Program overview:

HYPE Athletics Community offers Life Skills Training, a 10-week course focusing on personal self-management skills, general social skills and drug resistance skills. This program is available in-school and after-school to youth 8-18 years of age. This early prevention/diversion program is designed to instill a sense of hope and convey the belief that change is possible while empowering youth to organize their life to achieve their goals. Certified Life Skills facilitators meet with youth for 45 minutes to an hour weekly. Pre- and post- test assessment, attendance and involvement are completed on all program participants.

“The Life Skills Training program has received awards for prevention excellence from the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association and the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”

TOPICS:

Self Esteem:

Students learn what self-esteem is and how it is developed. Students are made aware that we all can do some things well and not to take ourselves for granted.

Decision-Making:

Young people are notorious for making poor choices. Many are impulsive and rarely think about the consequences of their actions. Students are taught a simple step-by-step process for making decisions. Then they practice making decisions using the model taught in class.

Smoking Information:

Students learn the many health risks associated with tobacco use. As a class, they weigh the pros and cons of smoking.

Advertising:

Class focuses on how tobacco advertisers manipulate advertisements to try and entice people to smoke. Students develop a “counter-advertisement” to reveal the truth about tobacco.

Stress:

Students learn to recognize stress and practice techniques to deal with stress.

Communication:

Students learn how feelings are communicated. We focus on verbal and non-verbal communication.

Social Skills:

Students learn ways of building and maintaining friendships.

Assertiveness:

Students learn how to stand up for themselves calmly and firmly. We use an interactive approach and practice using refusal skills.

Bullying:

Class focuses on how to speak and act to a bully, what to do and where to go if bullying continues, and the importance of standing up for others.

Anger:

Students focus on where anger comes from, the power of anger, when anger is good, how to defuse anger and manage stress, and turning anger into forgiveness.

Empathy:

Students will learn why empathy is important in social relationships, and how to think outside the box and put themselves in someone else’s shoes.

Strengths of the Life Skills

Training Program:

  • Based the Botvin model, a comprehensive approach to teaching social skills.
  • Emphasizes proven skills training methods
  • Documented effectiveness through extensive evaluation; over 20 years of research!
  • Interactive approach rather than pure lecture
  • Provides adolescents and young teens with the confidence and skills necessary to successfully handle challenging situations.

Statistics:

  • Reduces tobacco, alcohol and marijuana use by up to 75%.
  • Effects last up to 6 years.
  • Effective with White, African-American and Hispanic youth.
  • Cuts polydrug use by up to 66%.