Preparing for Eagle Scout
The Scout motto is ‘Be Prepared.’ Earning the Eagle Scout rank also requires being prepared.
There are several resources that will help your Scout along with this process.
THE SCOUT
First, comes the Scout.
The big first step is when the Scout determines they want to achieve Eagle. Whether they are First Class, Star, or Life rank, there is a recommended step – attending the Eagle Expo.
The Eagle Expo is a gathering where the Scout and/or parent can learn how to achieve Eagle. Consider it like a College Expo at school where you learn how to apply to colleges. You can find more about Eagle Expos here: https://easternwaters.org/eagle-expo/.
Northern Star Scouting also posts “A Scout’s Guide to Earning Eagle.” This valuable guide shows every which you can find here: https://www.northernstar.org/news/enavigator/a-scouts-guide-to-earning-eagle
THE PATH TO EAGLE
Second, a path to Eagle.
The path to Eagle requires knowing the requirements, what required merit badges are left, time commitments of youth leadership and active Troop participation.
The (abbreviated requirements) are:
- Be active in your troop for at least six months as a Life Scout.
- As a Life Scout, demonstrate Scout Spirit by living the Scout Oath and Scout
Law. Tell how you have done your duty to God, how you have lived the Scout
Oath and Scout Law in your everyday life, and how your understanding
of the Scout Oath and Scout Law will guide your life in the future. - Earn a total of 21 merit badges (10 more than required for the Life rank),
including these 14 required merit badges - While a Life Scout, serve actively in your troop for six months in one or
more of the following positions of responsibility. - While a Life Scout, plan, develop, and give leadership to others in a service
project helpful to any religious institution, any school, or your community. (The
project must benefit an organization other than the Boy Scouts of America.) - While a Life Scout, participate in a Scoutmaster conference.
- Successfully complete your board of review for the Eagle Scout rank.
The full and official requirements can be found here: https://www.scouting.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-Eagle-rank.pdf
EAGLE COACH / EAGLE MENTOR
Third, the person in your corner there to help.
Each Troop should have someone who is an Eagle Coach and/or an Eagle Mentor. What are these? What’s the difference?
Briefly, the Eagle Coach is also known as the Eagle Scout Service Project Coach. This person helps with (but does not do!) the Scout’s Eagle project. The Eagle Scout Service Project (ESSP) is a complicated requirement. It can be made much easier with a person who has helped others through this process before. More about the Eagle Scout Service Project Coach can be found here: https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/boyscouts/pdf/The_Eagle_Scout_Service_Project_Coach_Speaker_Notes.pdf
The Eagle Mentor helps the Scout with the entirety of achieving the Eagle Rank itself. This could be assisting them creating a path of how to earn all their merit badges, how to help them get a leadership role, assisting with the Eagle Scout application, etc. Think about the mentor as a person who puts the eagle ‘fledgling under their wing’ throughout their journey
If you have a question of who serves these two roles in your Troop, please contact your Scoutmaster, Committee Chair, or Advancement Chair.