Posts by Cathy Yen
J’Den Cox to Headline Coaches Convention
J’Den Cox, 3x World Medalist and current world #1 ranked 92kg men’s freestyle wrestler, will lead clinics at the October 25-26 Beat the Streets Chicago – Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association (IWCOA) Coaches Convention at the Holiday Inn in Countryside, Illinois.
This second event aimed at high school and youth wrestling officials and coaching staffs will offer clinics, breakout sessions, meetings with officials, a vendor fair and a Friday night social.
Tony Clarke, Bill Honeycutt and Nate Kesson will lead the presentations for and with officials. Head coaches attending Tony Clarke’s Rules Interpretation Meeting will get credit in their IHSA schools center. Tony Clarke is IHSA Head Wrestling Clinician and NFHS rules committee member.
Presenters at the sessions geared towards coaches include: Bryan Medlin, Jeremy Hunter, Mike Powell, Mark Ellis and Dave Mirikitani. Once finalized, the days’ itinerary will be posted on the Beat the Streets Chicago website.
Cost to attend is $125, or $300 for a coaching staff (same school). Cost includes both Friday and Saturday sessions, dinner / social on Friday night and breakfast and lunch on Saturday. Registration begins at 3pm on Friday. The event concludes at 3pm on Saturday.
Register now on the IWCOA website [click here].
Those interested in staying at the Holiday Inn Friday night can take advantage of a special early-bird rate. Mention IWCOA & Beat the Streets Chicago Convention when making reservations. The hotel is located at 6201 Joliet Road in Countryside. Phone: 708.354.4200.
Questions about the convention should be directed to Mike Powell, Executive Director of Beat the Streets Chicago.
[Click here] to read Mike’s blog post from last year regarding the inaugural Coaches Convention.
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Grant Will Fund Impact Measurement
Beat the Streets Chicago received a “Collective Impact Grant” from the Foglia Family Foundation in partnership with UpMetrics, Inc. to measure the organization’s power create positive impact during the 2019-20 program year. We are one of eleven organizations to benefit from the grant this year.
Measuring impact in order to improve programming, gauge progress and leverage success is a challenge for any nonprofit. It is especially difficult in a sports-based youth development organization like Beat the Streets Chicago, which focuses on building up then “whole student” rather than athletic achievement. Coaches and staff at Beat the Streets Chicago will work with UpMetrics, a provider of impact measurement tools and analytics, to create a set of metrics appropriate for our programs and participants. We are delighted to work with the experts at UpMetrics to determine which social emotional learning and other metrics will best tell the Beat the Streets Chicago story.
The grant also covers license fees for UpActive, a roster and activity management software and mobile app created by UpMetrics. With UpActive, coaches can take attendance, contact families and post training videos for their athletes. UpActive does away with the old paper-and-clipboard attendance taking, allowing us to better track – and therefore engage with – our student athletes.
In addition to creating a customized solution for Beat the Streets Chicago, the year-long process provides networking opportunities and shared learning between the eleven organizations in this year’s cohort. Most of the eleven are similarly engaged with youth sports in the Chicago area.
At the end of the year, UpMetrics will use its data visualization aggregation tool to create a two-page report for Beat the Streets Chicago that shows our organization’s performance relative to specific metrics and benchmarks.
Email Cathy if you are interested in providing input to this project.
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City Winery Selected for 2020 Gala
Save the date! Beat the Streets Chicago will hold its third annual gala on Saturday, June 6, 2020.
This year, we’re moving the festivities to City Winery at 1200 West Randolph in Chicago’s Fulton Market district. Expect the same energizing combination of friends, food, cocktails and program all coming together to support Chicago’s youth.
Beat the Streets Chicago is a nonprofit that empowers Chicago youth through wrestling. With a belief that all children have the potential to be life champions, we provide the opportunity to build that potential in quality wrestling programs driven by positive coaching, supportive relationships and meaningful enrichment. Opportunity requires resources and our annual June gala is our biggest fundraising event of the year.
Put it on your calendar – we hope you’ll join us.
Watch for more information at btschicago.org/gala
We sent our Director of Operations and her husband down to City Winery to check it out. They approve!!
Fall Registration Now Open
Registration is now open for Beat the Streets Chicago’s Fall Season of wrestling.
Fall season is open to third through twelfth graders of all levels. At Beat the Streets Chicago’s nine training centers located throughout the City of Chicago, we welcome beginners all the way through high school students, girls and boys.
High school wrestlers can get a jump on the winter IHSA season at their schools with quality training, positive coaching and opportunity for competition. Youth wrestlers new to the sport will learn fundamentals while more experienced young wrestlers will build on their skills in an atmosphere of dedication, hard work and fun. Fall Wrestling Season is typically a prelude to the winter season, when teams are formed and opportunities for clinics and competition fill up most weekends. The Fall Season is a great time to get back into the sport, stay fit and be ready for winter – and get ahead of those waiting for November to get on the mat!
Practices start the week of September 9 and run through November 1. During the eight-week season, Beat the Streets Chicago will host two weekend “Informals,” our signature half-day combination of technique clinic, friendly competition and enrichment activities. Informals are always free to Beat the Streets participants. Dedicated wrestlers will have the opportunity to travel to one or more regional weekend tournaments.
Wrestlers should register for any one of our eight Training Center Sites. Note age restrictions at certain locations. All locations are co-ed. Wrestlers interested in training at multiple sites need sign up for only one Training Center.
- Bowen High School, Head Coach Ron Wilson – 5th – 12th grade; 5:30pm – 7pm, Tuesday & Thursday
- Chicago Hope Academy, Head Coach Dan Willis – 5th – 12th grade; 5pm – 7pm, Monday & Wednesday
- Curie Metro High School, Head Coach Marcos Rico – 5th – 12th grade, 6pm – 8pm, Monday & Wednesday
- De La Salle Institute, Head Coach Ben Sanchez – 5th – 12th grade, 6pm – 8pm, Tuesday & Thursday
- Frazier International, Head Coach Nate Fowler – 3rd – 8th grade, 4:30pm – 6pm, Tuesday & Thursday
- Ogden Park Park District, Head Coach Tevin O’Neil – 3rd – 12th grade, 4pm – 5:30 AND 8pm-9pm, Tuesday & Thursday
- Sarah Goode High School, Head Coach Jared Presley – 5th – 12th grade, 5pm – 7pm, Tuesday & Thursday
- Solorio Academy, Head Coach Alexander Peacock – 3rd – 8th grade, 4pm – 5:30pm Tuesday & Thursday
Cost for the Fall Season is $25, which includes a USA Wrestling membership card and workout gear. To register, visit the Beat the Streets Chicago website btschicago.org/programs
New wrestlers will be required to show proof of age with a copy of his/her birth certificate. Direct questions to Program Director Sonny Simonetti ssimonetti@btschicago.org or leave a message at 312.767.5673.
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Americorps – Up2Us Coaches Join Beat the Streets Chicago Team
We’re proud to announce that Beat the Streets Chicago received grants funding two Americorps – Up2Us coaches for the 2019-20 year. Chris Hinton, who coached for Beat the Streets Chicago last year, received one of the two coveted spots, allowing him to take his coaching to a new level while he completes his degree at DePaul. Jamie Berg joins our team from the East Coast, where he wrestled at Beat the Streets New York and will be wrestling for University of Chicago after his gap year. We are delighted to have both young men double-down on their commitment to wrestling, Chicago youth and Beat the Streets Chicago.
Both coaches started their year of service August 1, working with Program Director Sonny Simonetti to prepare curriculum prior to the start of Fall Pre-Season Wrestling. Once the season is underway, each Americorps – Up2Us coach will be assigned to one of our program sites and will work hand-in-hand with the head coach at that site.
Americorps is a US Government-funded program often called our “domestic Peace Corps.” Volunteers receive a small stipend for committing to service work in areas of need throughout the US. The coaching program within Americorps is administered locally by Up2Us, a national nonprofit focused on supporting coaches. Americorps – Up2Us coaches receive training and coaching certifications as well as ongoing professional development throughout the service year. Specific training in sports-based youth development, relationship-building, creating a positive culture and trauma-informed coaching strategies comprise the Up2Us curriculum.
Beat the Streets Chicago is thrilled to be part of the Americorps – Up2Us coaching program and very glad that Chris and Jamie are able to benefit from the program while working within the framework of BTSC. Our acceptance into the program as an organization is further recognition of the important work we are doing in Chicago’s under-resourced neighborhoods as well as our ability to have recognizable positive impact. This affiliation with Americorps – Up2Us is a true win-win situation that will benefit all of us – but most especially the youth we serve here at Beat the Streets Chicago.
We hope you get to meet Chris and Jamie throughout the year. In the meantime, here’s a little about each in his own words:
Chris Hinton ~
“Hello my name is Christopher Hinton and I am 23 years old and going into my junior year of college. I started wrestling as a freshman in high school and quickly fell in love with the sport. Since then, wrestling has been a huge part of my life from my days of competing to now coaching youth and high school wrestling. Coaching for Beat the Streets Chicago is very rewarding for me because I am able to give back to the community that I grew up in and also to the sport that has given me so much. I’m very excited to be working with Americorps and Up2Us this year and looking forward to the continued growth as a coach and young man.”
Jamie Berg ~
“My name is Jamie Berg, and I am a gap year student who will be attending and wrestling at The University of Chicago next year. I grew up in New York City, where I’ve wrestled with Beat the Streets NY for years. I started wrestling in middle school, but fell in love as a sophomore in high school when I began to experience the vastness and diversity of the wrestling community through Beat the Streets and my wrestling club. Wrestling was a tremendously impactful part of my high school experience, and I can barely wait to start wrestling in college. I owe a huge amount of my high school wrestling success, as well as my development as a student and a member of my community, to Beat the Streets coaches and athletes. I decided to participate in Beat the Streets Chicago as a coach because I believe in the organization and its ability to create a lasting impact on individuals and communities. I want to help give other students the opportunities that I had to learn and grow from wrestling.”
Welcome Chris and Jamie!
#ittakesacity #wrestlingcoach #btschicago
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LemonAid 9-11 Selects Beat the Streets for 2019 Grant
The River Forest residents behind the community charity powerhouse “Lemon Aid” selected Beat the Streets Chicago as one of this year’s two grant recipients for their 18th annual September 11 charity event. Beat the Streets Chicago will share the stage with Oak Park-based Hephzibah Children’s Association.
The event is held on September 11 along the 700 Block of Bonnie Brae Place in River Forest between Oak Street and Chicago Avenue from 3pm – 7pm. Beat the Streets Chicago, Hephzibah and the LemonAid team will be on hand with information and activities while community supporters provide snacks and, of course, lemonade. Donors are encouraged to experience the “community block party” that afternoon or enjoy the convenience of the “drive-thru” donation booths on either end of the block. Donors can also make online contributions through the Beat the Streets Chicago website.
“Beat the Streets Chicago is thrilled to be recognized by this inspirational group,” said Executive Director Mike Powell. “We are extremely grateful for this opportunity to raise much-needed funds for the youth we serve in Chicago.”
Funds generated for Beat the Streets Chicago through LemonAid will allow us to purchase our first passenger van to safely transport the young wrestlers to practices and events. In some neighborhoods, a few blocks feels like a world away as violence prevents youth from getting to an after-school sports activity. A van helps meet that daily challenge while making existing programs accessible to children in other neighborhoods as well. Transportation also allows Beat the Streets Chicago to broaden perspectives as children travel both within the City and beyond to participate in wrestling clinics, camps and tournaments on weekends and during school breaks.
This year’s event chairs are River Forest students and Bonnie Brae residents Jake Birmingham and Angie Strand. They brought the LemonAid team to a recent wrestling practice to announce the selection of Beat the Streets Chicago as one of this year’s recipients.
LemonAid was established in 2002 in memory of the September 11th attacks. The neighbors on 700 Bonnie Brae in River Forest felt called to remember this day by doing something positive in the community. It was decided to hold a lemonade stand with proceeds going to a local charity benefiting children. More than eighty Bonnie Brae residents, mostly kids, participate one way or another to the organization and success of LemonAid. The first year, LemonAid raised $400 for Hephzibah Children’s Association. Last year over $34,000 was raised for A House in Austin and New Moms! KidzExpress, also in Austin, was the beneficiary the prior year.
Residents nominate local organizations to be considered and a vote is taken. A representative from the beneficiary organization(s) gives a presentation to the children to explain their program and how the money will be used. Over the years several teens on the block have stepped up to chair the event. Their role is to communicate information to the rest of the block, oversee the voting process, hold organizational meetings, and contact the media. LemonAid has become a remarkable local tradition that provides an opportunity to remember a tragic event with a positive one. The families of Bonnie Brae have grown by reaching out to the community who in turn have provided tremendous support over the years.In 2011, the Village of River Forest recognized the efforts on 700 Bonnie Brae by designating the street LemonAid Place.
Learn more about LemonAid on their website www.9-11lemonaid.com or check out LemonAid on YouTube:
Photo History: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly8wpH0hAXM
10th Anniversary Ceremony Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0Sb0urgNUc
10th Anniversary Ceremony Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT2t36MRJlY
#lemonaidpride #ittakesacity #nonprofitlife
Kaila Earns All-American at Fargo!
Congratulations to our own Kaila Del Toro from Taft High School who finished 6th in the Womens Freestyle 16U division, #117 at the 2019 USMC Cadet and Junior Nationals Tournament in Fargo, North Dakota. Kaila is the first female wrestler to achieve All-American status for Beat the Streets Chicago!
This season, an unprecedented twelve BTSC wrestlers qualified for the prestigious Fargo tournament. Ten attended, representing us well as members of Team Illinois: Matt Ridley, Gio Armira, Alex Armira, Andre, Giurini, Julian Valtierrez, Natalie Cortes, Aaliyah Vargas, Hana Richter, Isabeau Shalack, and Kaila Del Toro.
Notably, our girls made their mark, with five of the thirty girls on Team Illinois hailing from Beat the Streets Chicago Clubs.
Congratulations to all our competitors and THANK YOU to our families, coaches and donors who make this success possible. #ittakesacity
Making a Statement at Midwest Nationals
Beat the Streets Chicago youth wrestlers showed up in force at the 2019 Midwest Nationals Tournament on July 13 at Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington-Normal.
Our young men dominated the 11th and 12th Boys division, taking first place by a comfortable margin over the second-place team. Beat the Streets also took first as a team in the College / Open Men’s Division, with some help from our college interns!
Special shout out to our wrestlers from Ogden Park who made the trip downstate. These fierce competitors and terrific young men worked hard all year. They deserve the champion belt!
Lane Tech Announces Summer Camps
Summer wrestling camps will be held at Lane Tech next week – spots still open.
Who: Any student in grades 3-12 interested in learning the sport of wrestling.
Campers will learn basic fundamentals of wrestling, including high-percentage takedowns, escapes and pinning combinations, and effective match strategy. Grow your skill set and learn to compete with any wrestler! Prior experience not required. Camp will feature Lane Tech coaches and guest clinicians.
When: Monday-Friday, June 24-28
8-9:45 am for grades 3-8
10 am-noon for all current and incoming high schoolers
Where: Lane Tech High School, 2501 W. Addison St., Chicago IL 60618
Gym 3 (third floor, southeast corner of the building facing the parking lot)
Cost: $60 payable on first day of camp. Please make checks payable to Lane Tech
Wrestling. Also payable in advance through Chase QuickPay at lanewrestling2501@gmail.com
To register: Fill out the form at https://bit.ly/2E6PAcO
Contact Coach Matt Yan at mjyan1@cps.edu with questions.
