For Youth Leaders

I remember very clearly the time I first sat down with my new Patrol to choose a Patrol name. We had some suggestions from the Boy Scout Handbook and an old printed list of a couple-dozen creative names. We didn’t think much about what should go into choosing a good Patrol name; we just decided […]

Shortly after I became a Patrol Leader my Patrol was enthusiastic, but we quickly discovered that we all had different ideas of what and how we should do things as a Patrol. There were many  arguments and disagreements between us. Later on, when I became a Senior Patrol Leader, I saw the same pattern repeat […]

“Be Prepared” is the Scout Motto. If you care enough about something, you’ll prepare. If you don’t care, you won’t bother. In the first part of this series I told a story about Scout Sunday. I had good intentions, but it really didn’t matter because I didn’t prepare. For instance; think how it reflects on yourself […]

Everywhere you go, people will judge you by what you say, the things you do, and how you conduct yourself. Like it or not that is the plain truth. I remember one instance where this really hit home for me. I was asked to say a few words about Scouting and my Troop at a […]

What can go wrong: 1. No one shows up to a Patrol Meeting or planned event. As a Patrol Leader one goal I set for myself was regular, separate Patrol Meetings. It was pretty challenging at first. There were times I couldn’t reach some of my Scouts on the phone or they didn’t have a […]

One Mother’s Day, when I was a Senior Patrol Leader, I sent an email thanking all the mothers for their contribution and expressing appreciation for all they do. I was surprised by the number of appreciative replies I received! As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized more and more how much mothers and fathers do for […]

You know the difference between a wannabe (want-to-be, get it?) leader and a real leader? Just watch them in action, it’s easy to tell! A wannabe loves giving orders, being in the spotlight, takes all the praise, has all the privileges, and makes everyone else do the tough work. A real leader expects a lot […]

“If you want something done right, do it yourself”. Things are easier that way, but it’s not really Scouting is it? As a Patrol Leader, I knew what I wanted; it was easier to do everything myself rather than explaining it to everyone else. At first I felt successful. My Patrol was getting stuff done, […]

When I was a Patrol Leader, Bill (the Senior Patrol Leader) and I weren’t seeing eye to eye. Bill was a good Scout who took his responsibilities seriously, but he ordered us around, picked on little details, and lectured my Patrol if we overlooked something. If we didn’t do it Bill’s way, his displeasure fell […]

My best friend in my Scout Troop and I had completely opposite personalities. I was serious; he was the ‘class-clown’. He found plenty of ways to pick on me and I looked for the best way to frustrate him. We considered each other the most annoying Scout in the Troop. This all started to change […]

Our Troop split up into Patrols for part of our weekly Troop meetings; we called this “Patrol Corners”. Most of the time we did this to “work on rank advancement” and Patrol Leaders would do little more than having everyone read their books a half hour. Boring! A few Scouts tried to take this seriously […]

Patrols who build community service in their Operations Plan build Patrol spirit. I’d say that nothing builds Scout spirit quite like service to others! When Scouts do real good in the world, something great happens. When we serve others, we become part of something bigger than ourselves. What Project? You don’t have to look far; […]

Every Patrol Operations Plan includes  special times to get together outside of the Troop meetings. Whatever you call this time, it’s not going to be a dusty “meeting”. I don’t like the word “meeting”. “Meeting” makes me think of businessmen in suits sitting around a table discussing business for an hour. If you get the […]

During my first meeting as Senior Patrol Leader I realized something that stopped me dead in my tracks: being a Patrol Leader was a more important job than being Senior Patrol Leader! Leaving the position made me realize the huge chance the Patrol Leader has to make Scouting into a real-life adventure, not just a […]

Look at your hands right now! Even if you haven’t earned Fingerprinting Merit Badge you know everyone on the face of the earth, even identical twins, have a unique fingerprint unlike anyone else’s. Now think about your Patrol. Every Patrol has its own unique “fingerprint”. Every Patrol has their own way of doing things, their […]