Recreation Guy

Are you offering your teens (specifically the middle school students) a Friday night program? Here are some ideas that may appeal to the teens and pre-teens in your area. Most of these activities can take place in your community center or a school gym. If you find one or two that are a real hit then make them a monthly event. Charging an participation fee of $2-$10 is appropriate.

1. Dodgeball
   Last Friday we had our first Friday Night Dodgeball event. We did very little promotion (a couple of announcements at the local middle school) yet were able to get 20 kids to show up. We ran it for 2 hours and all the kids played dodgeball the entire time. If you don’t have your own gym, rent the school’s.
2. Dance
   Teens and pre-teens love to get together and listen to some good music. While they have their school dances to go to, a lot of them don’t necessarily like going to a “fun” event where their teachers and principal watch them like hawks. Recreation dances usually get a pretty good attendance. Just make sure you have a DJ that understands that the music still needs to be appropriate for that age group.
3. Movie
   Rent an age-appropriate new release and show it in your community center. If you have a projector you can project the movie onto a wall or white bed sheet. This gives it that big movie feel. Have some snacks and drinks on hand. Scary movies seem to go over the best for one reason or another. If need be (maybe you want to show a PG-13 movie) have the kids bring in a permission form signed by their parents. Afterward, make sure the kids clean up any mess they made.
4. Video Games
   Middle School Kids love video games (almost as much as I do) and holding a competition, or just having a couple of hours where the kids can get together and play for fun, is great. It gets them out of the house and engaged with others, instead of playing the games by themselves. You can sell snacks and drinks as well. If you hold a competition make sure you have a prize or two. This is another time where a projector would come in handy.
5. Basketball
   A lot of teens really enjoy playing basketball. Have a few courts available as well as some referees (optional). This is not supposed to be a typical open gym time. It’s strictly for teens. With two courts you could have a full court game, a half court game and a game of knockout all going at the same time. If you want to make it interesting hold a basketball competition for prizes.
6. Volleyball
   Volleyball is another gym activity that is popular. Set-up a couple of nets and have two games going on or one game on one of the nets and a fundamentals clinic on the other.
7. Chill Zone
   Set up a large room as a teen Chill Zone. Have some R&B music playing softly, a bunch of pillows, beanbags and blankets available, as well as books for reading. Make sure there are outlets to plug in laptops. It would be nice to have snacks and drinks for sale. Dim the lights a bit and keep out the kids that want to ruin the atmosphere.
8. Campfire
   Okay, so you can’t do this one in a gym or community center, but if you have an area nearby that has a fire pit then you’re good-to-go. Beaches are great for this type of event. During the campfire you can tell stories, have someone (a teen or staff member) play the guitar, make s’mores, and throw around a Frisbee or football.