Building Stronger Athletes On and Off the Mat: BTSLA Summer Academy

From learning how to build a balanced meal to forming a championship mindset, Beat the Streets Los Angeles student-athletes spent three days learning, training, and growing during the 2026 Summer Wrestling Academy at Belmont High School.

From July 14 to July 16, the summer academy brought together over 40 elementary, middle, and high school athletes for a combination of wrestling instruction and enrichment. While strengthening their skills on the mat, athletes also explored the habits that can help them become healthier competitors and confident individuals.

Throughout the academy, youth and advanced athletes participated in interactive lessons focused on three important areas: nutrition, hygiene, and mindset. Each student received a Summer Wrestling Academy Workbook that included educational resources, reflection questions, and space to record notes and personal goals.

Day One: Building a Champion Plate

The first day focused on helping athletes understand how their food choices can support their health, energy, and performance. 

Wrestlers learned how to identify the three major macronutrients: carbohydrates, protein, and fats. This lesson emphasized the importance of carbohydrates and proteins for wrestlers, especially when preparing for practices, recovering after training, and fueling their bodies throughout the wrestling season. This lesson will help students build these early habits to take with them throughout life.

These lessons were put into practice through the “Build a Champion Plate” activity. Students learned to combine different food groups and make choices that provide the energy and nutrients for a balanced meal. 

Day one also focused on portion sizes, hidden sugars, and how to read a nutrition label. The workbook guided athletes through key sections of a nutrition label to encourage them to look more closely and think twice about the foods and beverages they consume daily. 

The second hands-on activity was building a recovery smoothie. This showed students how smoothies can be an easy way to combine carbohydrates, protein, healthy fats, fruits, and other nutrient-rich ingredients in one snack or meal. This demonstrated to the youth and advanced athletes that balanced nutrition can be both simple and enjoyable. 

Day Two: Healthy Habits for a Healthy Team

Wrestling is a high-contact sport; personal hygiene plays a crucial role in protecting each athlete and their teammates. Day two focused on daily habits that can prevent skin infections and keep athletes cleared and healthy throughout the season. 

Athletes learned to recognize possible signs of a common skin infection and the next steps to take if they notice symptoms in themselves or a teammate. They were encouraged to speak with a coach, avoid participation when an infection may be present, and receive medical clearance before returning to the mat.

The Summer Academy also addressed oral hygiene and other everyday self-care habits, such as brushing, flossing, and caring for their teeth, skin, clothing, and equipment as part of their overall health routine. 

The goal for day two was to help wrestlers understand that hygiene is about more than just appearance. Maintaining good hygiene is not only a responsibility athletes have to themselves, but to their partners and their entire team. 

Day Three: Having a Championship Mindset 

On the last and final day of the Summer Academy, youth and advanced athletes shared time on the mat through games and group activities. The wrestling activities allowed them to build confidence, connect with older wrestlers, and continue to develop a positive relationship with the sport. 

Enrichment for advanced athletes focused on tournament nutrition, weight management, mindset, and performance. Students learned the best foods to pack for a tournament- easily digestible carbohydrates and small, nutrient-dense snacks that help restore energy without feeling overly full.

The final enrichment for the advanced athletes focused on the mental side of wrestling. Mindset is extremely important in wrestling as confidence, resilience, and focus can help secure consistent wins. 

Athletes explored ways to manage nerves and emotions before stepping onto the mat, reset after a difficult moment, and maintain confident body language. 

To help connect these lessons to their lives, students completed a goal-setting activity. They identified a personal, academic, or wrestling goal, explained why it mattered, created steps for reaching it, considered the challenges they might face, and identified people or resources that could help them achieve this goal. 

This exercise was a helpful reminder to athletes that a meaningful goal does not happen overnight; it requires consistency, patience, and the drive to keep moving forward. 

The Summer Wrestling Academy reflected Beat the Streets Los Angeles’ commitment to supporting the whole athlete. While wrestling training helps develop technique, long-term success depends on nutrition, hygiene, confidence, and most importantly, healthy decision-making. 

In combination with the mat and hands-on enrichment, the Summer Academy gave athletes opportunities to ask questions, practice new skills, and reflect on how their everyday habits can affect their performance. Leaving the academy, students gained the practical tools to help them fuel their bodies, protect their health, prepare for competition, manage emotions, and work toward meaningful goals. 

At Beat the Streets Los Angeles, developing great wrestlers begins with developing healthy, confident, and prepared young wrestlers- both on and off the mat.