High School student-athletes throughout the city have been training hard all season in preparation for the postseason. Many have put in countless hours throughout the year with their coaches and that time has resulted in new levels of success for teams and individuals sponsored by Beat the Streets Philadelphia (BTSP). Although wins and losses are clearly not the priority of our staff and coaches, they are a by-product of the mentality that our coaches promote on a consistent basis. Each year since BTSP was founded our student-athletes have achieved more success against more established and historically successful schools and communities. In our first year of existence we had very few students that qualified for the regional tournament and this year alone 33 wrestlers from the Philadelphia Public League will be moving onto the regional tournament. This success on the mat runs parallel with the increase in graduation and college admittance rates of the students we sponsor and provides a small yet tangible indication of the collective progress that has been made.
The Philadelphia Inquirer recently had an article regarding this success and you can view that with this link. –
Philadelphia Inquirer Article on Postseason Success
Author: BTSPhilly
Tatyana Ortiz Becomes 1st Ever Female District XII Qualfier
Tatyana Ortiz, a freshman wrestler at Mariana Bracetti Academy, recently became the first ever female wrestler to qualify for the PIAA District XII tournament while competing against boys. It was no surprise to her coaches because she consistently has demonstrated the willingness to work extremely hard both on and off the mat. She has also recently joined our mentoring program and our staff along with her mentor are working hard to ensure she is able to transfer this approach into the classroom. We are extremely proud of Tatyana’s accomplishment and are excited to watch her realize her full potential both on and off the mat.
You can check out local coverage of her story through the following links:
Philadelphia Inquirer Artcile
Fox29 Good Day Video
My story- Safee
My name is Safee and wrestling has helped me be successful in all areas of life. Wrestling has helped me become a harder worker. Before I used to act up in class and not do my work. Because of wrestling I work hard and I have become a role model by completing all of my work. I started to pick up my grades and improve my behavior because I knew it was necessary for me to wrestle. For example, if I had a D or below then I am not allowed to wrestle. Wrestling has shown me the benefits of good grades because when you apply for high school they will look for students with good grades.
Beat The Streets Philadelphia helps my school, Belmont Charter School, by giving us wrestling gear. I like wrestling because it can take me far in life and can helps me gain a lot of friends. During the wrestling meets I like to see other people wrestle. Wrestling was not really my favorite sport until I tried harder in my training and in my matches, but then I started to love it. I am going to keep wrestling until I have to retire.
Thank you Beat The Streets Coaches and Teachers!
BTS Philadelphia Hosts Most Successful Annual Benefit to Date
On Thursday January 28th, Beat the Streets Philadelphia (BTSP) hosted its’ 5th Annual Benefit in the heart of New York City’s meatpacking district. Hundreds of supporters gathered at STK-Downtown to bid on items at our silent auction, participate in card games and to help raise meaningful support aimed at altering the life trajectory of young student-athletes in our programs.
Throughout the evening, BTSP donors bid on a number of highly-coveted sports memorabilia items and experiences that were generously provided by many of our donors. With close to 60 prizes won, attendees outbid each other throughout the evening in hopes of securing the items. The guests were also entertained with live music on the new rooftop lounge by Bryen O’Boyle adding to the overall excitement of the event. As a former wrestler and teacher, Bryen’s involvement plays a big role in making the event so enjoyable for our guests.
In addition to participation in the silent auction, guests also had an opportunity to compete in the poker tournament taking place on the third floor. This year, close to 175 guests competed in the 2016 BTSP Poker Tournament and many of the guests brought a ton of energy to the game. Our special guest, FOX Sports field reporter and former NFL defensive tackle Tony Siragusa, battled throughout the evening and ultimately came away with the grand prize which included an official Beat the Streets Championship Belt and a beautiful Breitling watch donated by Govberg Jewelers.
BTS Chairman Clinton Matter took time during the tournament to directly thank the guests for their support and to highlight some of the accomplishments achieved over the previous year and some of the individuals that have made those possible. Mr. Matter was clear in his message that every decision made by the BTSP leadership is intended to Alter the Life Trajectory of our participants and everything we do is made possible by the generous support of our donors.
Following his remarks, Mr. Matter introduced the aforementioned Tony Siragusa, who was gracious enough to again rally support for BTSP and our effort to use wrestling and mentoring to alter the life trajectory of our participants. He promoted several items included in our Silent Auction and helped raise meaningful support as a result of this effort.
This was our most successful Annual Benefit to date and we are thankful for everyone that supported the event in a variety of ways. The support of our donors has been nothing short of amazing and ultimately has a direct impact on all of the youth in our programs. Through the continued expansion of our mentoring center and access to the sport of wrestling throughout the Philadelphia region, Beat the Streets Philadelphia will continue to strive to fulfill our mission of “Altering the Life Trajectory” of youth in our programs.
About Beat the Streets
Beat the Streets Philly is a good group of people because they help you raise your grades. For example, if you got a low grade they will help you bring it up. Good grades are important to me because it shows how much effort I put into my work.
Also, Beat the Streets helps you get into a good school. My friend Keith got into one of the best high schools in Philadelphia, Central Philadelphia High School with the help of Beat the Streets. One day I’m going to be in one of the best high schools in Philadelphia.
The reason I got into wrestling is because my coach, Mr. McCabe told me to try out wrestling so I tried and I liked it. They pay for every thing like gear, shoes, and traveling. In my first year I was a good wrestler and the more I wrestled the better I got. I made it to state tournament because my coaches helped me get there. And this year I am going to try to get there again. A goal I have is winning a state championship. To get there I need to work hard everyday.
THANK YOU TO ALL MY COACHES AND TEACHERS
LOVE,
YASIRE BROOKS
The College Search
Since the summer, I have been applying to colleges. It has definitely been difficult trying to figure out; where I want to go, what I want to do, and how to do it. I was even a bit confused on how to search, apply, and even what to turn in. Beat the Streets has been there the entire way to guide me where I needed the most guidance. They showed me the Common Application which apply to different colleges. From the essays to the deadlines, my mentors were there.
When I was applying to Drexel University on early decision, I had been so unorganized. I was half heartedly on the case. Canaan Bethea helped me prepare for the SATs and even helped with my essay. Also, Chris Chambers pushed me to get the application done. He took me on a visit to see the University to meet with a counselor to discuss my application. I had been lagging and he pushed me again and again to get the application completed. Without those two and the team at BTS, I do not know where I would be in the college application process.
Now I have been accepted to three college and plan on having more acceptances before I finalize my decision.
I am proud of this and am very thankful for BTS!
BTSP Hosts Burroughs and Green Wrestling Clinic
On October 24th Beat The Streets Philadelphia wrestlers had the opportunity to learn from the best wrestlers in the world. Jordan Burroughs and James Green came to Philadelphia and performed an hour and a half wrestling clinic.
Burrough’s went in to detail about his favorite ways to set up and finish his double leg takedown. Three mats were laid down so Beat The streets wrestlers were able to drill while Burroughs and broke the details of his favorite scoring technique.
James Green progressed from where Burroughs left off, explaining how he gets to his double leg against opponents that try to tie slow him down by tying up.
After James Green, Richard Perry showed an inside reach single. Perry also explained how to transition to a second shot when the opponent defended the first attempt.
Burroughs, Green, and Perry are all world class wrestlers. Burroughs won the World’s this past September, while James Green took third. Richard Perry is one of the top ranked 86kg wrestlers in the nation. We are excited to give our wrestlers the opportunity to learn from some of the best wrestlers in the World. Close to one hundred Beat The Streets wrestlers from all over the city were there. Their coaches were also there helping the wrestlers learn the moves, and taking note of tips they could use in their practices.
The clinic concluded with an opportunity for the wrestlers to take pictures and get autographs from the Burroughs, Green, and Perry.
The experience was inspirational for all of the student-athletes in attendance and is sure to result in each of them setting goals they previously would not have considered both on and off the mat.
You can check out the video of our wrestlers, coaches and staff thanking all of the clinicians on the right hand side of this page.
Beat the Streets Philadelphia Partners with The Philadelphia School
Beat the Streets Philadelphia is excited to announce that we are launching a wrestling program at the Philadelphia School. This opportunity was made possible by a transformative gift from John and Gina Moore.
The program will offer free wrestling instruction, tutoring, and mentoring to middle school students in the South Philadelphia area. The program will be held at The Philadelphia School; however, we plan to attract wrestlers from all over South Philadelphia.
This program will allow us to engage with middle schoolers from the South Philadelphia and grays ferry community as we strive to change the life trajectory of underprivileged inner city youth. Partnerships have already been established the Chester Arthur School to recruit students from the community and additional recruitment will be made to ensure the program is accessible to a diverse group of participants from the community.
We look forward to continuing to growing wrestling in South Philadelphia. We are extremely optimistic about this expansion, and cannot wait to bring opportunity and positive energy to South Philadelphia middle school students.
Kareem Fuller- Adversity
In my young life I have struggled with becoming easily distracted with minor setbacks and disappointments. These minor disappointments help me with facing real obstacles to achieving my goals. I understand that everyone will suffer setbacks and periods of difficulty. Beat the Streets helped me accept adversity as a part of life and to be able to overcome it through hard work. Believe in yourself is a key point to my success and wrestling has helped me develop that. Surviving every hard practice and getting my grades up in school has shown me that I can succeed. Now I set goals for the future and always have a plan B in the event that things don’t go my way. Beat the Streets provides a mentor that helps me with guidance and support. And that helps me refuse to quit. And that’s how I view adversity.
BTSP Students Put in Time Year Round
BTS-Philly stresses the importance of training year-round in order to make gains while potential opponents are content to take time off. This concepts is one of many that are encouraged within the sport of wrestling, but also transcend the mat into life and academics. With that theme in mind the BTS-Philly mentoring center established The Summer Scholars program, comprised of the most committed student-athletes within the Mentoring Program with the goal of continuing to develop academic skills over the summer.
During this past summer we divided the Summer Scholars into two groups: Middle School students and High School students, each with its own specific goals.
The Middle School group consisted of 10 student-athletes who attended small group sessions in a classroom setting, with a very strong ratio of instructors to students. The class was taught by Mentoring Program Director, Chris Chambers, and included 4 experienced BTS-Philly mentors supporting the learning environment as teachers’ assistants. The primary goals of the class were to develop Math and Language Arts skills in order to best prepare students for the transition to high school. The Math component consisted of mainly Pre-Algebra and Algebra skills in accordance with the Keystone standards as well as PA Common Core. For the Language Arts component students read “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens”, which served a dual role. Students were able to practice comprehension and expressing themselves through writing and discussion in class, while the content of the book itself taught basic life skills that are conducive to happiness and successful lifestyles.
Each of the High School Summer Scholars participants received one-on-one tutoring from experienced BTS-Philly Mentors toward improving SAT scores, as many of them were approaching their senior year.
Each day the high school students received their tutoring while the middle school students participated in class simultaneously. Finally, the middle school and high school groups would come together at the end of each day for 30 minutes of nutrition taught by Joe Stanzione, Asst Coach for Drexel University Wrestling and studying to complete his Master’s degree in nutrition.
BTS- Philly recognizes the commitment that the wrestlers have made to the program and more importantly themselves. These individuals have shown great improvement in academics and wrestling. The sacrifices that have been made by the wrestlers to better themselves was rewarded with an end of the beach trip. The talent, commitment, and determination that has been displayed year- round is special and BTS- Philly is proud of everyone who participated. Many of the students that participated in this program have already realized the benefits with strong starts in the classroom and in preparation on the mat for the upcoming season.