Retaining Tiger Cubs

[1st Mate]

Nationally, retaining Tigers into Wolves has been a weak point for the BSA for a few years. But that is an average, The good news is that a lot of units are above the avaerage and do a great job of recruiting and retaining cubs.

I would like to hear what those packs are doing to make that happen.

Here is one suggestion that I think works really well. I believe the problem is that most packs have the Tiger den leaders come from the new parents from day one. I think that's a mistake. Putting the newest Cubs under the leadership of the newest leaders doesn't seem like a very good idea to me.

(Years ago) as a Cubmaster I had a committee member for new membership who acted as the Tiger Den Leader for the first 90 days. This had many advantages.
1. She was the one who processed all new Cub applications so she was a face and name that was known to all the new Cubs and their partner.
2. We hit the ground running every year. She had time to plan the first 4 months of the program before we signed the first Tiger up. That way the program started on time in September without the usually low energy start that Tiger Dens have.
3. She got to see the adult partners in action with the scouts, and then identify the best candidates to select and recruit as the permanent Den Leaders.
4. She was able to select and train the selected Den Leaders and give them a planned prgram to get them started.
5. She remained their program liason for the rest of the program year so they knew who to call with questions and they were already comfortable dealing with her.

It was our variation on Den Leader Coach/Pack Trainer and it worked.

Rarely did a Tiger drop out unless they moved.


What has worked for you?

[Eagle85]

1st mate,
The approach you outline is almost identical to the one we recommended at our District's Cub Roundtable at the end of last year (I serve on the RT staff). Reports we've received since have been very positive.

Personally, our pack decided to use the Tiger Mentor approach this year and it made a world of difference in our Tiger program! We recruited a parent from the Web-1 who worked as a mentor to get the new Tiger den up and running smoothly the following fall. She never led meetings but acted as an advisor/coach for the new leader. We lost one Tiger over the course of the year and at this point all the rest have indicated they'll be returning as wolves.

A couple of points that I would recommend to other based on our RT & Pack experience:

>> Recruit your Tiger mentor in the Spring for the following fall. That way they have the summer to brush up on the Tiger program -and- they know to avoid volunteering for another position when the new scout year starts up in the fall.

>> Choose an experienced and active parent. We recommended it should be a parent from the Bears or Web-1 dens (which would be Web-1 or 2 in the fall), with at least 2-years of scouting involvement as an active parent in their son's den.

>> Make sure the Tiger Mentor has no other den or pack responsibilities. Their sole responsibility (at least from Sept-Dec) is to act as a dedicated resource to the new Tiger den.

>> Make sure the new leader and parents all understand that the mentor is not there to run their meetings for them. They are there to answer questions and offer guidance. This keeps the mentor from becoming a crutch.

>> Lastly, when choosing a mentor remember that you're choosing a role model for the new Tiger leader and parents. The mentor will be their primary source of information for the first few months of their Cub Scout career.

Now that our pack has seen the difference a Tiger Mentor can make we'll definitely continue the program. Hope this helps!

[1st Mate]

All excellent points Eagle85. am glad to hear that a similar program worked for you as well.

[Momof2]

ok I am going to be a tiger leader starting May 18th with the buddys that are crossing over into tigers one of them is mine. I am also a mom of a bear going into webelos. any info i can get will help. I have helped at day camp and will be going for training the 1st of June.

[Nuts4Scouts]

Congratulations on taking on the Tigers!

You mention you also have Bear becoming a Webelos, are you a leader for his den too?

Two things to do for your Tigers - First, purchase a Tiger Handbook & read thru it. Lots of good info there! Then, to get a head start on your training, go to BSA Online Learning Center -

http://olc.scouting.org/

Once you register there, take Cub Scout Leader Fast Start & Youth Protection training. That will start you on your training trail!

BSA National Web site is also chock full of great info for new leaders. Check out their new Cubcast!

http://www.scouting.org/

The Adult Leaders section under Cub Scouts has a lot of helpful things. Resources for New Leaders has a new leader brochure for Tiger Leaders, a new leader kit, program ideas to help your boys earn their Bobcat Badge (which they must earn first, BEFORE the Tiger Badge!), & lots more!

http://www.scouting.org/cubscouts/resources/newleader.html

Utilize Tiger Shared Leadership to it's fullest! It will help you get to know your families & take some of the pressure off of you. Have the families each sign up for 1 of the Achievement areas. Depending on how many Tigers you have, 1 Tiger Team can do both the den activity & the outing, or you can split it up between 2 Tiger Teams.

Another thing you can find at the National site is 2 months of Cub Scout Program Helps. These are great to get ideas from! You can also purchase the full year worth of Program Helps at your local Scout Shop.

Best of all - by registering your Tiger Teams as of June 1st (when they officially become eligible at the end of the school year), they can all go to Cub Scout Day Camp with the rest of the Pack! What a GR-R-R-R-EAT way to start off their Cub Scout time!

Have FUN!! :)

[WB Bear]

Congratulations Momof2. The information Nuts4Scouts is great and please look into those. Another resources is the Cub Scout Roundtables in your District.

[Eagle85]

Congratulations Momof2. The information Nuts4Scouts is great and please look into those. Another resources is the Cub Scout Roundtables in your District.

I echo the above congrats Momof2. Nuts has some great advice and WB Bear is right on the money. If your District has an active Cub Roundtable it will be a big help. RT is where you'll find lots of local ideas and suggestions for Go See It trips (probably some contact info also). Not to mention being able to network with other packs/dens for all kinds of help, advice, and activities.

Best of luck!!

[Momof2]

thanks for the tips lots of things to do and yes we are going to camp I was a vol. last year so I did the online classes then and I just went back to it so that i would have a head start. Just want my boys to have fun (and me too) lol I have helped both the DL and ADL with my oldest but I did not have to Plan anything. so this will be a learning exp. for me too.

[Den5Pack457]

I'm interested to know how all of this worked out? How many of your Tigers are now Wolves? As a Tiger Cub Den Leader, now, I hope all transition.

[Frogman]

I thought I would chime in on this one. Last year i was a Asst. Den leader for my son's den after issues within the leadership my wife and I took the den over. We started by sitting down with our boy and asking him what he thought would be fun ways to earn the achivments.

Lets say it worked. the boys that were still there when we took the den all are now wovles.

it also helps to get the adult partners involved. makeing them feel important is just about as inportant as keeping the boys engaged.