Author: BTSPhilly

Martin Luther King High School, 11th Grader

Accountability is a word that describes and drives my life. I am accountable for many things such as, being a captain of the wrestling team, a leader in my school and an older brother. It’s my job to make sure everything is running smooth and correct within my household and my team. Example of this would be making sure my little brother is up and ready for school, food is prepared and the house is clean. Above all, it’s my job to make sure all of these things are completed correctly because my parents count on me everyday to do these things.
My parents are not the only ones that count on me. My wrestling coaches rely on me to help them run the team. As a captain of an athletic team I need to make sure everyone is going to practice and working their hardest. Some people think being accountable for something is doing more work, but to me I see it differently. In fact, it’s an honor to me because it means my coaches and family trust me enough to rely on me to complete the task and do it well. It shows me that people are willing to trust me to do important things. From this, I believe I can always trust myself to do anything when I put my mind to it.
Being an accountable person has helped my life out in many ways. If anyone asks me to do a task such as, baby sitting or being a captain on a team. I know I can do it because they believe in me. People should not think being accountable for something is more work but an honor that they trust you to do it.

We are finally here!!! This weekend on May 16^th and 17^th Beat The Streets Philadelphia (BTS) will be wrestling at Chambersburg High School for the Pennsylvania Freestyle and Greco-Roman State Championship. BTS Philly will bring thirty-eight members who we believe will have success at this tournament. In order to qualify for States the individual must have placed in two of the three tournaments that BTS Philly attended.
The first qualifying tournament took place at Neshaminy High school in Bucks County. At this tournament we had a total of sixty-six wrestlers associated with BTS Philly and thirty-four of them placed. The Second Tournament we competed in was at Saucon Valley in Lehigh Valley with a total of thirty-two place winners. The Final qualifying tournament was at Muhlenberg College in Lehigh Valley with a total of twenty-two place winners.
Beat The Streets Philadelphia is getting as much competition and practice for the kids to ultimately help benefit their wrestling season. This weekend at the big tournament we should see great results with all the hard work the kids and coaches are putting in. Good luck to all Beat The Streets Philadelphia wrestlers this weekend!!!

As the 2014-15 regular wrestling season came to an end, The BTS-Philly Middle School Travel Team attended their final event at Paulsboro High School. The MS Travel Team consists mostly of student-athletes who participate in BTS-Philly’s Mentoring Program, along with other participants from across our various BTS-Philly sponsored wrestling programs who have demonstrated the highest level of commitment and consistency throughout the year. The Travel Team was assembled to participate in additional competitions outside of Philadelphia in order to reward those who have been selected for their hard work and expose these student-athletes to a higher level of competition. Each year the Travel Team competes in 4-5 events outside of their respective teams regular schedules, some of which have included prestigious events such as the VAC National Duals in Virginia and the Wildwood Duals. During the 2014-15 season, BTS-Philly’s Travel Team competed in the Malvern Duals, The North Penn Duals, The ICWL Duals, and the Paulsboro Duals.
We believe that the Travel Team is a very important aspect of developing the sport of wrestling in Philadelphia overall. We focus on selecting the hardest workers for this team rather than the best wrestlers, though it is no surprise that often times the wrestlers who work the hardest are the ones have the most success, just as in school and in life. Furthermore, we are looking for student-athletes that are willing to put extra time not only to developing skills on the mat but those who are willing to go the extra mile academically, which is why preference for positions on the Travel Team goes to student athletes who participate in the BTS-Philly Mentoring Program. By rewarding the individuals who work hard both on and off the mat and taking this group to highly competitive events, the goal is to develop these individuals into leaders of their respective programs and build BTS-Philly’s wrestling culture to model these dedicated student-athletes.
Though this team has taken their lumps through the years, we have observed a steady improvement at each and every event they attend – a testament to their hard work and dedication and the overall progress of each BTS-Philly program. This years’ season culminated with a third place finish at the Paulsboro Duals last weekend, where our student-athletes were finally rewarded with some hardware to take home!