Keeping teenagers in the school after 15

terryl965

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How does your school go about keeping the teenager involved when they hit that age, around here it is extra curriculems and sportsin schools. What are some great ideals
Terry
 

mantis

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terryl965 said:
How does your school go about keeping the teenager involved when they hit that age, around here it is extra curriculems and sportsin schools. What are some great ideals
Terry
Make it possible during hours/seasons they do not have school sports in (weekends, summers, during breaks). It's tough actually. Then after that when they go to college you cannot keep them because the may get really busy, or even move out to some other town/state.
 

HKphooey

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Since many may make great assistant instructors, pair them up with a mentoring instructor. Another things that seems to keep their interest, is new material form outside the regular training. Some of these teens have been training since they were 8-10 years old and as teens they may start to get bored (remember how we thought we knew everything back then :)). Trade private lessons for help in the dojo so that they feel like part of the team.
 

AceHBK

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HKphooey said:
Since many may make great assistant instructors, pair them up with a mentoring instructor. Another things that seems to keep their interest, is new material form outside the regular training. Some of these teens have been training since they were 8-10 years old and as teens they may start to get bored (remember how we thought we knew everything back then :)). Trade private lessons for help in the dojo so that they feel like part of the team.

Great ideas!
 

IcemanSK

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I've been thinking about this a lot today. I replied twice & got interupted twice. I was 14 when I started MA. I think something happens to boys epspecially between 13-15 (apart from discovering girls). They tend to drop old things they do & pick up new things. If a boy picks up MA at 8-10, they might think "been there, done that" by 13-15. But if MA is what they pick up at 13-15, they may be hooked for life.

I had 10 friends in high school that all did MA. We trained & hung out together all the time (even tho we trained at different schools). We were the kind of kids that weren't football players or traditional "jocks". Truth be told, we were more like Napolean Dynamite:supcool: . But MA really grabbed us. 20 years later, of those 10, 2 own MA schools & at least 5 others still train!

I don't know how you retain teens that age, but I think if you tap into the ones who are looking to pick up something, you'll get MA-ists fot life.
 

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