NYLT

Who it's for

Youth members of Scouts BSA troops, Venturing crews and Sea Scout ships who are ready to lead. Requirements are set by the council for each course, and typically include:

• A minimum age — usually 13 by the start of the course
• First Class rank for Scouts BSA participants
• Currently holding, or about to hold, a leadership position in the unit
• The unit leader's recommendation

What Scouts learn

NYLT is built around the idea that leadership is a set of skills that can be taught, not a personality you either have or you do not. Participants work through:

• Setting a vision and communicating it
• Planning, and the difference between a plan and a wish
• Running an effective meeting
• Giving and receiving feedback
• Resolving conflict inside a patrol
• Understanding how teams develop, and leading differently at each stage
• Teaching a skill to somebody else — EDGE

Scouts live in a patrol for the course and run it themselves. The staff is largely youth, which is the point: participants spend the week watching slightly older Scouts do the job well.

What it does for a troop

A troop that sends its senior patrol leader and a couple of patrol leaders to NYLT gets them back speaking a shared language about how to run things. Sending two or three Scouts together works considerably better than sending one.

What to bring

A participant packet goes out after registration. Expect: complete field uniform, activity uniform, camping gear for the season, a notebook, rain gear, and a current BSA health and medical record.

Cost

Fees are published with the course on the council calendar.