News

The second edition of Beat The Streets Life Champions Academy is set to begin Sunday, September 17th. But how does this program benefit our athletes and exactly does it offer?

As part of our “buy into us, & we will buy into you” mentality as well as our cause to build Life Champions, the Life Champions Academy is an exclusive program for wrestlers in grades 7-12. 

This academy is meant to help our athletes hold themselves accountable and maintain a standard that allows them to achieve their goals. Essentially, this program is another opportunity to gain necessary skills for character development & to receive mentorship from community leaders & high level clinicians. 

This past season, Life Champions Academy provided workshops on financial literacy, time management, mindfulness, & more. Featured clinicians included Joe Colon, Stevan Micic, Ryan Mango, & more. The academy concluded by attending a Cubs Game at Wrigley Field. 

More benefits?

• Academy gear 
• Field trips 
• Exclusive wrestling training 
• Waived tournament fees
• Priority access to tournaments & trips 
• $250 Fargo Stipend 
• Celebration outing in June

More details:

• Meets once a month, typically on Sundays from 9am-2pm during the months of September-June 
• Application required, must include two references 
• Completely free

To see full schedule and to apply click here

Application Period Closes at 7pm on August 18th

Below is a video summarizing last season’s LCA

Running simultaneously with the Summer wrestling camp , Enrichment Coordinator Leila Cleofe led a four-week Enrichment camp providing wrestlers ages 9-14 with an opportunity to hone in on academic skills ahead of the school year.

This camp emphasized learning in a fun setting through activities, games, outings and classroom instruction to ensure that our wrestlers are ready to jump right back in when school resumes in the fall. 

The picture above features two of our campers connecting with nature right here in the City via an outing hosted by Friends of the Chicago River. 

After qualifying 21 wrestlers for Team Illinois, Beat The Streets Chicago makes a mark on the Junior & 16u Freestyle & Greco-Roman Nationals in Fargo, ND.

Following the women’s showing at Fargo the week prior, it was the men’s turn to represent both Beat The Streets Chicago & Team Illinois on Fargo’s big stage. Regarded as the toughest tournament of the year, a podium-earning performance at Fargo almost guarantees college recruitment.

The competition level was a great measuring stick for our athletes as they gained experience competing against the best high school wrestlers in the country. 

Beat The Streets Chicago had two stand-out performers in Caleb Noble and Daniel Goodwin 

Noble dominated in his path to the 16u 100 lb Greco-Roman title. Noble did not concede a single point in any of his matches & won five matches via technical fall. Noble also finished as the national runner up in the 16u 100 lb Freestyle bracket, making him an All-American in both styles. 

Goodwin earned All-American status by placing 8th in the 16u 94 lb Greco-Roman. With his performance, Goodwin is now a two-time Fargo All-American. 

Other notable performances include Max Rosen, who earned 10 wins and finished two matches shy of All-American status in both styles. Likewise, Fernando Lopez performed well in his Greco-Roman bracket, also finishing two matches shy of a podium finish.

This concludes the summer season for Beat The Streets Chicago athletes. Practices will now be geared towards the upcoming IKWF and high school seasons!  

Full list of the men’s qualifiers can be found below:

Aedan Dillow, Daniel Goodwin, Caleb Noble, Max Rosen, Joseph Knackstedt, Gambino Perez, Inocencio Garcia, Sean Larkin, Edmund Enright, Sam Costello, Colin Bosak, Matthew Nguyen, Finn Merrill, Fernando Lopez, Devontae Givens, Roy Phelps Jr, Dimitri Dobre, Alexander Valentin, Eric Harris, Zen Koransky, & Jeremiah Hernandez. 

Following up with our initiative to employ more coaches for the upcoming seasons, Beat The Streets Chicago is placing a higher emphasis on hiring more female coaches to aid in mentoring our growing women’s program!

With 300+ women registered across all Beat The Streets Chicago locations, women make up 19% of our total roster. These women need positive role models who can help them achieve their goals on the mat, and more importantly, off the mat. 

This is a great way to give back to a community deserving of great mentors. 

This position comes with flexible hours with many different positions available. Compensation is based on the total number of hours committed.

Coaches positions are a year long commitment & range from:

Full time – 1700 hours 
3/4 time – 1200 hours 
1/2 time – 900 hours
1/4 time – 450 hours

*hours are based on a weekly average, a certain number of hours does not need to be hit each week*

Come help us make a difference in the lives of Chicago youth. 

Contact Patrick Martinez if interested, or if you know someone who might be interested at pmartinez@btschicago.org. 

Although Hannah Weigel is not new to the Beat The Streets Chicago Family, she has taken on a new role in the organization. Weigel came on staff at Beat The Streets Chicago under the title of Program Coordinator in 2021, but just recently got appointed Development Coordinator.

Since graduating from Depauw University, Weigel has worked extensively in nonprofit organizations. Prior to Beat The Streets Chicago, Weigel served as a volunteer manager for a child welfare nonprofit in Oak Park. 

Weigel is excited about her new role as Development Coordinator as it allows her to go back to her roots in fundraising. Her main responsibility is to spread the organization’s mission to donors. 

Impacting the lives of youth far beyond wrestling drew Weigel into this organization. She loves watching the youth develop and achieve their full potential. She placed on emphasis on the coach to athlete relationship, saying that its impact is hard to truly understand until seen first hand. 

Weigel’s hard work behind the scenes deserves to be recognized as she is an integral part of the day to day operations and to the future of Beat The Streets Chicago. 

The Beat The Streets Chicago women’s team left the 16u & Junior Freestyle Nationals with one champion and three girls one match away from All-American Status.  

13 wrestlers from the Beat The Streets Chicago women’s squad qualified for Team Illinois, earning their chance to compete & represent BTS Chicago at the 16u & Junior Nationals in Fargo, ND on July 15th-16th. 

Widely regarded as the toughest high school tournament in the nation, this event commonly referred to as “Fargo,” yielded impressive results and proved to be a great experience for members of our women’s team. 

After becoming the first woman to place in the boy’s bracket at the IHSA State Wrestling meet, Morgan Turner continued her dominance by going undefeated and claiming the 16u 94 lb title. Turner was one of two women from Team Illinois to bring home a title. 

Many others had breakthrough performances over the weekend as Monica Griffen, Mia Vazquez, & AJ Grant all found themselves in the bloodround, falling one match short of standing on the podium and earning All-American Status. Although they fell short of their goals, these athletes made great strides and acquired more confidence heading into the folkstyle season. 

Head Coach Samantha Barrientos was extremely proud of the way the wrestlers performed and acknowledged the improvements that many wrestlers displayed. Barrientos also emphasized the great sportsmanship and support shown by all the athletes. 

Every Beat the Streets Chicago wrestler walked on the mat with an army of teammates cheering them on mat-side, which Barrientos said was great to see. 

A complete list of the women who qualified to represent Team Illinois at Fargo can be found below:

AJ Grant, Anapaula Cerna-Rivera, Aviana Gonzalez, Danely Villagomez, Jannine Flores, Jocelyn Gutierrez, Kimani Glasper, Maggie Zuber, Mia Vazquez, Michelle Kioltyka, Monica Griffen, Morgan Turner, & Nyah Lovis

Photos of the event can be found below: 

Beat The Streets Chicago is honored to have Coach Ali, a multiple time National Champion in Greco-Roman Wrestling from Uzbekistan, helping out with practices.

A native of Uzbekistan, Coach Ali has an extensive background in Greco-Roman Wrestling. Over his career he acquired lots of titles at the highest levels of international competition.

Within the Uzbeck Greco-Roman Wrestling circuit he earned two national titles, two national runner-up finishes, & one third place finish while competing at 66 kg & 72 kg.

Coach Ali has been present at many of our Greco-Roman practices, his presence gives Beat The Streets Chicago athletes a unique look into the training of a high level foreign athlete. He offers wrestlers the opportunity to learn new technique as well as exposes them to a new culture. 

After interning at Beat The Streets Chicago last summer, Justin Hames recently became a full-time member of staff. As Marketing Coordinator, Hames is responsible for managing social media and creating content across all platforms. 

As the guy behind the camera, Hames’s favorite part of working for Beat The Streets Chicago is the opportunity to capture and share the stories of our athletes & coaches, as well as further spread the organization’s mission.

He is most looking forward to seeing the athletes progress through life, and watching them achieve the goals they set out to accomplish. 

A former collegiate wrestler for Elmhurst University, Hames also serves as a coach to the wrestlers. 

Ryan Cone joins our staff after spending time working for the Salvation Army, another organization dedicated towards youth development. As administrative Coordinator, Cone’s responsibilities include logistics, facilities management, registration, & much more. 

Cone became aware of Beat The Streets Chicago through a former coach. After learning more about the program, he knew this was a place he wanted to be. 

Although new to the team, Cone is far from new to wrestling and has been on the mat since the age of 5. A native of Wisconsin, Cone has extensive experience at the high school, collegiate, & senior levels. His accomplishments include:

• Wisconsin State Finalist, 2x State Place-winner 
• Fargo All-American
• Member of three high school State Champion teams
• 4x Wisconsin State Qualifier 
• NJCAA National Qualifier 
• 2x USA Wrestling Schoolboy Triple Crown Winner

Cone is most looking forward to seeing the growth of the wrestlers within our program. He feels gratitude in seeing the athletes overcome challenging backgrounds, and in watching them move forward with new perspectives. 

His favorite part of working for Beat The Streets Chicago is the team camaraderie among the staff. He is happy to be in a positive work environment filled with positive people. 

Cone’s presence has benefited daily workflow and improved efficiency at major events, Beat The Streets Chicago is fortunate to have him on board.