Abner A Noriega, Kevon Grahm, Adyn Hammond, Nathan Giusti, Ferhat Baha Akdemir, Randy Garcia- PVD 23′ CITs

This was the second year Providence has run its CIT program!

Our

Coaches in Training

summer programming is a year-round leadership development program. Offering a competitive wage while managing their own business, “The Hungry Wrestler.” Our CIT program provides an innovative and holistic approach for our youth to develop their leadership and life skills. We focus on workforce readiness, health and wellness, mentor-coach training, and entrepreneurship!

“It’s very exciting to be able to bring back our CIT program for the second year in a row,” Providence Program Director Silas Murray said. “We had a great group this year with six kids. In the future we hope to be able to mentor and employ more and more kids through Providence’s CIT program.”

As our students get ready to head back to school here in Providence, we wanted to take some time to share with you all what our six amazing students experienced and accomplished over the last six weeks – both in the community and on the mat.

Providence CIT’s – 2023

During the six weeks of programming, our CITs focused on a new theme every week. The themes were as follows:
Teamwork, Passion, Commitment, Problem Solving, Emotional Intelligence, Integrity, and Reflection.

These themes ultimately lead to very meaningful journaling and reflection amongst our students and staff. Some very impactful conversations were had.

Regarding our CITs work in the community, we were able to continue some preexisting partnerships in addition to creating a variety of new partnerships within the community.

Here is a snapshot of what our summer looked like!

Providence Parks & Recreation – Department of Art, Culture and Tourism

Wee partnered with the city of Providence’s Parks & Recreation and the Department of Art, Culture and Tourism to host a series of Gym Class Takeovers throughout the city. Each CIT had the opportunity to facilitate a class with other kids, learning alongside one another while coaching.

To that end, our CITs visited the Joslin, Sackett, and Davey Lopes Recreation Centers throughout the summer. At each location, our CITs were was able to plan their own practice, lead others through that lesson plan, and officiate live matches.

Davey Lopes Rec Center youth and BTSNE CIT’s

Some fun at the Botanical Gardens!

Providence CITs visited one of Rhode Island’s hidden gems at the Roger Williams Botanical Garden. The CITs gave a helping hand in planting some foliage in the gardens.

A special thank you to Leann Freitas, who led an exciting tour through the botanicals and explained the importance of the garden and how to care for it.

“Baha” Akdemir, and Abner Noriega digging and planting new flowers in the Roger Williams Botanical Gardens

The Providence Police Department and Hope High School

At the end of the program, our CITs were able to put everything they learned into action by leading our 2023 Shut Down Camp! We partnered with the Providence Police Department and Hope High to provide youth in the New England area a jam-packed week full of intense wrestling and instruction right before they went back to school.

Our Top-Notch Clinician Series

In addition to our CITs work in the community, they were also exposed to a great group of clinicians who taught them the finer points of folkstyle wrestling, including technique, the importance of rest and recovery, and so much more!

Beat The Streets New England would like to give a huge thank you to our supporters and Clinicians:

Jay Jones
, Head Coach at Rhode Island College

Mike
Ross,
National Finalist from Johnson and Wales University

Silas
Murray,
Two-Time NCAA All-American for Rhode Island College and Providence Program Director at BTSNE

Christian Monserrat,
NCAA Qualifier and Harvard University wrestling coach

Steven Keith,
Division I All-American and coach at Johnson and Wales University

Mike Sugermeyer
, Head Coach at Western New England University

Scott Honecker,
Head Coach at Williams College

Hamlet Suazo,
Student at American University and form BTS-Providence wrestler

Ricardo Gomez,
National Champion and Coach and Ithaca College

Each one of you led powerful classes and our youth were lucky to learn and experience from all of you!

Providence Community Day Celebration

We were able to bring our amazing six weeks of Providence CIT programing to a close by inviting community members, along with youth from the rec centers that were visited earlier in the summer, to Hope High School for a celebration of community, unity, and wrestling.

Providence police officers held down the grill and fed everyone delicious hotdogs and hamburgers. So much fun was had to end our summer with joy and loved ones!

Providence Police Officers serving food to youth at Providence Community Day

Whether it was on the mat or through their work in the community, our Providence CITs showcased tremendous leadership, positive attitudes, and outstanding teamwork all summer!

“Leadership to me is being willing to make everyone on a team feel respected and useful, you need to be able to pick up the slack for those on your team who struggled and give your team a strong figure to rely on.” – Nathan Giutsi

In addition to thanking all of our staff and our CITs for their commitment, dedication, and willingness to learn, BTSNE had the pleasure of working with former BTS youth and alumni Hamlet Suazo.

Hamlet’s impact on our CIT program this summer was vital to its success. Hamlet

traveled with our youth in Fargo, ND, for the 2023 US Marine Corps USAW 16U/Junior National Wrestling Championships to coach and mentor our kids through the 10 days of training and wrestling.

Hamlet is an incredible leader in our community and BTSNE was lucky to work with him for the summer! Best of luck to him as he returns to school at American University this fall!

Hamlet Suazo, Summer Program Coordinator Intern, leading BTS youth in conversation at the PVD ShutDown Camp

On behalf of BTSNE, we are excited to continue supporting the young people who have participated in our Providence CIT program since its inception and look forward to seeing them continue to grow.

Because of your generous and continued support, BTSNE is proud to provide our athletes with unique competition and experiential opportunities on and off the mat. None of this would be possible without your help!

Thank you to all our community partners and our six Providence CITs!

Our Partners:

Providence Public Library

Hope High School

Providence Parks and Recreation Department

Joslin Recreation Center

Davey Lopes Recreation Center

Sackett Recreation Center

Brown University Swearer Center

Roger Williams Park: Botanical Center

Citizens Bank: College Bond Citizen

Providence Police Department

Half Full LLC

City of Providence

Art, Culture + Tourism- Providence City Hall

Our CITs:
Abner A Noriega, Kevon Grahm, Adyn Hammond, Nathan Giusti, Ferhat Baha Akdemir, Randy Garcia

Providence Police Department and Rhode Island College Wrestling Coaches with Providence ShutDown Camp youth

Thank you for an amazing summer!!!

Sincerely,

Beat the Streets New England