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This weekend I attended our district’s training for Introduction To Outdoor Leader Skills (ITOLS) and Webelos Leader Outdoor Training (WLOT). Over on Boy Scout Trail there is a great short list of the Top 10 Training Topics that includes a great description of ITOLS and why it is important:

Intro to Outdoor Leader Skills – Introduction to the tenderfoot, 2nd class, and 1st class scouting skills so adults can help scouts complete their requirements. It doesn’t make sense for someone to sign off on a first aid or knot tying requirement if he doesn’t know the skill well himself. All adults that teach or sign off should take it. Required for ‘Trained’ patch and Scout Leader’s Training award.

The WLOT part of the course covers the skills needed to plan and conduct a Webelos den outing. A Webelos den is allowed to go camping without the rest of the pack, and this class gives the Webelos Den Leader the necessary training.

I decided to take the class as a next step after BALOO (Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation) training, which covers the basics of planning and conducting a pack camping trip for Cub Scouts. A Webelos Den can go on overnight campouts other than the pack-wide family camping trip, either with a Boy Scout Troop or on their own (with parents and Den Leaders). As always, the Guide to Safe Scouting will help you determine what activities are age appropriate.

I was very pleased to see two things in the course announcement. First, it was not being held in a classroom. We were going to be covering outdoor skills, so we were taking the class outdoors. That made perfect sense to me! The location wasn’t rural by any stretch; they used a field at local dairy farm. It was not the most stunning scenery, but outside training doesn’t require that. Second, the course announcement stated this class would go no matter what the weather. If you were going to be taking scouts out in all kinds of weather, they would train you in all kinds of weather. We lucked out with the weather, it was a little chilly at night, but we were dry and comfortable for the most part. I think the temperature got down to ~25 degrees overnight, but the tents and sleeping bags did their jobs.

During the course we covered a wide range of subjects, and the Webelos topics were interwoven with the Boy Scout topics. It was an introductory course, so the instructors weren’t trying to make experts out of everyone, but review the material and provide references for more in-depth study when needed.

Webelos specific topics during the training were
Webelos/Boy Scout Differences
Activity Badges:

• Outdoorsman
• Readyman
• Citizen
• Naturalist
• Forester
• Outdoorsman

For the Boy Scout side, we covered a lot of ground as well. When I was a scout many of these topics were covered in the skill awards, but they have moved away from that in the intervening years. The requirements for Tenderfoot, Second Class and First Class list a wide range of skills to demonstrate and we covered many of them:

• Patrol Method and Boy Led Overview
• Cold Weather Camping
• Leave No Trace
• First Aid
• Meal planning and menus
• Reverence and Faith
• Cooking and Cleanup in a Camp
• Flag Ceremony, Flag Etiquette
• Wood Tools, Ax Yard, Sharpening
• Fire Building
• Plant and Animal Identification
• Map and Compass training
• Knots and Lashings
• Backpacking Skills

Most of these are skills I learned when I was a Boy Scout, and many of them we use even today as we go camping as a family. But you always learn something in training, and this one was no different. The instructors for the course were definitely of the “been there, done that” variety, and the information they passed on was from personal experience from years of working with boys in troops. When I took this gig as Cubmaster, I decided I would take any training class as long as it fit in my schedule. This one did not disappoint. In fact, I would say this was the best training I have had so far as a Scouter. Hands on training wins every time!

Overall I thought it was a great course, definitely something I would suggest Bear Den Leaders take before they start planning the Webelos years. In addition to the wealth of information that is reviewed, the contact time with the Scoutmasters and Assistant Scoutmasters of the local troops helps a Cub Leader to understand what the differences are between the troops in their area.