Cub Scout Leader Training

Training Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation

Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation (BALOO) is a one-day training event that introduces leaders and parents to the skills needed to plan and conduct pack outdoor activities, particularly pack camping.

Participants who complete this training course will:

This training is required for any adult who is in charge of planning a pack campout.

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Basic Leader Training

Basic Leader Training is designed to give position-related information to all adult leaders in Cub Scouting. Building on the foundation established in Fast Start Training, Basic Leader Training goes into greater detail.

Basic Leader Training has two parts:

  1. New Leader Essentials is for all new leaders in Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting, Varsity Scouting, and Venturing. It highlights the values, aims, history, funding, and methods of the Scouting program. Once completed, it need not be taken again, even if the leader moves to a different position or program level.
  2. Leader Specific Training gives a leader the knowledge and skills needed for a specific position. Leader Specific Training is available for the following positions in Cub Scouting:
    1. Tiger Cub leader
    2. Cub Scout den leader and assistant
    3. Webelos den leader and assistant
    4. Cubmaster and assistant
    5. Pack committee members

Basic Leader Training goes into greater detail on youth development and boy behavior, program planning, activities, and the purposes of the program. It is usually presented in one or two group sessions, but can be delivered to small groups or even individuals through personal coaching.

Every Cub Scout leader should complete Basic Leader Training; it prepares leaders to deliver a quality, fun-filled program. Leaders who understand the whys and hows of the program are more effective in their roles. They know how to use available resources to provide an exciting and worthwhile program for boys. Trained leaders have confidence in carrying out their responsibilities and, along with the boys, have more fun.

Your pack trainer, unit commissioner, or district training chair can help you learn about the Basic Leader Training available in your district and council. Dates and locations of upcoming training courses are often announced in the local council or district newsletter or Web site.

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Unit Leadership Enhancements

Unit Leadership Enhancements are short training discussions intended to better equip pack leaders to conduct a quality Cub Scout program. These do not replace, but complement, the more formal Basic Leader Training, Cub Scout leader roundtable, and Cub Scout leader pow wow or University of Scouting offered in the district or council.

During a pack leaders' meeting, a designated leader (such as the pack trainer) conducts a short discussion and exercise using a Unit Leadership Enhancement outline from the Cub Scout Leader Book. Pack leaders can choose from 15 topics:

Using these leadership enhancements regularly, pack leaders should see immediate improvements in your pack's program. With a better program, Cub Scouts and their families will become more involved and supportive.

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Fast Start Training

Proper training lays the groundwork for success in their leadership roles. This training will help new leaders understand what is expected and establish effective meeting patterns so that the boys and their families can enjoy a quality program from the start.

When new leaders are selected in Cub Scouting, it is essential that they receive immediate information that will help them get started. Proper training lays the groundwork for success in their leadership roles. This training will help new leaders understand what is expected and establish effective meeting patterns so that the boys and their families can enjoy a quality program from the start.

As the first step in the training continuum, Fast Start Training is meant to provide all the information and resources for new leaders to conduct their first meeting, along with guidance for the meetings that follow. All new leaders receive the Fast Start materials as soon as they are recruited and are encouraged to participate in Basic Leader Training and roundtables.

Self-study, rather than group training, is the preferred method for Fast Start Training. This gives the new leader the opportunity to learn at his or her own pace.

Video-Based Training

Fast Start is a short, video-based training program designed to provide specific meeting planning information related to the leader's volunteer position. The video demonstrates actual meetings that new leaders may use as models for conducting their own first meetings. The Cub Scout Leader Fast Start Viewer Guide is used with the video to enhance learning and provide an additional resource that stays with the leader. The viewer guide includes this same information in written form, providing a "road map" for planning the first meeting.

Download the Cub Scout Leader Fast Start Viewer Guide [PDF - 626 KB]

The Fast Start video is available from the local council service center on videocassette and CD-ROM.

Internet-Based Training

This interactive computer-based training uses a different format than the videos, but it delivers the same information. It is an additional resource that packs can use to ensure that all leaders have an opportunity to complete Fast Start Training as soon as possible, and it will always be available to leaders who would like to retake the course to refresh their knowledge and keep up-to-date.

View the online version of Cub Scout Leader Fast Start in the Online Learning Center

Follow-Up

The video, viewer guide, and online training are designed to be used alone by the new leader, but it is a good idea for someone from the pack (or, for new packs, from the district) to contact the new leader within two or three days to find out how things are going and to answer any questions. This is also a good time to invite the new leader to participate in roundtables and Basic Leader Training.

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National Cub Scouting Conferences

Cub Scout leader training conferences are held at the Philmont Training Center near Cimarron, New Mexico, and at the Florida Sea Base in the Florida Keys. Councils recommend individuals, who receive invitations to attend these conferences.

At Philmont, the leader takes part in training sessions while family members may enjoy a special program of activities. The weeklong conferences combine a family vacation with the opportunity to participate in a quality training experience and association with Scouters from across the country.

Sample Courses

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Pow Wow - University of Scouting

The pow wow is an annual get-together of Cub Scout leaders from an entire council or district. A pow wow is a training conference that takes place in a festive atmosphere.

The pow wow is a "convention" for pack leaders—the Cubmaster should take all leaders to this learning extravaganza. There are sections on games, crafts, skits and puppets, ceremonies, administration, and the Webelos den. It's a time for parents and all experienced, new, and prospective leaders to share ideas and see what the other packs are doing.

Your council may combine the fun and excitement of pow wow with a variety of training activities for leaders in Boy Scouting, Venturing, and even commissioners or other district Scouters. This super-sized training event is known as a "University of Scouting" and may take the place of a Cub Scout leader pow wow.

Most pow wows include sessions such as:

All leaders are encouraged to attend this exciting, fun-filled, and informative training session every year. Check with your pack trainer, unit commissioner, district training chair, or local council service center to find out when and where your pow wow or University of Scouting will be held.

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Leader Roundtables

Cub Scout leader roundtables are held monthly on a district basis. Den and pack leaders join for fun and fellowship while learning new tricks, stunts, games, crafts, ceremonies, songs, and skits related to the Cub Scout theme and Webelos activity badges for the following month.

Cub Scout leader roundtables are held monthly on a district basis. Den and pack leaders join for fun and fellowship while learning new tricks, stunts, games, crafts, ceremonies, songs, and skits related to the Cub Scout theme and Webelos activity badges for the following month. There are also opportunities for sharing ideas and activities with leaders from other packs.

Cub Scouting roundtables are a form of supplemental training for volunteers at the pack level. The objective of roundtables is to give these pack leaders program ideas; information on policy, events, and training opportunities; and an opportunity to share experiences and enjoy fun and fellowship with other Cub Scouting leaders. The roundtable commissioner and staff demonstrate elements of a model meeting that leaders may use as a pattern for their own den and pack meetings. As a result of the roundtable experience, unit leaders will be inspired, motivated, and able to provide a stronger program for their Tiger Cubs, Cub Scouts, and Webelos Scouts.

Check with your pack trainer or unit commissioner to find out the time and location of your district's monthly roundtable.

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Trainer Development Conference

The trainer development conference is part of a continuous process of updating trainers with the latest training methods, principles, and technologies. This conference is mainly for Scouters who will be delivering training to adult leaders as well as to the young people in Scouting.

The conference uses contemporary training techniques and emphasizes the importance of experiential learning, or "learning by doing." Most of the sessions not only demonstrate good training methods, but also give participants a chance to interact and actually practice what they have learned.

All trainers, including pack trainers, should participate in a trainer development conference. The council usually offers the conference as a one-day event. Your district training chair can provide details on the date and location of the next conference.

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Outdoor Leader Skills for Webelos Leaders (OWLS)

Designed specifically for Webelos den leaders and their assistants, the Outdoor Leader Skills for Webelos Leaders course teaches outdoor-related skills through demonstration and hands-on practice. Webelos den leaders should attend this training before conducting Webelos overnight camping with the boys and parents of the den. In addition to covering basic camping skills, this training features planning campouts and finding resources.

Webelos den campouts serve to move the Webelos Scout to the next level of the BSA's ever-increasing challenge in the outdoors. The boy and his parent will be introduced to the basics of Boy Scout camping. A trained Webelos den leader who has completed position-specific training and Outdoor Leader Skills for Webelos Leaders should conduct these events. Webelos dens are encouraged to participate in joint den-troop campouts, particularly in the fifth-grade year.

Designed specifically for Webelos den leaders and their assistants, the Outdoor Leader Skills for Webelos Leaders course teaches outdoor-related skills through demonstration and hands-on practice. Webelos den leaders should attend this training before conducting Webelos overnight camping with the boys and parents of the den. In addition to covering basic camping skills, this training features planning campouts and finding resources.

The council and/or district usually offer Outdoor Leader Skills for Webelos Leaders several times each year. Check with your pack trainer, unit commissioner, district training chair, or local council service center for dates and locations.

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Wood Badge

Wood Badge is advanced training in leadership skills for all adults in BSA programs. Not only Cub Scouters, but also leaders in Boy Scouting, Varsity Scouting, Venturing, and commissioner service are invited to participate in Wood Badge.

This advanced training is presented in two parts:

  1. An advanced learning experience presented over two long (three-day) weekends or as a weeklong course.
  2. An application phase of several months during which the leaders apply the specific skills they have learned at Wood Badge to their Scouting responsibilities.

Leaders who successfully complete both parts of the training are recognized with the Wood Badge beads, woggle slide, and neckerchief.

To be eligible for an invitation to participate in Wood Badge training, Cub Scout leaders must first complete Basic Leader Training. Your pack trainer, Cubmaster, unit commissioner, or council service center can give you more information.

It is the goal of the BSA that every leader attend Wood Badge within two years of registering as an adult leader.

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Youth Protection Training

The Boy Scouts of America has developed Youth Protection training to prepare its leaders to help children who have been, or are being, abused. Materials are for use in pack and den meetings to show Cub Scouts and their parents what they should do to prevent abuse from happening to them.

Child abuse is an increasingly serious, widespread problem in society, affecting every ethnic group, socioeconomic level, and geographic area. The significance of this problem is revealed by the nearly 3 million cases of child abuse reported each year in the United States. The Boy Scouts of America has developed Youth Protection training to prepare its leaders to help children who have been, or are being, abused.

The training program includes information for parents as well as the video It Happened to Me. Materials are for use in pack and den meetings to show Cub Scouts and their parents what they should do to prevent abuse from happening to them.

In addition, the BSA has adopted a comprehensive set of policies and procedures to help ensure that Scouting continues to be safe for all participants. Background checks are required for all new leaders as of April 2003, and the Boy Scouts of America will not tolerate any form of child abuse in its program and will take all necessary steps to remove any offenders from membership in the BSA.

Every leader in Cub Scouting should complete Youth Protection training, which is delivered by the district or council. Parents will also find this training valuable. In addition to a thorough review of BSA Youth Protection policies, the training develops an increased awareness of Youth Protection issues.

Your pack trainer, Cubmaster, unit commissioner, or district training chair can provide information on how to receive this important training.

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