2025: 10 YEAR PROGRAM UPDATE
Hello Spectrum families,
As we look forward to 2025 we are ready to share some exciting updates for our program. These changes will go into effect when classes resume in the new year. In this newsletter we will discuss the following topics:
YOUTH PROGRAM UPDATE
YOUTH PROMOTIONS
EVENING ADULT PROGRAM ADDITIONS
Included in each section will be some common questions and answers. Let’s start with our youth program update.
YOUTH PROGRAM UPDATE
Over the last 10 years our youth program has undergone many changes. Some of our students have been with us through them all! As educators we always try to be on the cutting edge of teaching methodology, curriculum design, and class structure. We take great pride in our youth program and, as such, are always looking for ways to improve. We have spent years studying the developmental learning styles of our youth program and feel that a slight adjustment to our age grouping is necessary. Currently our age groupings are 3-4, 5-7, 8-10, and 11-14.
Starting in the new year our youth program age groupings will be 4-5, 6-8, and 9-13.
In the coming weeks each student will receive a physical letter from a coach with information pertinent to them. Let’s take a moment to dive into each age group for more detail.
4-5 YEAR OLDS
This is our youngest age group and a great time to start your child on their Jiu Jitsu journey. The curriculum in this program is centered around exercises and games that will introduce our youngest students to the basic movements and core values of Jiu Jitsu.
Currently our program accepts students as young as 3 and a half. With this update, we will revert back to 4 being our youngest age. Existing 3 year olds will of course have a place in this new age group! As most four and five year olds have yet to start kindergarten we feel this will be an appropriate pre-school group. These classes will be Monday - Thursday from 4:15-4:45. Students may stay on their current set of days.
PROGRAM GOALS:
- Improve behavior and ability to follow instructions
- Improve ability to focus in a group setting
- Build confidence and communication skills
- Develop and improve body coordination and balance
- Introduce basic Jiu Jitsu positions and techniques
PROGRAM RANKS:
- White Belt
- Grey-White Belt
- Grey Belt
Q: My five year old’s class is currently 45 minutes. Will they move down to 30 minutes?
A: Yes. We feel that most five year olds benefit from a tighter, shorter training session. This will ensure that their time is spent as efficiently as possible during class while keeping the pace quick and fun, and leave them excited to return!
Q: Will my five year old still be able to spar?
A: Yes. These classes will run like a combination of our current 3-4 year old and 5-7 year old classes. The class sizes will be smaller thus allowing students to get more one-on-one time with coaches, but they will still work with students. This includes drilling and sparring.
Q: When will my child move to the next age group?
A: Once your child turns 6 years old, you can ask the coaches if the student is ready for the next age group. The coach will either transition them to the next age group or decide to keep them in the 4-5 program for a little longer to continue the work they have been doing.
6-8 YEAR OLDS
The youth 6-8 program will build on all of the goals of the 4-5 age group and also begin to incorporate a more diverse set of Jiu Jitsu techniques and skills.
This age group will be the core of our youth program. Students in this age range will have a familiar class structure while being surrounded by more appropriately aged teammates. These classes will be on Monday - Thursday from 4:45-5:30. Students may stay on their current set of days or train any day with an unlimited membership.
PROGRAM GOALS:
- Instill self-discipline and personal responsibility
- Develop physical awareness and coordination
- Build strength, speed, and balance with specific exercises
- Increased situational and positional sparring
- Use goal setting as a method for self improvement
WE WILL CONTINUE TO REINFORCE:
- Good behavior and ability to follow instructions
- Ability to focus in a group setting
- Basic Jiu Jitsu positions and techniques
- Building confidence and communication skills
PROGRAM RANKS:
- White Belt
- Grey-White Belt
- Grey Belt
- Grey-Black Belt
- Yellow Belt
Q: When will my child move to the next age group?
A: Once your child turns 9 years old, you can ask the coaches if the student is ready for the next age group. The coach will either transition them to the next age group or decide to keep them in the 6-8 Program for a little longer to continue the work they have been doing.
9-13 YEAR OLDS
This is the oldest age group in our youth program and is an important transitional phase as we prepare these students to enter into the adult program. It is our goal to equip them with the confidence and skill set they will need to excel and continue to grow with Jiu Jitsu into adulthood.
Currently we have one section of our 11-14 year old program. With this change, we will be adding a second section. This will group developmentally similar students together and help spread the students between class days. These classes will be on Monday - Thursday from 5:30-6:15. Since we will have a new section on Tuesdays and Thursdays, existing 9-10 year olds on Tuesdays and Thursdays will be able to fill this section, however we will allow 9-13 year olds on Mondays and Wednesdays to switch over to join this new set of days to enjoy a smaller class size. This will be on a first come, first serve basis. If we feel the rosters between the days are skewed, we may ask certain individuals to switch to the new Tuesday/Thursday section. Students may train any day with an unlimited membership.
PROGRAM GOALS:
- Establish a strong and technical foundation
- Develop sparring skills
- Encourage teamwork
- Develop self-control
- Use goal setting as a method for self improvement
WE WILL CONTINUE TO REINFORCE:
- Good behavior and ability to follow instructions
- Ability to focus in a group setting
- Basic Jiu Jitsu positions and techniques
- Building confidence and communication skills
PROGRAM RANKS:
- White Belt
- Grey-White Belt
- Grey Belt
- Grey-Black Belt
- Yellow Belt
- Yellow-Black Belt
- Orange Belt
- Orange-Black Belt
- Green Belt
Q: Where do 14 year olds go?
A: We will allow 14 year olds to make a decision as to whether they’d like to stay in the 9-13 year old class for up to one more year or move into our adult program. A coach will give advice as to what would be the best choice based on their skill/size.
YOUTH PROMOTIONS
As many of you may have noticed, the pace of promotions in our youth program has changed. We have slightly adjusted our stripe numbers to not only provide a more custom tailored progression for each age group, but to also allow us to focus more on taking the students technical efficacy into consideration when presenting stripes. This way we have a happy medium between technical improvement and consistency of attendance.
We'd like to provide a little insight into our new striping system. Each age group's white belt will be slightly different based on the suggestion of the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (IBJJF). Below are the timelines for the progression from white belt to the grey-white belt for each age group:
4-5: ~12 months
6-8: ~9 months
9-13: ~6 months
These numbers are a guide and can be affected by consistency of attendance, skill level, competition experience, and student needs.
All other belts will take a year to progress through as is the standard in our current system.
With this change, stripes will be awarded at a different, custom pace for each age group. 4-5 year olds will receive 8 stripes on their white belt (4 white and 4 red). This increased stripe number will help keep younger students motivated with more frequent rewards. With this change of pace, we will also be retiring the white-black belt. All other belts will receive 4 stripes prior to being considered for promotion to the next belt.
MINDSET
We want to encourage our students and parents to focus less on trying to track/expect their stripes and focus more on increasing their level to earn their new belt. Stripes will come in time and are a great way to show your consistency and hard work, but our goal is to get better at the sport we love!
EVENING ADULT PROGRAM ADDITIONS
We are excited to announce a new update to our evening adult program!
Monday - Thursday will each have two adult classes in the evening, one gi and one nogi. This means you can train your preferred style every evening or mix and match! We will also have a new addition to our Friday evening schedule in the form of a gi & nogi competition class! This will have a similar format to our current ecological task based classes. Finally, our wrestling class on Sunday will be taking a hiatus for the winter (this hiatus will start 11/24).
Let's take a closer look at this new evening schedule:
MONDAY & WEDNESDAY
6:15-7:15 - nogi
7:15-8:15 - gi
TUESDAY & THURSDAY
6:15-7:15 - gi
7:15-8:15 - nogi
FRIDAY
6:15-7:30 - women's gi
7:30-8:30 - competition gi & nogi
Q: The classes are an hour now, does that mean less rolling?
A: No. We decided to make the classes an hour to give our students a more efficient and streamlined class. Classes will be 30 minutes of drilling and 30 minutes of rolling. We don't want students to burn out in a longer class and be unable to train the next day. The last class of the day on Monday - Thursday will also have an open training period afterwards.
Q: How do I know which class would be best for me?
A: This comes down to your schedule and drive to improve. Mat time is king and the more you can train the better you get. As always we will have our curriculum available in the lounge so you can see where you may want to put your focus, or you can ask a coach for guidance.
Q: Will these evening class changes affect the morning classes?
A: No. The morning classes will be unaffected by the evening class changes.
IN CLOSING
We wanted to take a moment to say thank you! Thank you for nearly a full decade of support! We are so proud of the community and team we have built. We are very excited to implement these updates at the start of the new year and have even more updates in the pipeline we will discuss soon.
As we move into our tenth year in operation we are sure we will say many more thank you's, but please know how important this is, and you are, to us.
Please let us know if you have any questions on any of the information in this newsletter. We are always happy and ready to answer your questions. We can't wait to jump into the new year with all of you!
THE MILLER BROTHERS