2024 Beat the Streets Academy: Student-athlete takeaways from Night 2

Olympic champion and NYCRTC head coach Kendall Cross discussed goal setting and shared wrestling technique.

More than 130 Beat the Streets student-athletes in the Academy enrichment program had a tremendous opportunity to learn from Olympic gold medalist wrestler Kendall Cross on Wednesday night.

Cross, who is now the head coach at the New York City Regional Training Center, broke down technique to set-up an inside trip takedown that he used throughout his wrestling career. Cross shared his humble beginnings in the sport of wrestling and the importance of goal setting and positive self-talk was in helping him becoming a champion wrestler in high school, in college and at the Olympics.

BTS Director of Programming Bob Seidel also led a discussion on the benefits of goal setting with academics, planning for college and in the workforce.

BTS Academy student-athlete Erick Largo "What I learned was the importance of shoulder positioning when you setup an inside trip, and how to position your legs and hips. What I learned at the end (during his talk) was the importance of repetitive self-talk and how it can help you achieve your goals one day."

Kendall Cross

"I like giving back to kids at Beat the Streets. It is an important thing for them to see someone like me who has accomplished what I have accomplished, but also that I am just a normal guy. I'm perhaps just like them in a lot of ways - they are wrestlers. Through the sport, we are able to gain a lot of advantages about how to go about life - setting goals, dealing with failure, commitment, believing in yourself. It's really important for me to look these kids in the eyes and talk about what I achieved and how I achieved it and pass it on."

The BTS Academy program aims to prepare New York City students for success on and off the wrestling mat. The application-only program provides free resources such as college prep, mentorship, life skill workshops, world-class wrestling clinicians and much more.

Since being founded in 2005, Beat the Streets has pioneered a movement that now includes 150 individual wrestling programs, a youth league and the first girls high school league.

BTS works to develop the full human and athletic potential of New York City urban youth and strengthen the city's wrestling culture. BTS aims to make a lifelong impact on student-athletes through the lessons learned on the wrestling mat -- discipline, perseverance, self-reliance, humility and a strong work ethic. Discover how you can make a meaningful contribution to BTS' work at btsny.org/donate.