2024 Beat the Streets Academy: Student-athlete takeaways from Night 3

Rider University All-American Jay Nase discussed the power of perseverance and shared wrestling technique.

More than 100 Beat the Streets student-athletes in the Academy enrichment program learned new wrestling technique and the power of perseverance from Rider University All-American Jay Nase on Wednesday night.

Nase, who is a high school coach at his high school alma mater Wall in New Jersey after being a Rider assistant coach, broke down footwork and takedown set-ups. He explained these techniques and his hard work ethic were a formula for his success on the wrestling mat.

Nase then shared how perseverance and re-evaluating goals after adversity in his life helped him continue to improve during his wrestling career. He added he carries those life lessons into his everyday life.

Gene Zanetti, a co-founder of Wrestling Mindset, also did an engaging discussion on mental skills training to help student-athletes achieve set and their goals on and off the wrestling mat.

BTS Academy student-athlete Branden "I really liked the story (Jay Nase) gave about having older brothers that wrestled and that he always wanted to be better than they were. I related to that 100 percent because I have an older and younger brother, and we try to challenge each other and be better than each other in some way.

I really liked how he had a goal to be his high school's first 100-win and state champion wrestler because I feel like I related to that too because that's one of my goals. Then wrestling in college, his whole situation of coming up short in high school (two-time state runner-up), but finally achieving that goal in college (of being an All-American). I feel like that was amazing and very inspirational to me and to everyone that was in the room that it is possible to accomplish your goals and dreams."

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.