{"id":5060493,"date":"2021-12-06T00:54:35","date_gmt":"2021-12-06T05:54:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/illatinonews.com\/?p=5060493"},"modified":"2021-12-06T00:54:35","modified_gmt":"2021-12-06T05:54:35","slug":"beat-the-streets-chicago-lessons-on-and-off-the-mat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/2021\/12\/06\/beat-the-streets-chicago-lessons-on-and-off-the-mat\/","title":{"rendered":"Beat The Streets Chicago: Lessons on and off the mat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“When I am faced with the choice of doing nothing or doing something, I will always choose to act. I am a person of action. I do not fear failure, for, in my life, failure is a myth. Failure exists only for the person who quits. I do not quit,” Men’s Head Coach Mike Boyd reads a passage from Andy Andrews’ The Traveler’s Gift<\/em>. Boyd’s words echo inside the 10,000-square foot wrestling facility of Beat the Streets Chicago<\/a> (BTSC) in Garfield Ridge, where an intense two-hour practice winds down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There’s a lot of life lessons you can learn from being on the mat or even just watching,” says Maggie Zuber, a freshman at Mother McAuley High School in the Mount Greenwood neighborhood. “The work you put in doesn’t make everything easier, but if you could go to a two-hour practice and then sprint laps, you can finish your algebra homework.” Zuber has wrestled at Beat the Streets Chicago for a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BTSC is a non-profit organization founded in 1997, the first and oldest program of its kind. Their goal is to empower youth through wrestling and create life champions. Students as young as five years old can be active and gain values such as accountability, gratitude, and the grit that translate into everyday life. Being a student goes hand in hand with being an athlete, as excellence on both the mats and school is the expectation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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