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Teen Late Night
Teen
Late
Night!
(75-100 teens every week!)
Every Friday night from 8:30-11 p.m.,
teens, ages 13-19, stay up late
and experience a night filled with many
great activities. Teens are able to swim, use the hot tub,
play basketball, wallyball and board and table games.
Refreshments, including pizza, are served. There
is no cost for members and non-members only pay $5 per person.
4-on-4 BB - Boys vs
Girls!
Hangin' in the Activity Center
Killer Dodge Ball!
History:
Teen Late Night started out as "Friday Night
Hoops" and focused mainly on Basketball and went as late as 1 am
in the morning on Saturday. It attracted a lot of teen males and
testosterone. There were many arguments, fights and a fair
amount of gang activity still present.
An effort to re-direct the program into a
more structured and with more control over the behavior of the
teens, was made by Assistant Executive Director, Jan Erlandsen,
and was supported by Executive Director, Glen Godfrey, and the
Kitsap Family YMCA Board. The current Teen Late Night at the Y
has evolved from those changes.
Many doubters or so-called experts told us
this program would not succeed under these closely monitored
conditions and strict rules of behavior. Other activities were
added, particularly swimming in the adjacent City Pool, to make
the activities more attractive. And to begin with, the numbers
dropped and many teens did not come, but the word began to get
out that this was a safe and fun place to be on a Friday night,
and the numbers gradually began to recover. Now, depending on
the other school athletic events on Friday nights, the numbers
are typically somewhere between 60 and 90 teenagers every Friday
night.
Key Principles:
The key to the current Teen Late Night is the
commitment to the key YMCA principles of Caring, Respect,
Honesty and Responsibility. Each Friday every teen
that comes to participate must re-commit to conducting
themselves according to these principles. The entry door has a
handprint with the word of the night on it. Each teen must put
his hand on the symbol and say the word to gain access.
For teens that are new to the Program, they
must pass a "probation" period of three weeks or three visits,
during which they must study the rules associated with each of
the key words and pass a verbal test to gain entrance. Only
after doing this successfully for three visits are they allowed
entry by merely re-pledging by saying the key word and placing
their hand on the hand symbol.
These are the simple rules of behavior
associated with the four key principle words that the new teens
are asked to study and pass the test on, and all teens are asked
to observe while they are "in the house":
BE RESPONSIBLE:
BE CARING:
-
Practice good sportsmanship!
-
No cussing, taunting, arguing or fighting.
SHOW RESPECT:
-
No inappropriate touching of others
-
That means no pushing, hugging, slapping, etc.
-
Respect staff - they are here to ensure that
EVERYONE can have fun
BE HONEST:
HAVE
FUN!
Character Development:
Our most experienced staff members are used
to monitor the activities and the behavior - not junior staff
and not other teens, as is done in some other teen programs at
other Y's. This is done to maintain the consistency of standards
used to monitor the behavior and performance of the attendees.
Behavior is held to a high standard and
violators are dealt with immediately any time a violation is
observed. A warning is issued to the teen on any first offense
of the evening, unless it is flagrant, violent or a bad attitude
is immediately presented to staff. In those cases, the teen is
removed from the play area and spoken to in the office area. The
teen may be left with just a warning, if the attitude
straightens out, or may be suspended for the evening and the
teen's parents called to pick him or her up.
In the case of repeated or multiple violation
of these simple rules, the teen may be suspended from Teen Late
Night for one month or for several months.
On the flip side, teens that exhibit
exemplary behavior and adherence to the rules are recognized for
their good behavior. Teens that show good examples of any of the
four key principles may be given a "Free Pass" by any staff
member - meaning they can get into Teen Late Night free the
following month. If they are a Y member, meaning that they can
attend Teen Late Night free, they may give their pass to a
friend so he or she may attend for free.
Several teens that are good examples of
behaving to the stated rules are identified by staff every month
and one is selected as the "Teen of the Month." This teen
receives a Teen Late Night tee-shirt, other prizes, and a free
three-month membership in the Kitsap Family YMCA.
In this manner, the model of the Teen Late
Night program is enhanced and strengthened - the negative
behavior is discouraged or eliminated and the good behavior is
rewarded and reinforced.
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