A New Chapter Begins for Tomorrow’s Leaders
Athletes arrived at Belmont High School on Sunday, September 20th, excited to kick off the 2026–2027 Tomorrow’s Leaders season. Over 88 student-athletes attended the program’s first workshop.
Before beginning their enrichment activities, athletes attended a brief session held by Mallory Velte on the rules and expectations for the upcoming season. They learned how to qualify for the 2027 National Camp and Duals, which will be held in Los Angeles this year
Afterward, participants moved to a nutrition session led by Jessica Griffith, a sports dietitian and eating disorder specialist with the University of Southern California’s athletic teams, who led the day’s first portion of the workshop. Prioritizing nutrition at the start of the program is essential to help students prepare their bodies for the upcoming season. This session demonstrated to Tomorrow’s Leaders how nutrition, hydration, recovery, movement, and mindset work together to enhance athletic performance and overall health.
Griffith explained how nutrition, hydration, recovery, movement, and mindset support health and performance as athletes prepare for the season. She highlighted the importance of portion size for helping wrestlers eat enough to support training and recovery, and why carbohydrates are a key energy source in such a demanding sport. Tomorrow’s Leaders ended the session with actionable strategies to build healthier, sustainable habits that enhance their performance on and off the mat.
After a quick break, athletes were ready for the on-the-mat session with Beau Bartlett. Bartlett, a 25-year-old wrestler Penn State University alumni, is a three-time D1 NCAA All-American, a four-time NCAA team champion, a Junior World bronze medalist, a member of the USA Wrestling National Team. Bartlett is an integral part of the Beat the Streets community, as he currently coaches for Beat the Streets New York.
Having trained under Olympic and NCAA champions, Bartlett brings elite-level coaching knowledge to help our Tomorrow’s Leaders grow as wrestlers. Bartlett shared his perspective on wrestling and how he incorporates it into his daily life. He also described his wrestling background, from his high school in Arizona to college at Penn State University.
Bartlett taught the Tomorrow’s Leaders participants several techniques a single-leg, wrist ties, and collar ties. Bartlett emphasized the importance of hand control, demonstrating how wrist control can build toward controlling the collar tie. After demonstrating these techniques, participants practiced with their own partners and engaged in live wrestling from different starting positions, such as single-leg, neutral, and wrist-and-collar tie. After Bartlett’s on-the-mat session, many students were eager to grab lunch and wanted to meet and connect with Bartlett after such an insightful mat session.
The first Tomorrow’s Leaders workshop marks the sixth year of this program. Beat the Streets Los Angeles is excited to mark the start of growth and learning. Guided by our four pillars, BTSLA is committed to providing these young people with the tools, confidence, and skills they need to succeed in wrestling, school, and their future careers.
This marked the first of 10 workshops BTSLA will host throughout the 2026–27 season. We’re looking forward to a great year of building skills both on and off the mat! We look forward to this exciting journey and to watching each student-athlete grow into a strong leader.
