A Checklist for Selecting A Troop

Troop ___

My IdealGeneral Observations

Troop Size____________________________________ Number at this meeting____________________________________ Meeting Night____________________________________ Friends in the Troop? (Y/N)____________________________________ Friends Joining with me? (Y/N)____________________________________ Other Scouts near my age? (Y/N)____________________________________ Uniform (encouraged or required?)____________________________________ Good mix of ages? (Y/N)____________________________________ Good Advancement? (Y/N)____________________________________ Good Parent involvement? (Y/N)____________________________________

Troop Meeting

Did I have fun? (Y/N)____________________________________ Were the Scouts friendly? (Y/N)____________________________________ Did I learn something? (Y/N)____________________________________ Do the other Scouts have fun? (Y/N)____________________________________ Was there good attendance? (Y/N)____________________________________ Scout Run or Adult Run?____________________________________ Was the meeting easy to get to? (Y/N)____________________________________ Did I get a good feeling from theTroop Meeting? (Y/N)____________________________________

Troop Outings

Number per year____________________________________ Yearly Calendar? (Y/N)____________________________________ Does the program look fun? (Y/N)____________________________________ Summer Camp (Y/N)____________________________________ Other Long-term Outings (Y/N)____________________________________ Type of OutingsCar Camping____________________________________ Away from Car Camping____________________________________ Mix of both____________________________________ Number of Evening events per year____________________________________ Equipment (Scout or Troop supplied?)____________________________________

Other Things

_________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________

OVERALL RANKING

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WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A GOOD TROOP

By Ron FongFinding a good troop that fits you and your son is critical towards making a successful transition fromWebelos to Boy Scouts. There are many things to look for in a troop, but I think the key elements areto find out the philosophy and record of the troop in the areas of Youth Leadership

Outdoor Activities

Advancement

Having Fun

Special Interests

Youth Leadership

- Whatis their position on youthleadership? Troops aresupposed to be youth run. Ihave seen many troops wherethe adults run the troop and the boys just sit around learningfew if any leadership skills. Ihave also seen troops where theadults do nothing allowingchaos to reign. The boys don'tlearn any leadership skills inthis type of troop either. I liketo think of the leaders as trailmarkers on the hike throughlife. When one is confidentthat they are on the trial, thetrail markers are not needed.When people begin to wander from the trail they becomeimportant in getting back onthe trail. The trail markersshould be off to the side andquiet until they are needed.

Outdoor Activities -

youshould find an active outdoorstroop. The scouting programcannot be properly imple-mented unless they haveregular campouts and outings.Are they putting the outing intoScouting? Are they fighting Nature Deficit Disorder?

Advancement -

Theyshould have a proven record of advancement. How manyreach eagle scout? How manyreach first class? What is their approach towards helpingscouts advance? How do theyhelp scouts in their first year of scouting develop skills andadvance? Are they integratedinto 1st year patrols or mixed?How do merit badges fit in thetroop program?

Having Fun -

They should be having fun. If they are nothaving fun the boys will soonloose interest. How manyolder scouts are in the troop.Do scouts stay involved after they get their eagle and after they turn 18? What is their High Adventure Program for older boys?

Special Interests

Finally,what type of things do theyspecialize in? Most troops tendto have activities that they doon a regular basis. One troopfor example does a lot of hiking but very littleswimming. If your son enjoysswimming above all else, thenthat troop would not be a goodfit and he should look for another troop.Other Questions to ask that willhelp you understand the troopto see if it is a good fit for your son and you include:

Convenience of the day andlocation of weekly troop meetings,Which troop a boy's best friendsare going to join or already belongIs the troop run by the boys or the adults?

Is there good scout skillsinstruction for newer scouts? Howis that handled?

Is there strong patrol activity or inter-patrol activity, likecompetitions or games?

Are the boys just sitting aroundor are they busy most of the time?

How often does the troop go onoutings of some sort?

Is it a back packing/hiking troopor car camping troop?

Is there a diversity of ranksthroughout the troop? All SecondClass and Tenderfoot ranks will tellyou it's a pretty new troop with nomaturity in leadership. All Life andEagle scouts means it's a troopabout to graduate and disappear onyou, and a troop full of leaderswith no followers.

Is there sufficient adult helparound for the size of the troop?

Have any of these Troopscontacted you, or did you contactthem? This means are they activelyrecruiting?

Troop Meeting run by Youth -The troop is a real life opportunityfor Scouts to learn leadershipthrough participation. It isunfortunately a well kept secretthat the Scout program is aleadership training program withthe outdoors as a laboratory.

Patrol Method Used - The PatrolMethod gives Scouts an experiencein group living and participating inleadership activities. The patrolsdetermine troop activities throughtheir elected representatives.

Trained Youth & Adults -Understanding the concepts of leadership helps each person acceptthe leadership roles of others andguides them toward the citizenshipaim of Scouting.

Uniformed Youth & Adults -The uniform makes the Scout troopvisible as a group. It shows eachYouth and Adult's commitment tothe aims and purposes of Scouting.