Development output
6 to 8 week pilot curriculum
A small-cohort pilot structure that favors safety, consistency, and useful measurement over showmanship.
Pilot assumptions
- 10 to 15 youth participants.
- Six to eight weeks.
- Two physical training sessions per week.
- One mentorship, life-skills, wellness, or creative session per week.
- Every session starts and ends the same way so participants know what to expect.
- No public ranking, humiliation, punishment workouts, or forced trauma disclosure.
Session rhythm
- Arrival and check-in: name, attendance, simple mood or energy check.
- Opening standard: respect, consent, tap/stop rules, partner safety, and today’s goal.
- Warm-up and regulation: breath, mobility, light conditioning.
- Skill block: one or two techniques, repeated safely.
- Partner practice: low intensity, supervised, choice-based.
- Mentor moment: one practical lesson tied to the day’s training.
- Closing reflection: one thing learned, one thing to practice, one support needed.
Week-by-week outline
Week 1: orientation and safety
Introduce the program, coaches, mentors, consent rules, boundaries, and reporting pathways. Teach stance, movement, falling safely, tapping, stopping, and asking for space.
Week 2: discipline as a habit
Build basic routines: showing up on time, warming up well, listening, resetting after mistakes, and cleaning up the space. Training focus: footwork, guard, posture, and controlled drilling.
Week 3: confidence and boundaries
Teach participants to say yes, no, stop, and I need help in a safe training context. Training focus: defensive frames, escapes, and distance management.
Week 4: teamwork and trust
Pair participants intentionally. Rotate partners with consent. Teach how to be a good training partner. Mentor topic: how trust is built through small actions.
Week 5: wellness basics
Connect training to hydration, sleep, food, and recovery. Add a simple nutrition or meal-planning activity. Keep it practical: what can you eat before training, what helps you recover, what is affordable?
Week 6: creative expression
Use writing, drawing, or storytelling to help participants describe a goal, a future self, or a moment when they handled something hard. Do not ask for trauma stories.
Week 7: job-readiness and service
Teach punctuality, clean work habits, teamwork, feedback, and responsibility. If a food partner is involved, introduce safe kitchen concepts without moving into regulated meal production unless approvals are in place.
Week 8: reflection and community
Close with a private skill review, participant reflection, mentor feedback, and a small family or partner showcase only if youth consent and privacy rules are handled.
Metrics to track
- Attendance and on-time arrival.
- Participant retention.
- Self-reported confidence and belonging.
- Skill milestones.
- Mentor observations.
- Parent, guardian, or partner feedback.
- Incident reports and safety learnings.
Materials
- Attendance sheet.
- Emergency contact list.
- Incident report form.
- Participant reflection cards.
- Mentor check-in form.
- Basic first-aid supplies.
- Clean training gear and water plan.
Non-negotiable coaching standard
Hard training is allowed. Shame is not. The pilot should teach discipline through repetition, respect, and clear standards, not fear.