Volunteers are noteworthy youth development professionals in the 4-H program whose training translates into practices that promote positive outcomes among young people they serve. This study explored how contextual and programmatic factors were associated with volunteers' practices of the essential elements with youth. Programmatic influences included breadth of volunteer training, tenure in 4-H whereas gender and age were contextual factors. Results supported associations between breadth of volunteer training and the essential element of mastery; this effect was not found with other essential elements. Also, volunteers' tenure in the 4-H program moderated the relationship between breadth of training and practices promoting mastery, with stronger association between training breadth and mastery for less seasoned volunteers. Moreover, among volunteers reporting greater breadth of trainings in the past year, men reported greater levels of facilitating independence than women, an effect not found across the whole sample. Our findings suggest mastery as a relevant essential element retained in training and applied in 4-H volunteers' practice. Implications are discussed regarding volunteer training content and promotion of responsibilities for both new and seasoned volunteers, as well as consideration for possible effects of differences in gender role expectations influencing the practice of promoting certain essential elements.