Beat the Streets LA Delivers Summer Academy Directly to Living Rooms
Posted: July 31, 2020
Adversity turned into opportunity as Beat the Streets Los Angeles coordinated its first-ever virtual wrestling camp experience for over 200 youth this summer throughout Los Angeles and surrounding communities.
Each of the 204 girls and boys who signed-up for the Summer Academy received a custom Beat the Streets LA cinch-bag that contained a yoga mat, chess set, book (Way of the Warrior Kid or Unstoppable), Rx Smart Gear Jump Rope, Summer Academy t-shirt, and custom workbook to track their progress over the duration of the 5 week camp running from June 29th to July 31st.
With over 30 Coaches & Mentors at the helm, camp participants were divided into four teams. Each team was then set up in a Google Classroom that outlined activities and challenges that consisted of core components such as Healthy Living & Nutrition, Wrestling Skills & Drills, Reading Review, Wrestling Match Review, Jump Rope & Exercise Challenges, Chess, and more.
In the spirit of friendly competition, each week students earned points by attending Zoom team meetings twice a week with coaches and teammates. These meetings provided a space for kids to show off their jump rope skills, challenge each other in chess, and touch base with coaches on their progress.
A vital part of any youth programming is the relationship between athletes and their coaches & mentors. An essential piece of the BTSLA Summer Academy was ‘mentor check-ins’, where coaches called families weekly to provide assistance with the program and monitor students’ well-being.
The Summer Academy Finale was held on Thursday, July 30th with special guest Anthony Robles. Coaches and kids on the call were able to discuss Anthony’s book Unstoppable, which details his incredible journey from underdog to NCAA Champion, Nike Athlete, and professional speaker.
Congratulations to the Summer Academy team winners, the Golden California Bears, which consisted of student-athletes from Beat the Streets LA Topanga Division, Irving, GALS, and Antelope Valley. For their success, each coach and team member will receive a custom Beat the Streets LA Summer Academy Champion quarter-zip jacket.
Also, congratulations to Summer Academy chess champions Adam Cortez (grades K-2), Diego Mendoza (grades 3-5), Jaxon Guttentag (grades 6-8), and Jesse Hernandez (grades 9-12).
A special thank you to Anthony Robles, Beat the Streets LA coaches and mentors, and all the families and supporters of Beat the Streets Los Angeles that helped make this opportunity possible for the youth in our programs. Stay up to date on our future programming by following our social media channels on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, as well as our website btsla.org.
