When Christopher Bastidas was named as the new head boys' soccer coach at Whitehall High School, he was literally left speechless by the announcement.

Actually, Bastidas was battling allergies, but he certainly was ecstatic with the prospects of accepting his inaugural head boys' soccer position. He replaces Gus Garcia, who went 29-3-14 over the previous four seasons. The Zephyrs had an overall 7-9-2 mark and a 5-8-1 slate in the Lehigh Valley Conference (LVC) last season.

"I think I spent the entire weekend contacting everyone I knew and also shared it with many people," recalled Bastidas, who was offered the position and eventually approved at a school board meeting April 14.

"This is very exciting. I am really looking forward to taking the (Whitehall) program to the next step. They have had success, but we need to go further.

"This gives me a great opportunity to be a program."

Bastidas, 29, is no stranger to Lehigh Valley soccer circles. He was a standout player at Catasauqua High School until his graduation in 2003. From there, he had a stellar four-year career at the University of Pittsburgh, where he was a three-year starter as well as a three-time member of the All-Academic Big East team.

He has also been an integral part of the Bastidas Soccer Academy with his father, Trajano, and also coached in the Olympic Development Program. For the past two seasons, he was the head girls' coach at Bethlehem Catholic, where he is also a gym teacher.

"We feel that Coach Bastidas can give us the pieces we have been missing in our boys' soccer program at Whitehall," said Whitehall athletic director Bob Hartman in an official release. "It was evident as we talked with coach Bastidas that he has the necessary passion, organization, and leadership qualities necessary to get us to where we want to be in boys' soccer.

"The excitement that coach Bastidas is bringing to the table will usher in a great new era for Whitehall boys' soccer. We are very proud to have coach (Bastidas) aboard and look forward to assisting him as we gain soccer relevance on the boys' side."

Bastidas will encounter an always-challenging LVC schedule, and he realizes his team's weekly battles in the newly formatted LVC.

A strong showing likely will be a passageway to the postseason.

"We know we are in a very hard division, but we need to make some strides if we are to get into the postseason," he stated. "That is a major obstacle for us, and the league is always very difficult.

"We'll have our work cut out for us, but we will come at teams as hard as we can."

His father, Trajano, the head Catasauqua girls' coach, is confident his son can make a smooth transition from the girls' side.

"I am very proud of what he has accomplished," said his father, who coached with his son in the Catasauqua program. "It is pretty cool to see him make this move. He was very happy with what he accomplished at Becahi, and believed this would be a good next step for him.

"He will certainly bring a lot of enthusiasm to fuel the program."

Bastidas, who is a gym teacher at Becahi, could entertain the thought of coaching and teaching in the same building.

"I really love it here," said Bastidas about his teaching position at Bethlehem Catholic. "This is a great place and everyone is very supportive. If the opportunity presented itself, I would have to approach it then.

"But, now, I am ready to take on my next challenge."

Chances are, he might again lose his voice in the process.