Coach Sammie named 2025 Coach Of The Year at the Inaugural Sport for Good Chicago Honors!

The Sport for Good Chicago Coalition presented Samantha Barrientos (Beat the
Streets - Chicago) with the Coach of the Year Award at its inaugural Honors celebration, held November 5,
2025, at The Ramova Theatre at 3520 S. Halsted in Chicago. Sport for Good Chicago is an initiative of
Laureus USA.

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This award recognizes excellence and leadership in sports-based youth development (SBYD) in Chicago.
Honorees were chosen from hundreds of nominations submitted by youth advocates across the City.
The Coach of the Year Award recognizes an individual youth sport coach who goes above and beyond to
create a positive, inclusive, and empowering environment for their athletes. This coach is someone who not
only develops players’ skills but also supports their personal growth and well-being—both on and off the field.
Samantha stood out to the selection committee for her profound impact on young girls, not only improving their
wrestling skills but also strengthening their confidence, mental health, and overall well-being. As head coach of
Illinois’ largest women’s wrestling club with over 450 girls, Coach Sammie uses the sport as a vehicle for
opportunity and self-improvement, meeting every girl where she is, whether a first-time wrestler or a national
contender. She founded initiatives like the BTSC Girls College Combine and the Big Sister Practice to connect
wrestlers with college coaches and mentors, building community and growth beyond competition. While results
aren’t her focus, Coach Sammie’s leadership led our women’s national team to a 2025 BTS National
Championship in Philadelphia this past Summer. Her excellence has earned national recognition, including a
WIN Magazine feature and selection to coach both Team Illinois and the U17 Team USA at the Pan-American
Championships in Brazil.

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Sports-based youth development (SBYD) uses sport intentionally to elevate youth potential, strengthen
communities, and advance equity. In contrast to elite and pay-to-play sports models that pursue athletic

achievement or professional gain, SBYD centers holistic youth development, leveraging positive sport
experiences to promote life skills attainment, mental health, equity, education, employability, inclusivity and
violence prevention.

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When used intentionally, sport can provide huge benefits to youth and communities:
● Sport participation promotes physical and mental health
● Sport teaches young people important life skills and builds their social emotional competencies Sport
offers young people a coach that acts as a caring-adult mentor and role model
● Sport provides young people an opportunity to heal and grow following traumatic experiences or
circumstances
● Sport bridges divides and cultures through a common language and experience
● Sport reaches young people that feel uncomfortable in schools and other supportive institutions
The Sport for Good Chicago Honors grew out of the Coalition’s commitment to SBYD and a multi-year plan
to amplify the impactful work of sports organizations focused on positive youth development practices. The
awards event was conceived in a Coalition working group and created by a team including Loree Washington
(The ACE Project), David Flynn (Center for Healing and Justice Through Sport), Meghan Morgan (Girls in the
Game), and Grace Curtin (Laureus USA).
Lorée Washington (The ACE Project), current Coalition Leadership Council member and co-chair of the
Awareness and Understanding Working Group that championed the Honors event said, “As a Coalition, we are
so thrilled to be able to recognize the phenomenal work supporting youth throughout Chicago. This event is an
opportunity to celebrate not only the incredible awardees, but the coaches, practitioners, elected officials, and
donors across Chicago that share our vision. When we work together, it becomes possible for every child to be
part of a team, every coach to be trained in sports-skill and life-skill development, every park to be a safe
haven, and every sports program to have the resources to thrive.”

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