Presentation to Scoutmasters to encourage them to support Venturing.

1. Older Boy Scouts and
your Mission
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Why your troop, why your older scouts
need a crew
Steven Myers
Retired Scoutmaster Troop One Akron
Associate Advisor Crew 2001, GTC VOA,
Central Region Venturing Committee
Myers@uakron.edu

2. This presentation for Scoutmasters was prepared for the Old
Portage Roundtable, Great Trail Council on 8/10/2017. The
actual presentation is slide 1 to 19. Slides 20-31 are bonus
material which have to do with age specific issues of older
scouts and their needs including a discussion of rites of
passage.
Much of this came from the Troop Leader’s Guidebook,
Volume 2, the Chapter on older scouts which I had the honor
to contribute.
Also, accessed was a campaign of the Central Region Area 4
Venturing called: Why your troop needs a crew.
Three of my University of Scouting courses were combined to
make this presentation. I apologize for any disjointedness of
the presentation. I did not “show” this presentation, but rather
used it as my talking points.
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3. Take aways
• Venturing is as
beneficial to a troop as
is a Cub Pack.
• Boy Scouts and
Venturing are really
different.
• Troop - Crew
partnerships can help
young adults flourish.

4. What do you see?

5. What is common
• One Oath, One Law
• One Mission
“The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is
to prepare young people to make ethical and
moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling
in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law”
Think of Scouting is a single youth
development program, extending from age 7 to
age 21, all guided by the same mission, oath
and law.

6. Boy Scout Methods
1. Ideals
2. Patrols
3. Outdoor Program
4. Advancement
5. Adult Association
6. Personal Growth
7. Leadership Development
8. Uniform
Venturing Methods
1. Leadership and Mentoring
2. Group activities and adventure
3. Recognition
4. Adult association
5. Ideals
6. Group Identity
7. Service
What’s different?
Mottos:
Do your Best (Cub Scouts),
to Be Prepared (Boy Scouts),
to Lead the Adventure (Venturing).

7. What’s different? YPT needs.
1. Every adult needs to be
Youth Protection
Trained (Y01)
2. But every adult who
works with older Scouts
really should take Y02
(Venturing Youth
Protection)
3. Personal Safety
Awareness Training
(youth version)
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A new common YPT is to be released in 2017.

8. Venturing is not
Boy Scouts with Green Shirts
– Venturing does not follow a Boy Scout Troop model. Venturing is
stronger if crews Meet Less and Do More!
– The youth Lead their Adventures with youth mentors and adult
advisors.
– Every youth officer from President to Activity Chair has a partner
who is his Advisor
– Advisor and Scoutmaster are not similar roles!
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9. Contrast a typical Scoutmaster
Conference
The Scout learns
The Scout is tested
The Scout is approved (book signed)
The Scoutmaster Conference
The Board of Review awards the rank

10. With an Advisor Conference
Structured
Personal
Reflection
Goal Setting
(Goal Setting
training)
Planning (Project
Management
Training)
Implementation
(Time Management
Training)
Assessment
(The Advisor
Conference)

11. Punch line:
Why should a Scoutmaster care
about Venturing?
Because you are going to lose your older Scouts sooner or
later, either because they turn 18 or because they decide to
pursue other interests. The only questions are
1. when they will leave and
2. where they will go.
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12. Why do older Scouts Leave?
“.. too often troop leaders treat Scouts who are in high
school about the same way they treat those who are
middle-schoolers. They think the same activities will
interest them, the same badges will motivate them, and
the same leadership styles will inspire them.
As a result, many older Scouts leave Scouting
altogether and pursue activities, licit or illicit, that they
think are more age appropriate.”
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Working with Older Boys, Troop Leader Guidebook, Volume 2

13. Venturing appeals to the older
youth
• Designed for the young adult in high school and college.
• Designed to emphasize things that young adults enjoy
• Focused on the things High School students care about
(ALPS) while getting ready for major transitions in their
life
– Newest trainings: Goal Setting & Time Management, Project
Management, and Mentoring)

14. Your troop will grow and retain
members
• Your Boy Scouts will have broader and more adult-like
opportunities that will keep them in the program and help
us achieve the mission of the BSA.
• Some 14-17 year olds are going to leave your troop
anyway, how much better if they remain in the BSA?
• 18-20 year olds are more likely to register as ASMs with
your troop if they are active in a “sister”-crew
• Your troop will have more Eagles and the average age of
your SPL will increase
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15. Your Older Scout will Flourish
• A scout that had done it all may lose interest especially if
their “older-boy” program is mostly helping the younger
scouts.
• A crew will offer an adventurous program designed for
young adults that will expand beyond what a troop can
do and thus meet their needs.

16. Scouts may be in a Troop and a Crew
• The scout that joins your crew will likely stay on your
charter.
• Your troop gains all of their Venturing friends to help out
your troop from time to time.
• All youth benefit when your sponsor adopts a “Family of
Scouting” concept that serves “all youth” from first grade
until age 21.

17. Venturing
• Keeps Boy Scouts active in a scouting program
• Gives your scouts more experiences
• Adds more leadership practice for scouts
• Provide more challenging/difficult adventures that
younger boy scouts may not handle as well
• The crew does not have to be directly associated with
your chartered organization

18. One final thing –
• Unlike Boy Scout troops, all Venturers practice
citizenship through a representative democracy
that starts as the crew and rises all the way to the
National Venturing President and his cabinet.
• Every voice gets heard
• The mechanism of this governance is called the
Venturing Officer Association

19. Council VOA
• Council Venturing President
(youth)
– Council VPs (youth)
• VOA Advisor and Associate
Advisors
• Crew Presidents and their
Advisors

20. Bonus Material:
Solutions within your Troop:
Find ways that older Scouts can flourish.
Encourage:
OA, Venturing, Camp Staff, Cub camp staff, participating and
staffing National Jamborees and World Jamborees.
Participating and staffing NYLT, NAYLE, ALTC, Kodiak and
offering leadership beyond the unit such as taking on the role of
Council Venturing President or VP, Lodge Chief or Vice Chiefs,
and so much more.
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21. Young Men need Rites of Passage
One way to meet the needs and retain the interest of
older Scouts is to develop additional rites of passage
in your troop.
– These shouldn’t be elaborate activities
– They can’t in any way resemble hazing.
– They should be simple ways to mark a Scout’s growth and
maturation.
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22. Create Rites of Passage
• Create a special troop neckerchief for older or select scouts.
• Find a special location for ILST or PLC Planning Weekend and don’t
ever take the troop there.
• Use Scoutmaster conferences for Star, Life and Eagle (ranks
typically earned by older Scouts) a specific focus.
• Develop a special ceremony for inducting Scouts into the older-
Scout patrol.
• Establish a servant-leader society within the troop and induct Scouts
who excel as servant leaders. Have adults select inductees initially
but quickly switch to having past inductees, including those who
have moved on to college and careers, vote on each new class.
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23. Working with Older Scouts
“A key to working with Scouts of any
age is to treat them as if they were
just a little older and more mature
than they really are.”
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Middle Adolescence (ages 14 and 15)
Late Adolescence (ages 16 to 18)
Adult Participants (Venturing – ages 19-20)

24. Middle Adolescence (ages 14 and 15)
A boy of 14 or 15:
• Is in early high school
• May be struggling academically
• Is in the full throes of puberty
• May be as tall as many adults
• May be dating
• Spends significant amounts of
time away from home
• Is loosening his ties with his
parents
• Relies on Peers
• Yearns for the independence
• May engage in risky behavior
• seems to be a different person in
different settings
• shows less self-control and more
egocentricity
• Is increasingly aware and critical
of hypocrisy and adult failings
• Is becoming a better problem
solver, and begins to be able to
plan ahead
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25. Working With Scouts in Middle
Adolescence (typically ages 14-15)
• Young people at this stage are stuck in the middle
– no longer children
– but still a long way from adulthood.
• They can be easily pushed in either direction
• Treat middle adolescents as being more mature than
they actually are and they respond well
• Treat them as children and they act as children.
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26. To work with Middle Adolescence
• Eliminate the word boy from your vocabulary
• Set high—but achievable—expectations.
• Remind Scouts of their status. (“is this something a high-
schooler (or leader) should be doing?”)
• Acknowledge Scouts’ identity with their high school. Try
to keep up with their school and teams.
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27. To work with Middle Adolescence
• Help Scouts build strong peer groups in the troop.
• Build a strong older-Scout patrol to help them foster positive peer
relationships.
• Give older Scouts a chance to use newly found abilities to think
abstractly, solve problems, and plan ahead.
• Pose an ethical dilemma for them to discuss.
• Introduce the sort of problem-solving games common in Project
COPE.
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28. Late Adolescence (ages 16 to 18)
A young man of 16 to 18:
• Nearly full grown physically
• Is thinking (and worrying) about
life after high school
• Is painfully aware that decisions
will affect the rest of his life
• Wants to prove to his parents and
himself that he’s ready to be
independent
• May have a job and access to a
car, which gives him spending
money, mobility, and a measure of
independence
• Has time-management issues
• Is more peer-pressure resistant
• May have a steady girlfriend
• Smaller group of male friends.
• Can reason abstractly and think
analytically nearly as well as
adults, but lacks the life
experiences that guide adults
• Is beginning to think about politics,
social issues, and global causes
• Has a relatively stable identity,
which is consistent across
different settings
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29. Working With Scouts in Late Adolescence
Late adolescence youth are living in two time zones:
NOW: They are intent on experiencing all that the
high-school years have to offer, and
NEXT: They are also focused on what’s next, college,
work, military, whatever
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30. To work with Late Adolescence
• Treat older Scouts as the 20-somethings they’re becoming. Strive
for a collegial relationship—not a leader/follower relationship.
• Try not to conflict with high school event or you send the signal that
Scouts is for the younger.
• Celebrate scouts that come when they can (don’t criticize them for
choosing to play soccer)
• Scouts want to be around people who celebrate their
accomplishments, so announce when your Scouts succeed outsize
of Scouts.
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31. To work with Late Adolescence
• Plan program for older scouts differently and appropriately
• Harness teens’ interest to tackle big topics and global issues.
Challenge them to plan service projects that focus on the root
causes of these issues.
• Connect the merit badge program with their classes in high school
and future career interest.
• Figure out what their needs are and help to meet those. Invite
college counselors and military recruiters to visit troop meetings.
Offer to write letters of recommendations.
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