Ready to hang up hat but worried about the future.

[cheffy 10]

After about 10 years in Scouting both as den leader and Scoutmaster I''m feeling the need to step down. Oldest son got Eagle last month and youngest is working on project and should be done by spring. I''ve been asked to help with a Ventureing crew also.

I want to step down as ASM but the prospects of who will step up are slim and scary. Any thoughts on grooming a replacment in the next year?

[local1400 10]

If you are truly worried how the troop will carry on without you Chef, are you ready to pull the pin? And since your son has earned Eagle and the other will soon, does that mean their affiliation (and yours too) with the troop must end? I had a SM whose son had earned Eagle 15 years prior to my TF days, and was a wonderful leader.

[cheffy 10]

I''ll stay on in some capacity but I need a break from the top dog position. The last year has taken it''s toll. Troop went from 25 active to 75 active in the last 2 years. Getting adult help has been a bit of a challenge but is starting to come around. Combine that with losing our committee chair and some unreasonable parents that think BSA stands for Babysitters of America. I''m getting a little crispy around the edges. Some of the older boys have asked me to be their Ventureing advisor and I''m thinking of doing that to stay involved. And like I said, it could be a year or more. I''ve dropped the hintbut haven''t seen any bites yet.

[Beavah 205]

Troop went from 25 active to 75 active in the last 2 years....and some unreasonable parents

 

Yah, dat''s nuts, cheffy!

 

Too much growth, too fast. Particularly when a troop gets much about 50 boys, yeh gotta change how things operate. More middle-management required, lots more trained leaders (youth and adult). It''s a tough position.

 

If yeh still think scoutin'' is in your blood, here''s a couple of options:

 

1) Start a new troop. Take a core group of 20-30 or so from your current troop and go build a program that you can really be proud of. Make it fresh, make it bold, start it out just right, and build da sort of traditions that you think really work. Your district will be grateful, at least in the short run. And sometimes either a "vacuum" or a new challenge attracts new volunteers.

 

2) Relax and let the current troop consolidate for a bit. Don''t spend a lot of effort recruitin''. Be proactive and encourage your problem parents to go start their own troop. Go back down to a manageable size of 45 or so that you can handle without burnin'' out.

 

It''s really tough to find volunteers with the skill to handle a big troop of 75 or more. In my experience over the years, these are almost always one-man-wonders, and when the one guy moves on, the troop shrinks back to an under-50 size. Often painfully, eh? So yeh do Scoutin'', yourself, and your successor a service if yeh scale back the size and let someone start a new troop to help the other boys in your market area.

 

Just MHO. I''m sure now we''ll hear from all da mega-troop folks.

 

Beavah

 

[Eagledad 2779]

>>I''''m getting a little crispy around the edges. Some of the older boys have asked me to be their Ventureing advisor and I''''m thinking of doing that to stay involved. And like I said, it could be a year or more. I''''ve dropped the hintbut haven''''t seen any bites yet.

[Gonzo1 10]

Maybe you get get a couple more ASM''s and then delegate more.

 

 

[AnneinMpls 10]

Did you say you lost your CC? Do what you can to get that position filled by someone who has the excellent skills in delegating and activating those goofy parents. Then you can move on without guilt knowing you''ve left the troop in capable hands. But I wouldn''t go without the CC filled capably, and a ready-to-go new SM.

Anne in Mpls

[Eamonn 61]

I can''t help but think moving from being an ASM to become a Venturing Advisor, is really jumping from the frying pan to the fire!!

Reading between the lines and maybe seeing something that isn''t there?

I get the feeling that you liked things the way they were and could it be this Venturing idea is a way to hang out with the Lads who were the "Old Troop"?

While finding your replacement is not your responsibility, most of us are guilty of not wanting to leave our co-workers in the lurch.

You need to sit down and think about what you want to do?

What time are you willing to put in?

What do you like doing and not like doing?

Once you have your ducks lined up, find the right time and place to have a chat with the SM.

Make him aware of your feelings and what you are willing to do or want to do or what you dislike doing.

If you have a role that you think suits you and that you would be good at, make him aware of that.

With any luck, he might be able to have you work with someone who might like to take on your Troop responsibilities and over time you can hand over more and more of these to the new guy.

Very often when someone wants to spend less time working with the youth members, they take on something which has needed done for a very long time, but no one had the time to do it and by doing it life is better for everyone. (OK I''m think about Troop Quartermaster, but other positions are not hard to come up with.)

Going back to the Venturing idea.

I would warn you that working with older youth is at times far more frustrating than working in the Troop setting.

They youth have a lot more going on outside of Scouting, their parents are not as involved as the parents of younger youth are.

The Sea Scouts we have in the Ship have caviar wishes and a beer budget. - The activities they want to do are not cheap, but trying to find and have them participate in fund raising is hard, at times because they think it''s boring and at times because they are so busy.

Maybe a Venture Patrol might be a better idea?

Ea.

[insanescouter 10]

The easiest way to step down is to pick out a replacement early and spend as much time possible training them (under your wing) to do what you were doing.

 

Make sure you recruit lots of adult help. No one can do it all... In the Troop I am in there are even 3 adults without kids - so something thinking outside the parents of the kids can help to. The Troop I made eagle in, was on a air force base (dad was active duty AF), we had like 6 adults that were single, had no kids, but were Eagles or former Scouts, helping us along.

 

No matter what remember "Safety first, safety always" as the California Conservation Corps (CCC) says.

 

just my wacky 2 cents...

 

Scott Robertson

http://insanescouter.org