If your 10, 11, or 12-year-old is too old for arts-and-crafts camp and too young to sit home alone, you already know the gap. Most summer camps in Naples are built for younger kids. The activities feel babyish, the pace feels slow, and by Wednesday of week one your tween is asking if they can just stay home.
Forge Summer Camp is built for the 10-14 age bracket specifically. Real training. Real coaching. Real things to work on. Six themed weeks between June 8 and July 31, 2026, with early bird pricing closing May 1.
What tween-age camp actually looks like at Forge
A typical full-day (8am-5pm) for an 11-year-old at Forge Athletics camp looks like this:
- Morning block — technical training. Stance work, striking fundamentals, footwork, pad work. Coach-led, small groups broken out by age and skill. This is the same kind of work our regular youth martial arts program does year-round, concentrated into a camp format.
- Mid-morning — conditioning and skill games. Ninja-warrior style obstacle work, partner drills, agility ladder, light sparring games depending on the week’s theme.
- Lunch and downtime. Campers bring their own lunch (fridge and microwave available). Thirty minutes of board games, cards, or quiet hangout time.
- Afternoon block — theme work. This is where each of the six themed weeks differentiates. Fight Camp week runs MMA-style circuits. Strike First runs karate forms. Forge Games runs a mini-Olympics. Hero Academy layers in problem-solving and teamwork.
- Late afternoon — open mat or open gym. Free choice: more sparring, heavy bag, climbing, or a pickup basketball / dodgeball game.
Nothing on the schedule is filler. If you ask your kid at pickup what they did today, the answer shouldn’t be “nothing.”
Why 10-12 is our sweet spot
Developmentally, the 10-12 window is when kids can finally train seriously. They can hold technique under load. They can take coaching correction without melting down. They have the coordination to start learning real combinations — not watered-down “kid-safe” versions. And socially, they’re at the age where being part of a tight training group matters more than just “making camp friends.”
That combination — real training plus real tribe — is what builds retention. It’s also why most of our current regular-program students originally came through a summer camp.
The six themed weeks for 2026
Each week runs Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm (full-day) or 9am-12pm (half-day). Pick the weeks that match your kid’s interests:
- Shadow Warrior (ninja week) — stealth, obstacle, agility
- Hero Academy — strength plus teamwork challenges
- Strike First (karate kid week) — traditional karate fundamentals
- Way of the Warrior (samurai week) — weapons safety, forms, discipline
- Forge Games — mini-Olympics
- Fight Camp (UFC week) — MMA-style conditioning plus technique
Full breakdown with what tweens actually do each week: see all six themes.
Questions tween parents actually ask
Most parents calling us about a 10-12-year-old want the real answers on the same five things. Here they are.
Is it too intense for my kid if they’ve never done martial arts?
No. Our camp is designed for first-timers as much as for kids who already train. Every drill has a “your first time” version and a “push harder” version, and coaches cue in real time based on what they see. Most tweens who show up nervous on Monday are asking about signing up for fall classes by Friday.
Do you mix ages, or are tweens grouped separately?
Groups are split by age for skill-work and mixed for games, lunch, and open gym. A 10-year-old won’t be doing the same striking drill as a 13-year-old unless the skill level matches. But they’ll absolutely be playing dodgeball together at lunch — and the mixed-age social piece is something tweens actually like.
What about sparring? Is my kid going to get hurt?
Sparring at camp is technical and controlled. Headgear, gloves, shin guards, mouth guards. Coaches stop drills constantly to correct technique. The goal is learning how to control speed and distance, not landing shots. In 10+ years running camps, we’ve had standard bumps and bruises — no concussions, no broken bones.
Can my kid bring their phone?
Phones stay in a lockbox during training blocks. At lunch and free time, they can have them back for parent check-ins or music. We don’t run a no-phone policy for its own sake — but a tween on their phone is a tween not training, and training is what you’re paying for.
What do you do about friend drama?
It comes up. Tweens being tweens. When it does, coaches pull the kids aside, talk through it, and move on. We don’t lecture, we don’t call parents over small stuff, and we don’t pretend it’s not happening. Most of the time the physical work itself resets the social temperature — hard to stay mad at someone you just did a 10-minute partner drill with.
Pricing and early bird
| Option | Early bird (by May 1) | Regular (after May 1) |
|---|---|---|
| Half-day (9am-12pm) | $220/week | $220/week (limited spots) |
| Full-day (8am-5pm) | $280/week | $360/week |
| All 6 weeks (full-day) | $1,800 (saves $480) | $2,160 |
Sibling discounts available — call us before booking online if you have multiple kids in camp.
Full pricing breakdown plus FAQ: early bird deadline details.
Why families pick Forge for their tween specifically
Most of the other summer options in Naples fall into two buckets: the babysitting-style daycamps (too young) or the elite sports academies (too narrow, too expensive, burnout-inducing). Forge sits in the middle on purpose.
The head coach has spent decades training adults, kids, and fighters — the same coaching eye that works with a competing athlete also works with an 11-year-old figuring out a jab for the first time. Kids feel the difference. Parents feel the difference when they pick up a kid who’s tired in a good way.
We also run the same facility year-round, which means your tween walking into camp on June 8 isn’t walking into a summer-only rental. It’s our regular gym. Mats, heavy bags, climbing wall, AC, indoor everything — no weather-day cancellations, no folding tables in a school gym.
About the Day 1 refund
Tween camps are especially easy to misjudge on paper. If your kid comes home from Day 1 and it wasn’t the right fit — too intense, not intense enough, wrong vibe — we refund that week. No fine print, no interrogation at pickup. Most families who try camp stay, but the refund is there because we’d rather your kid be somewhere they like than have you feel stuck.
How to enroll
Three ways, pick whichever works:
- Call or text (239) 799-KICK — we’ll book the right weeks in about five minutes.
- Visit us at 1984 Tamiami Trail N, Space G0003, Naples, FL 34102. Tweens are welcome to walk through the gym before deciding.
- Book online at Forge Summer Camp 2026 — pick weeks, pay deposit, done.
If you’re still weighing which weeks fit your tween’s personality, the six-theme breakdown is here.
Ready when you are
- Call or text: (239) 799-KICK
- Visit: 1984 Tamiami Trail N, Space G0003, Naples, FL 34102
- Book online: Forge Summer Camp 2026
- Compare: Why Naples families choose us · Half-day vs full-day
5.0 Google rating from 47+ Naples families. Full refund after Day 1 on every enrollment.
