have had no response.

I guess I think you should ne the initiator. Go get those Webelos and capture their interest. Don't wait for them to come to you - they might not.

I don't mean to downplay the importance of keeping in contact with the Webelos den and inviting them on outings. Which by the way I agree is very very important. My recommendation is to focus on the troop program.

You can spend all the time in the world inviting guests to the party, but if they get there and the party is boring, everyone will leave.

I would take the boys you have and have them elect a Patrol Leader. have him select an Asstistant, a Treasurer/Scribe and a Quartermaster. Sit them down and say we need to go somewhere, here are some maps and some brochures. Here are the dates I'm available. You guys pick any place you want to go.

Let me know what you decide. Keep leting them make decisions and have responsibilities so that they realize how wrong the nay-sayers at school are.

Then I'd have a buddy campout, when each scout could bring a scout aged friend. During the campout have the scouts teach their friend fire building, Tote N' Chip and how to campfire cook.

That evening I'd have the boys plan an outing in front of their buddies to let their friends see how they get to call the shots and make the plans.

I'd set a troop meeting date and tell the visiting buddies "if you'd like to go on this trip too, bring your parents to this meeting.

Send the buddies home with a troop calendar, a newsletter and a personal invite from you and his scout pal.

I'd do the same thing with the Webelos Den. Repeat this activity every 6 to 9 months.

Bob, I like your ideas about bringing a buddy. I am going into a new troop that has been having recruitment problems and this sounds like a good plan. My question is, what BSA rules are in place regarding bringing non-registered boys to scouting events? Is there an insurance issue?

MomScouter,

No problem insurance-wise as long as the guest is scout eligible or will be scout eligible (a 9 yr old little sister on a campout has no insurance protection) within a year, such as a Webelos 2. He will be protected by the same policy that covers the scouts in your unit.

You are just asked not to abuse the grace period. Once a scout-age guest has been to a couple of troop meetings and a campout or two, it's time to sign them up.

best of luck,

Bob

Bob,

I like the buddy idea.

We are in constant communication with our Pack (Pack 1). We take the 2nd year Webelos on 3-4 campouts per year to help them integrate into the Troop.

Ed Mori

Scoutmaster

Troop 1