By 13 or 14, most kids have decided summer camp is for younger kids. They’re not wrong about a lot of camps. What they need is a summer of skill-building — something they’re actually getting better at, something they can’t do in a screen, and something that isn’t just a holding pattern until school starts again.
Forge Summer Camp is that option for Naples teens. Real martial arts training. Real conditioning. Small groups where 13 and 14-year-olds are coached at their level — not penned in with the 6-year-olds. Six themed weeks from June 8 to July 31, 2026.
What a teen’s day actually looks like
Ages 13-14 run the same schedule as our tween group but with more technical depth and less hand-holding. A typical full-day (8am-5pm) breaks down like this:
- Morning — technical work. Striking combinations, defensive footwork, pad rounds, grappling fundamentals depending on the day. Coached in small groups (1:10 maximum), with older campers getting drilling at real tempo.
- Mid-morning — conditioning. Tabata circuits, strength pieces, partner carries, sprint work. This is the part most teens are surprised by — it’s harder than they expected, and they leave stronger than they came in.
- Lunch plus downtime. Teens bring their own lunch. Phones available at lunch and free blocks only (locked away during training). Thirty minutes to reset.
- Afternoon — theme-specific. Each of the six themed weeks brings its own layer. Fight Camp week is genuinely MMA-style. Strike First goes deeper into karate. Way of the Warrior introduces weapons forms.
- Late afternoon — open mat. This is where most teens end up doing more work than required. Rolling, light sparring, heavy bag, conditioning games. Entirely optional, and almost nobody opts out.
Why martial arts specifically works for this age
Thirteen and fourteen is when a kid’s athletic ceiling actually starts to form. The hormonal changes kick in, the growth plates are active, and the nervous system is primed to pick up complex patterns. If you’ve ever seen a 14-year-old pick up a new sport in weeks that would take an adult years, that’s what’s happening.
Most sports this age can access — basketball, soccer, baseball — they’ve already been doing for years. Martial arts is different. It’s usually new. There’s a steep early learning curve, which means they get to experience real, visible improvement in a single summer. For a teen, that feeling of “I couldn’t do this on Monday and I can on Friday” is rare, and it sticks.
It’s also a coached-on-every-rep activity. Unlike a gym session where most teens would drift into their phone between sets, martial arts training is constant coach-to-athlete contact. There’s no way to coast. That’s the point.
What makes the coaching different
The head coach at Forge has spent decades training kids, adults, and competing fighters — including work with athletes at the highest levels of physique sport and combat sport. That same coaching eye that works with a professional also works with a 14-year-old trying to drill a front kick for the first time.
What that means practically for a teen camper: the coaching you get is not watered-down “kids coaching.” It’s the same technical instruction a 30-year-old serious student would get, adjusted for age and experience level. Teens feel that within the first day. They’re being treated like athletes, not children.
It also means the programming is designed by someone who actually trains, not pulled from a generic camp curriculum. The conditioning makes sense. The skill progression makes sense. The order of the day makes sense. Nothing is filler.
The six themed weeks for 2026
Each runs Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm full-day or 9am-12pm half-day:
- 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
Teens tend to pick Fight Camp and Way of the Warrior first. Both run more intensely for older campers. Full theme breakdown: see all six themes.
Questions parents of teens actually ask
My 14-year-old says camp is for little kids. How is this different?
Because it’s not the kind of camp they’re thinking of. No sing-alongs, no craft tables, no arts-and-crafts filler. The schedule runs like a training camp — warm-up, skill, conditioning, open mat. Most teens stop resisting the idea within the first morning when they realize what’s actually happening.
Will my teen be around younger kids all day?
Training groups are split by age and skill. A 14-year-old won’t do a striking drill with a 7-year-old. The mixing happens at lunch, games, and open gym — which most teens actually like, because there’s less social pressure with younger kids around.
Is the sparring safe?
Yes. Full headgear, gloves, shin guards, mouth guards. Every sparring block is live-coached. The goal is control of technique, not winning exchanges. In 10+ years of camp, we’ve had the standard bumps — nothing more.
My kid plays another sport. Will this interfere?
Usually it helps. The conditioning work at camp is well-rounded and builds capacities most team sports don’t train — rotational power, reactive agility, bilateral coordination. Teens come out of camp stronger for whatever else they do in the fall.
Do you have a discount for teens who want to do all six weeks?
Yes. Through May 10, the all-six-weeks bundle is $1,800 for full-day ($300/week, saving $480 over weekly rate). After May 10, the bundle is $2,160. Either way, the all-summer option is how we train our most-improved campers.
Is there any pressure to keep training in the fall?
None. If your teen finishes camp and wants nothing to do with it afterward, that’s fine. If they want to keep training, we have regular programs they can step into. About half of our current teen students originally came through summer camp — but we don’t sell.
Pricing and early bird
| Option | Through today (May 10) | Tomorrow onward |
|---|---|---|
| Half-day (9am-12pm) | $220/week | $220/week |
| Full-day (8am-5pm) | $280/week | $360/week |
| All 6 weeks (full-day) | $1,800 | $2,160 |
Teens who commit to the all-six-weeks bundle this summer get a Forge Athletics belt and a one-paragraph writeup from their coach on what they saw in them — we do this for every full-summer camper.
Sibling discounts available. Call before booking online if you have multiple kids.
Detailed pricing plus early-bird FAQ: early bird deadline details.
About the Day 1 refund
If your teen shows up Monday, tries it, and it’s not the right fit — wrong intensity, wrong vibe, whatever — we refund that week. No fine print, no interrogation. We’d rather your 14-year-old not spend a week somewhere they hate, even if it means we refund. The guarantee is why most parents feel comfortable trying camp for a kid who wasn’t sure about it.
How to enroll
Three paths:
- Call or text (239) 799-KICK — we’ll book in five minutes. Teens are welcome on the call.
- Visit us at 1984 Tamiami Trail N, Space G0003, Naples, FL 34102. Teens can walk through the gym before deciding — most feel better about it after seeing the space.
- Book online at Forge Summer Camp 2026 — pick weeks, pay deposit.
Got a younger sibling? Tween version 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 · All 6 themes
5.0 Google rating from 47+ Naples families. Full refund after Day 1 on every enrollment.
