ANNUAL REPORT 2023
OUR MISSION
Beat the Streets Wrestling, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to develop the full human and athletic potential of the urban youth and strengthen New York City’s wrestling culture.
We aim to make a lifelong impact through the lessons learned on the wrestling mat — discipline, perseverance, self-reliance, humility and a strong work ethic.
Since being founded in 2005, Beat the Streets has pioneered a movement that includes 150 individual wrestling programs, a youth league and the first-ever girls high school league.
Beat the Streets is an accredited member of Beat the Streets National, which includes 10 chapters in cities across the United States.
LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
DEAR FRIENDS,
I am honored to share our 2023 Annual Report with you. What you see in these pages is made possible by our supporters, like you, who share our commitment to using the sport of wrestling as a vehicle for positively altering the life trajectory of thousands of underserved boys and girls in New York City.
In the coming pages, we will showcase our program model and the lifelong impact it has on the student-athletes we serve. We saw an incredible jump in Junior League participation, NYC’s only middle school wrestling league, with 200-plus student-athletes joining our program and 12 middle schools creating wrestling teams. Our Training Center wrestling practices also saw 2,000-plus more check-ins from student-athletes in our programs compared to 2022. The Beat the Streets Academy program had a 40% year-over-year increase in participation. Seven high school seniors in the Academy achieved their goal of wrestling in college, including Sulayman Bah, whose journey to Columbia University is featured in this report.
At Beat the Streets, we take great pride in hosting a dynamic wrestling event for our Annual Benefit. Not only is this an incredible fundraiser for our organization, but it also gives us a big platform to highlight our mission and student-athletes on a big stage. We made history with this year’s event by hosting the USA Wrestling’s World Team Trials event, Final X, where for the first time all 30 weight classes in each Olympic discipline were contested at the same location. The wrestling community and our generous donors showed out with a record-breaking 8,000-plus fans at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, to help us raise $1.3 million for our programs.
I am happy to share with you our organization’s progress, and how you can help with our next step to grow and impact NYC boys and girls more than ever before with a permanent Training Center location in Midtown Manhattan.
This report displays the vital work we do to empower NYC children and eliminate socioeconomic barriers of entry for all children to participate in the sport of wrestling. Your contributions –whether they be donations, advocating for our mission, sharing news about Beat the Streets – are instrumental to the work we do.
Thank you for your continued support of Beat the Streets, and the youth we serve.
With Gratitude,
Brendan Buckley Executive Director
OUR COMMUNITY
OUMAR TOUNKARA I BRONX
Beat the Streets helped me get a better education and environment, and helped me achieve a lot of things I couldn’t do without them.
SARI ORTIZ I QUEENS
I love wrestling because it teaches me how to be a better person and a strong woman.
GENDER
85%
Student-Athletes of
PROGRAMS
Beat the Streets provides free-of-cost school-based and community-based programs through the sport of wrestling for New York City student-athletes.
JUNIOR LEAGUE
The Junior League is New York City’s only elementary and middle school wrestling league. In partnership with New York City’s Department of Education, the school-based program provides after-school weekly practice and competition opportunities focused on teaching basics of wrestling in a safe and fun environment.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS ATHLETIC LEAGUE
The Public Schools Athletic League promotes NYC public schools and Beat the Streets supports the PSAL through the sport of wrestling. Beat the Streets pays for tournament kits, travel competitions, camps and clinics, coaching education, wrestling mat distribution, mentorship opportunities and academic support for NYC high school student-athletes.
TRAINING CENTER
The Training Center offers wrestling coaching, competition prep and support for NYC student-athletes at all levels of experience. As a hub of the NYC scholastic wrestling community, the Training Center gives student-athletes the unique ability to train with those from across different schools across the city’s five boroughs.
JUNIOR LEAGUE PARTICIPATION
2021-22
Teams: 24 (16 fall, 6 winter)
Participation: 200 (156 boys, 44 girls)
2022-23
Teams: 34 (24 fall, 10 winter)
Participation: 444 (309 boys, 135 girls)
PSAL HIGH SCHOOL PARTICIPATION
2021-22
Boys: 1,223
Girls: 171
2022-23
Boys: 1,840
Girls: 331
*Girls also participated in boys season
CHECK-INS
THE ACADEMY
The Academy program continued for a fifth straight year with 10 full-day leadership workshops, featuring discussions and guest speakers as well as wrestling technique clinics led by college coaches and former USA Wrestling national and World team members. Student-athletes in the Academy program also received mentoring and tutoring opportunities, and college scholarships.
SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING
Beat the Streets measures the SEL growth of its student-athletes and has seen improvement in several core competencies.
Positive Identity
+78%
Positive self-worth and self-efficacy as they explore who they are
Social Skills
Ability to take others’ perspectives into consideration, as well as express care and empathy +78%
Academic Self-Efficacy
+89%
Motivation and confidence in their academic performance
Students reported an increase in at least one SEL category +100%
Social-emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships and make responsible decisions.
CAREER FAIR
High school student-athletes networked and shared their career aspirations with professionals from various industries.
8,000
Hours of participation
1,500
Hours of volunteerism
7 Transitioned to college wrestling
7 College campus visits
ACHIEVEMENTS
Beat the Streets studentathletes staked their claim on the wrestling mat not just in New York City, but on the state and national levels, too.
Earning an All-America honor with a top-eight placement at a national wrestling tournament is a prestigious accolade. Six student-athletes involved in Beat the Streets showcased their skills and determination to claim that honor.
Amir Avazov, Alessandra Elliott, Evin Gursoy and Xaiver Giles each took home the honor at the National High School Coaches Association High School Nationals. Gursoy took fifth in the sophomore division, while Giles was sixth and Avazov
STA
BTS ACADEMY STATE MEDALISTS
Botensky Bauzile
Devone Bogie
Vakramogo Dosso
Cameron Mayfield
Christian Solano
eighth in the junior division at their weight classes. Elliott grabbed second in the girls division.
Giles also earned All-America honors with a second-place finish at the National Prep Championships. Oumar Tounkara took seventh and Sulayman Bah eighth for his second All-America status after taking second in 2021.
Closer to home, four BTS Academy student-athletes stood atop the podium at the NYC Mayor’s Cup Championship with the title of “Best in the City.”
Fourteen BTS Academy student-athletes (10 boys, four girls) claimed Public Schools Athletic League City Championships in folkstyle and freestyle. Botensky Bauzile, Devone Bogie, Vakramogo Dosso, Cameron Mayfield and Christian Solano earned medals with a top-eight finish at the New York High School Athletic Association Boys State Wrestling Championships. The five boys helped the PSAL take home a record eight state medals.
HOMECOMING
Sulayman Bah grabbed a pen with his right hand and looked at the paper on the table in front of him. Bah paused to take in the moment then wrote his signature on the paper, officially signing to wrestle at the NCAA Division I level for Columbia University.
To understand Bah’s journey to Columbia, you must first look some 3,000 miles away in Gambia. Bah was born in the West African nation and lived there for the first four years of his life. His father, Dawda, moved to the United States to establish citizenship before the rest of the family crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Dawda sent money back home to Gambia while working and earning a bachelor’s degree in economics from the City University of New York. The Bah family then traveled to New York to start a new chapter together, and Dawda completed a master’s degree in public administration at Columbia University.
Sulayman wrestled, he grew more confident and started to become more social by building new friendships.
The Bah family settled in The Bronx, where Sulayman first found the sport of wrestling at his middle school, M.S. 129, which is part of the Beat the Streets Junior League. As
Sulayman’s drive to improve stood out to Beat the Streets coaches, who saw him participate in weekly Training Center wrestling practices and one-on-one technique sessions. The extra work paid
off with him taking first place at the New York Youth State Championship.
Sulayman also committed to his academics by attending extra tutoring sessions on Saturdays, hoping to follow in his father’s footsteps as an Ivy League graduate. The additional commitment to excel in the classroom led Sulayman
to receive a full scholarship to The Kiski School, a private prep boarding school outside of Pittsburgh.
“If you come to Beat the Streets, you’re going to be bound for success on whatever level you want to do, whether it’s academic or wrestling.”
Despite the distance to New York, Sulayman committed to staying plugged in with Beat the Streets. He remained an active participant in the Academy program and attended wrestling practices when he came back home during school breaks.
“(Beat the Streets) got me tutors for school, SAT prep and I did life skills with them (through the Academy program),” he said.
Sulayman developed an interest in information technology, and with the help
of Beat the Streets landed a summer internship at Varonis Systems, a software security company. He credits his internship to reinforcing his desire to study computer science at Columbia.
Sulayman found plenty of success on the mat while at The Kiski School, becoming a junior National High School Coaches Association All-American (sixth place) and two-time National Prep All-American (second and eighth places).
Sulayman’s on-the-mat success combined with his academics, and desire to wrestle at an Ivy League school led him to Columbia. His familiarity with the program and university certainly didn’t hurt, either. He now serves as an example to current Beat the Streets student-athletes that they can wrestle at the NCAA Division 1 level and receive an
ACHIEVEMENTS
New York Youth state champion
Junior NHSCA All-American
2-time National Prep All-American
Ivy League education.
“If you come to Beat the Streets, you’re going to be bound for success on whatever level you want to do,” he said. “Whether it’s academic or wrestling.
“They have helped me so much. When I get older and whatever success I do achieve I’m always going to look back and give back to Beat the Streets. I’m just grateful for everything.”
As a high school freshman, Naomi Henry made a decision that changed the course of her life - joining the wrestling team. She then joined her teammates at Beat the Streets, and fell in love with the sport because of the great coaching, and friends she made.
Through her dedication and hardwork, Henry claimed city championships in freestyle and folkstyle wrestling. She
HER STORY
also made a name for herself nationally by taking second place at the USA Wrestling Junior National Championships.
Henry joined the New Jersey City University women’s wrestling program for their inaugural season. She became the program’s first wrestler to claim All-America honors with an eighth-place finish at the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships.
Henry qualified for nationals the following season but fell short of the podium. Determined to get on the podium again, Henry committed more to training, and earned 10 more victories and a return trip to nationals. Henry would not be
denied and battled for a onepoint win to take seventh place and a podium spot in her final collegiate match.
Henry also thrived in the classroom, earning a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a minor in psychology in three years. She plans to attend law school and become a family practice lawyer. As Henry embarks on her next journey, she will take with her the life lessons she learned from wrestling.
“It wasn’t until wrestling that I understood how tough I was,” she said. “Not only just physically, but mentally and the challenges that I am able to overcome are the results of me wrestling.”
GIVING BACK
For Jessica Kemgne, one word comes to mind when she thinks of Beat the Streets –fortunate. An immigrant from Cameroon, Kemgne joined BTS in high school and quickly formed positive relationships with coaches that she says helped her develop and become a better person.
“I was fortunate to have amazing coaches that were really there for me and really helped me grow and realize a lot of things about myself,” Kemgne said.
Kemgne, who is studying political science and French at Fordham University, is now following in those coaches’ footsteps as the BTS Junior
“There are so many coaches that have made the sport of wrestling enjoyable for me, and I am happy to now give back and make a difference!”
League Assistant Coach through the AmeriCorps VISTA program. In her role, she primarily coaches K-8 student-athletes and assists with Training Center wrestling practices. Her main goal is to make wrestling fun like her coaches did for her.
Kemgne was rewarded for her efforts by receiving the inaugural Beat the Streets National Full Circle Scholarship Award at the second annual Beat the Streets National
Camp and Duals. The $1,000 scholarship is given to BTS alumni who give back to their BTS chapter as a coach, mentor or intern, and exhibit characteristics that embody BTS. Kemgne and alumni from BTS chapters across the country received the scholarship.
“I am honored to receive this scholarship,” Kemgne said. I am grateful for all the resources and opportunities Beat the Streets has provided me throughout the years. There are so many coaches that have made the sport of wrestling enjoyable for me, and I am happy to now give back and make a difference!”
ANNUAL BENEFIT
Beat the Streets raised $1.3 million for its programs by hosting Final X, USA Wrestling’s Senior World Championship Team Trials, for its Annual Benefit at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. For a second straight year, Final X served as the Beat the Streets Annual Benefit. Previous editions of the Final X event were split between multiple venues, but this year Beat the Streets and USA Wrestling partnered together to host all 30 Olympic-style wrestling weight classes in one
location for the first time.
The event helped Beat the Streets raise a record amount of funds with its 14th Annual Benefit event with an attendance record of more than 8,000 spectators
“Moving our benefit to Prudential Center was a big factor in making this our largest event, with $1.3 million raised,” Beat the Streets Executive Director Brendan Buckley said. “The funds raised during this event enable our programs to operate year-round and continue to make a lifelong impact through wrestling on New York City student-athletes.”
Between sessions, Beat the Streets studentathletes competed
against their peers from Beat the Streets chapters across the country, wrestling on the same mats as some of the biggest names in USA Wrestling history. Beat the Streets also recognized its studentathletes and coaches with its annual award presentation.
Twelve wrestlers (six each in men’s freestyle and women’s freestyle) that won a Final X bestof-three series to qualify to wrestle for Team USA claimed a medal at the 2023 Senior World Championships. Vito Arujau, Zain Retherford, David Taylor and Amit Elor were the four among the group to capture gold.
OUR NEW HOME
To better serve the needs of the growing number of New York City student-athletes
Beat the Streets serves, we will begin operating our first standalone facility in the fall of 2023. Located in Midtown Manhattan, this 7,300-square-foot facility will be conveniently close to major transportation at Penn Station and Herald Square, to provide ease of access for commuting student-athletes and coaches.
Since 2017, Beat the Streets has moved activities and programs from location to location throughout New York City. Now the thousands of boys and girls participating in Beat the Streets programs have a safe place to call home where they can access year-round support.
The innovative facility will be home to Beat the Streets administrative offices and positive youth development programming. In addition to hosting wrestling practices, the facility will also be home to Academy life skill workshops, academic support sessions, coach education seminars and our annual career fair.
With this centralized hub, we expect to grow our organization’s lifelong impact on 2,500-plus New York City student-athletes in need.
To continue scaling our youth development model and executing our goals, $600,000 in revenue is required over the next three years for us to operate from this wonderful facility. A future filled with our students as inspiring leaders depends on financial investments today to set them up on the winning path.
We hope you will join us in becoming a facility partner as we build together toward a better future for NYC youth with our new home.
Sincerely yours,
Brendan Buckley Executive Director
TRAINING CENTER TIMELINE
Church of St. Anthony of Padua 2008
Numberous NYC public schools
Roosevelt Island middle school
Fall 2023
Midtown Manhattan
BECOME A FACILITY SPONSOR
To learn more about the various ways you can become a facility sponsor, email info@btsny.org.
FINANCIALS
SUPPORTERS
The work Beat the Streets does would not be possible without the generosity of our foundational, corporate, and individual donors, who support our mission to empower New York City youth through amateur wrestling. Listed below are the names of those who gave from Sept. 1, 2022 to Aug. 31, 2023.
$50,000+
Corey Wright
Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Jersey Mike’s Subs
Richard Tavoso
Tony Bobulinski
$25,000 - $49,999
BTIG, LLC
DLA Piper
Fidelity Charitable
New York Community Trust
Pinkerton Foundation
RBC Foundation
United Parcel Service
$10,000 - $24,999
Alston Construction
Andrew Barth
Blavatnik Family Foundation
Brad Beutter
Clff Keen Athletic
Community Foundation of New Jersey
Gary Sagui
Heidecorn Family Foundation, Inc.
James & Amy Bennett Foundation
Jamie Brodsky
Joe Tansey
John Moon
Kyra Tirana Barry
MKM Holdings, LLC
Molina Healthcare, Inc.
Schwab Charitable
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
The Hyde and Watson Foundation
The Patrina Foundation
United Parcel Service Foundation
USA Wrestling
Varnois Systems, Inc.
$5,000 - $9,999
Arena Club
Briggs Services
Christopher Lindsey
CohnReznick
Deborah Heidecorn
Emanuel Hilario
Emilio Collins
Eric Knight
Friedman Family Foundation
James Ritman
John Ripley
JP Morgan Chase
Justin Hamill
Kayla George
Kroll
Matthew Esposito
Michael & Regina Shaffer
Michael Barry
Neil Chriss
Otterbourg P.C.
SEI Investments
Steve Colbert American Dream Fund of Coastal
Community of SC
Steven Shoemate
The Eisner Foundation
The One Group, LLC
Tim Reusing
Trudie Styler
Vinson & Elkins LLP
Yoshi Nakamura
$2,000 - $4,999
Alberto Ebanks
American Online Give Foundation
Andrew & Jennifer Fleiss
Catherine and Michael Deehan
Chris Placca
Christopher Lenzi
Denis Ryan
Duane Morris LLP
Dustin Tillman
Empire BlueCross BlueShield HealthPlus
Henry E. Niles Foundation
John C. Morris
John Stephenson
Joseph Schneider
Lara Price
Raul Negron
Raymond Aab
Scott Feinstein
Shawn Rubin
Tom Evans
UJA Federation of NY
William Hunter
Winsupply of Elmsford
$1,000-$1,999
Aidan Conroy
Andrew Leonard
Andrew Rosen
Azmi Mikati
Brian Weinstein
Bryan Leach
Carlos Ortega
Charles Salzman
Christopher Chaisson
Clifford Chapman
Clint Matter
David & Jamie
Meredith
David Crisanti
David Rios
Dean Colucci
Elio Alfonso
Eric Anderson
Eric Palmer
Irwin Winkler
Jack Gucker
Jennifer Rogers
Jim Hennessey
Joey Jackson Law, PPLC
John Mosler
John Orr
Jon A. Beck
Jude Arena
Julian Harper
Kaity Warner
Karen Gordon
Kelly Jacoutot
Kerry Chandler
L Catterton
Laurence S. Hughes
Madison Square Garden
Marc J. Santone
Matt Palmer
Matthew Button
Mike J. Harp
Mitchell Regenstreif
Patrick DiCerbo
Paul Nolan
Ricardo Salmon
Richard Gilston
Richard Ginsburg
Robert Grogan
Ronald Damiano
Scott & Julie
McLaughlin
Stephen Sadove
Steve Umlauf
Sue Ballard
Tisbest
Tyler Grimaldi
William Brasser
$500-$999
Adam Sattler
Andrew Darrell
Andrew Taub
Anthony Mack
Brandon Snow
Carl Forsythe
Chris Henrich
Craig Watchmaker
Deuly Espinal
Frank Grimaldi
Greg Karcich
Jay Takefman
Jeffrey R. Waters
Jennifer Mascarenhas
Jim Ward
John Cichon
John Desmarais
Kate Day
Kevin Beinhacker
Lewis Fischbein
Lisa Collier
Logan Lowe
Mark Foresi
Nina Collins
Oleg Pshenitsyn
Philip Foster
Renee Hill
Richard Ledee
Richard LeFurgy
Salvatore Lentini
Sandra Schubert
Stephen Pred
Thomas Dutton
Truist
Wells Fargo
Wealth Management
PARTNERS
BOARD, LEADERSHIP COUNCIL AND STAFF
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
David Heidecorn
L Catterton
BTS Chairman
Emilio Collins
Excel Sports Management
BTS Vice Chairman
Dean Colucci
Duane Morris LLP
BTS Secretary
Corey Wright
Cahill Gordon & Reindell LLP
BTS Treasurer
LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
Sue Ballard
Wells Fargo
Ken Bigley
Public Schools Athletic League
Kevin Beinhacker
United Parcel Service
Jayson Bowlsby
Apollo Global Management LLC
Jamie Brodsky
Breakwall Capital
Alberto Ebanks
Ebanks Law Firm
Scott Feinstein 42West
Kelly Jacoutot
Douglas Elliman Real Estate
Chris Henrich
RBC Capital Markets
Chris Lindsey
Jane Street
Yoshi Nakamura NAKA Capital Partners
Matt Palmer
BNP Paribas
Chris Placca
The Blackstone Group
Frank Ryan
DLA Piper
Natalia Tovar
Bocce’s Bakery
Kevin Collins
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Rick Gilston
Gilston Electric
Tyler Grimaldi Citi
Michael Piccirillo Citi
Anthony Rinella
Morgan Stanley
David Rios
Columbia University
Dorothy Ruderman
Verition Fund Management
STAFF
Brendan Buckley
Executive Director
John Rollins
Senior Director of
Operations and Finance
Debbie Linehan
Director of Fund Development
Bob Seidel
Director of Programming
Brandon Cain
Communications Manager
Joe DeAngelo
Head Boys Coach
Becka Leathers
Head Girls Coach
Narankhuu Ganbaatar
Junior League Manager
MAKE A LIFELONG IMPACT MAKE A LIFELONG IMPACT
VOLUNTEER
Our volunteers are the unsung heroes at Beat the Streets.
DONATE
You will provide New York City youth with the resources and tools they need to succeed - on and off the wrestling mat.
SPONSOR BTS ACADEMY PROGRAM
Want to alter the life trajectory of Beat the Streets student-athletes? Provide them with the chance to attend life skill workshops, receive academic support and more with the BTS Academy program.
BECOME A CORPORATE PARTNER
We will work with you to determine the best opportunity for your company, whether it is hosting a workshop, sponsoring one of our events or Training Center facility, being a mentor or providing an internship opportunity.
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
We’re on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter. @beatthestreets. You will be the first to receive updates on the incredible work Beat the Streets does.