Dixon Announces Winter Break Schedule

From Mike Dixon, Director of Wrestling and Enrichment:

Happy Holidays to you and your family.  I wanted to provide an update to you for the upcoming weeks with Beat the Streets Chicago, specifically with Christmas Break on the horizon.

Week of December 14-20
This week we will continue to proceed as normal with our Wednesday workouts via Zoom at 6 pm. We will also have our regularly scheduled Saturday workout at 11 am.  We encourage everyone that is able to participate. 
 
While we don’t know what this season will have in store, I can tell you for sure that those that have a solid conditioning base will excel.  We want to make sure everyone is taking care of everything that they can control.  Conditioning is something in everyone’s control and we want to be the vehicle to help all BTS Chicago athletes become the best conditioned athletes in Illinois.
 
In addition our coaches will be reaching out to athletes for wellness checks.  If your athletes have not signed up for BTS Chicago for the 2020-21 season please encourage them to do so.  If you need help in verifying if athletes have signed up, please feel free to reach out to me at mdixon@btschicago.org.
 
 
Week of December 21-27
We will adjust our workout schedule this week as follows:
 
Tuesday, December 22- 11 am Zoom workout
 
Wednesday, December 23- 6 pm Zoom workout
 
Thursday, December 24- 11 am Zoom workout
 
Saturday, December 26- 11 am Zoom workout
 
Week of December 28- January 3
Our workouts this week will mimic the previous week.  Increasing the volume of our workouts is a critical strategy of ours to continue to provide some type of structure during the academic break.
 
Tuesday, December 29- 11 am Zoom workout
 
Wednesday, December 30- 6 pm Zoom workout
 
Thursday, December 31- 11 am Zoom workout
 
Saturday, January 2- 11 am Zoom workout
 
We will make sure all the links to these workouts are made available to you as well as your athletes.  We look forward to ramping up our workouts over the next few weeks.
 
Happy Holidays
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Why a Facility? More Like “Who”

You’ve met Monica and Mikhel.  Soon you’ll get to know Kaila, Mikekal and Coach Mike Boyd.

In our six-part year-end video series, you are meeting some of the people behind our “why.” For us, the answer to why we need a facility is so clear once you know for whom we are building it.

Each of the Champions we are highlighting are unique, but they share similar ambitions. These are special people and they deserve the same opportunities their suburban counterparts enjoy. They want to put in the work, they want to build themselves, on and off the mat. So we are providing them a place where their ambitions will know no limits. It’s happening in late January – early February. 

As an organization, we strive to embody the spirit of the budding Life Champions mentioned above. They are the reason we are thriving despite very unique circumstances. Their passion and drive fuels everything we do. With our kids at the forefront, our team set a vision to build a world class youth development center. A place where anyone with a good attitude and an appetite for work, despite social, economic, or geographic circumstances, can call home – THE FIRST EVER BTS STAND ALONE WRESTLING FACILITY

We have not let Covid slow us down. Our focus is not on the pandemic but our reaction to the pandemic. Cathy Yen stepped up. Our board stepped up. Our Capital Campaign committee stepped up. Our coaches stepped up. Our student-athletes fought like only wrestlers can. And here we are, positioned to come out of this unprecedented time with a world class facility run by master leaders, mentors and coaches (Yes, we hired three incredible people during a world-wide crisis!). 

The end and aftermath of the pandemic will be extremely difficult in Chicago. Particularly for many of BTS families. We will continue to work with our kids in mind. We will focus on the controllables. We embrace our community and feed from their unbreakable spirits. 

BTS Chicago is guided by our core values; Accountability, Gratitude, Grit, Integrity, and Excellence. One of these stands out now more than the others – Gratitude. I am so grateful for our BTS Family, the wrestling community, and all those who have rallied to support our mission. We hope you will continue to bet on our kids, our community, our team. Thank you!!!!

Help us keep this going.  Your contribution to Beat the Streets Chicago funds not only this critical facility but the life-changing programs we can offer there. Give at btschicago.org/donate

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