Beat the Streets Philadelphia Podcast

In this episode with Jon Guevara, we discuss the upcoming Beat the Streets National Camp and Duals. Jon is the project manager for this event being held in Philadelphia for the first time. BTSP Executive Director Dan Altomare provides insight on what it means to host the event in the famous Palestra arena. A Beat the Streets Philadelphia reunion will be held during the Camp and Duals. Details can...

In this episode we talk with Dan Altomare. Dan is the new Executive Director of Beat The Streets Philadelphia. He succeeds James Mangan who has become the Executive Director of Beat The Streets National. Dan shares his background and involvement in the Philly Wrestling Ecosystem from his days living in the Philly Suburbs and attending Temple University to volunteering at the Police Athletic League...

Jimmy Lynch is deeply involved with athletics in the City of Philadelphia. As the Executive Director for the School District, he is responsible for overseeing all aspects of athletic programming from elementary through high school. Jimmy is also an Adjunct Professor at Drexel University and is the President of the Philadelphia Public League. He shares his experiences and thoughts about partnering...

Matt Valenti is currently the Associate Head Coach at the University of Pennsylvania. He will become the Head coach of Penn Wrestling beginning with the 2025-26 season. In this episode, Matt shares his experiences as a student-athlete, as a coach, and as an administrator at Penn. The programs he has helped develop are very similar to what Beat the Streets offers, but at a different level.

In this episode we talk with Reed Fullmer. Reed is currently a student-athlete at the University of Pennsylvania. He was also a Lead Mentor for Beat the Streets Philadelphia upon graduating high school. Reed grew up in the Philly area as resident of Radnor, Pa and a student at Malvern Prep. Reed shares the lessons he learned from his coaches and from his father. He discusses how he has used these...

Clinton Matter shares his thoughts about our organization from its inception until present day. Clinton is a co-founder of Beat the Streets and currently serves as the Chairman of our Executive Board. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania where he was a captain of the wrestling team.  Clinton was recently interviewed by Ryan Warner on the Wrestling Changed My Life Podcast. That episod...

Welcome to Season 3 and new co-host Kevin McGuigan. Kevin is the Director of Wrestling Operations at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also the General Manager of the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center and a Grants Coordinator with Beat the Streets Philly.  In this episode, we introduce Kevin and welcome him to his new position as co-host with Executive Director James Mangan. Kevin has over...

In this podcast episode, we get to speak with Kaya Sement, a Lead Mentor at BTS Philly. Kaya is a sophomore on the University of Pennsylvania wrestling team and brings tons of experience into the BTS room. Kaya first became involved in Beat the Streets as the Lifting Coach for the student-athletes. He soon realized that being a coach meant more than just teaching the student-athletes technique. &q...

In this episode of the podcast we are blessed to speak with Olympic and World Champion, Jordan Burroughs. Since moving to Philadelphia, Jordan has been instrumental in helping out around the BTS mentoring center and has been an excellent role model for our BTS youth. He brings years of experience at the highest levels of wrestling and inspires so many in our community. Jordan shares his motivation...

In this episode of the podcast, we have the chance to speak with Lender Vega, who works full-time at BTS Philly as the Wrestling Coordinator. Lender has a rich history with the Beat the Streets program. While we often talk about the intersection of academics and athletics, Lender’s story has an unusual twist. During a freshman year seminar, his teacher offered the students five extra points if the...

In this episode of the podcast, we get the chance to speak with Evan Barczak, a Drexel University wrestler who has been an instrumental member of the Beat the Streets Philadelphia community for the past four years. According to Executive Director James Mangan, “His role as a lead mentor really helped shape a lot of this programming over the last couple of years.” As a freshman at Drexel, Evan hear...

In this episode, we speak with UPenn wrestler CJ Composto who achieved All-American status this March at the NCAA tournament. CJ is a regular at the mentoring center and speaks about how serving others lifts yourself up. It's impressive that he is able to balance Division 1 athletics and Ivy League Academics, while still finding time to help the student-athletes at Beat the Streets! 

In this episode of the podcast we get the chance to speak with Regina Johnson who is not only a BTS parent, but she serves as the Athletic Director at Matin Luther King High School which is a BTS partner. Regina brings a fresh new perspective to the podcast and so many lessons from the BTS community. She has been an invaluable partner and we are so grateful for everything she does to serve the stu...

On this episode of the podcast, we get the chance to speak with Dan Altomare, the Director of Program Operations for BTS Philly. Dan has a deep and thorough knowledge of BTS programming from many different levels and is an invaluable member of the staff. Dan’s journey with BTS Philly began in 2015 when he was getting a degree in Sports and Recreation Management from Temple University. As part of h...

In this episode of the podcast, we speak with BTSP alum Aboubakare Diaby about his experiences in wrestling, Beat the Streets, and mentorship. Aboubakare currently wrestles at Drexel University where he studies Mechanical Engineering. He talks about the importance of mentorship in achieving his goals and gives much credit to his mentor, former podcast guest Ousmane Diara. Aboubakare plays an impor...

In this podcast episode, we speak with former Beat the Streets Philadelphia (BTSP) Executive Director Chris Hanlon. So much of the impact that BTSP can achieve today is due to his stewardship from a fledgling organization to a presence that currently serves 1,000 youth at 30 wrestling programs in the Greater Philadelphia area. Chris embodies the Beat the Streets spirit on so many levels. He is pas...

Today we are joined by Ed Schneider who has helped influence thousands of young wrestlers over the years and helped positively alter life's trajectory. Ed was a coach of the Police Athletic Leave in Philadelphia, which in many ways sowed the seeds for the work that BTS continues today. And he has been involved in so many aspects of BTS from its very beginning!

Beat the Streets Philadelphia has some big news to announce. Our Director of Strategic Partnerships, Ben Reiter , will be moving on to a new role as the Executive Director of Beat the Streets National. While we are sad to see Ben go, we are immensely proud of everything he has accomplished and we know he will continue to do incredible things at the National level. “I just feel so grateful for my t...

In this episode of the podcast we are joined by former Beat the Streets student-athlete Harold Anderson. Harold is currently a senior at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business where he is concentrating in Management. Harold has been able to leverage his degree to pursue the field of corporate social responsibility. Harold first discovered wrestling shortly after transferring t...

In this episode, we get the chance to speak with Joey McKenna. 

Ousmane Diarra has such an inspirational story. He first arrived to US from Mali at age seven and worked his way to becoming valedictorian of his middle school. In this episode he talks about his roots in wrestling and the life lessons it taught him. And about his work as a mentor to so many younger student athletes.  Ousmane is currently working towards a Master’s Degree in Public Health at Drexe...

In this episode we are joined by Lakita Williams, a BTS alum, mentor, and coach. But most importantly, an inspiration to so many younger athletes coming up through Beat the Streets. Lakita shares her story of starting wrestling as a girl, despite the people who doubted her. She loved the sport and all of the lessons it taught her. And she talks about the Beat the Streets community and what it mean...

James Mangan is the Executive Director of Beat the Streets Philadelphia. But there is so much more to James' story. He grew up wrestling in Philadelphia in the days before Beat the Streets existed. And later, he became a volunteer coach to help the next generation of Philly wrestlers. In this episode, James talks about what it means to be part of the Philadelphia community as well as the BTS...

Edwin Morales is a Beat the Streets Philadelphia alumnus who currently wrestles at Bridgewater State University. Edwin has been a crucial member of the BTSP community ever since he first began wrestling in 9th grade. In this episode, he talks about how wrestling changed his life and taught him values like hard work and accountability. Because of his experience with BTSP, he dedicated himself to me...

Hey everyone! Welcome to the very first episode of the Beat the Streets Philadelphia Podcast. In this episode, co-hosts Rollie Peterkin and Ben Reiter talk about the upcoming podcast episodes where we will hear stories from the Beat the Streets Philadelphia community. Ben and Rollie discuss the creation of the podcast and their personal stories of wrestling and social impact work. For more info, v...