Rick Thompson doesn’t need much of an introduction to wrestling fans in the area. His short-lived retirement from the coaching world now puts him squarely back in the bull’s-eye, as Thompson was approved last week to become Bethlehem Catholic’s next wrestling coach.

With Jeff Karam resigning in April after 10 years of leading the Becahi program, the Hawks bring in Thompson, who guided Phillipsburg to a 268-54-1 record in three stints with the program. Thompson was most recently the head coach at Bangor from 2008-2017 and also coached at Franklin, Voorhees, Hackettstown and the old Mountain High School (West Orange).

After retiring from teaching last year, Thompson decided to move down to Myrtle Beach, SC, but quickly got bored of the beach life and came back to the Lehigh Valley.

“It was this time last year where I was sitting down and I was bored to death,” Thompson said. “I realized I made a bad choice by retiring from teaching and coaching, so I came back and started substituting at Bangor and then this coaching opportunity came up.”

Becahi athletic director Chris Domyan feels Thompson is the perfect fit to lead the program moving forward.

“Rick comes to Bethlehem Catholic with a lifetime of wrestling experience, but the thing that impresses me the most is his commitment to the development of the entire student-athlete,” said Domyan. “Rick truly cares about the academic and character growth of each and every student, in addition to their success on the mat. He is a perfect fit for the high performing atmosphere in our school. We firmly believe that Rick will continue to build upon the success that has been established in the Becahi wrestling program.”

Thompson plans on meeting with wrestlers this week and is likely to keep most of the members from the previous staff. Having that familiarity from his assistants will be a bonus following last year’s a 16-1 state championship season.

The 41-year coaching veteran is no stranger to state champions, as he won eight state titles at P’burg, but he also understands the responsibility that comes with earning the Becahi job.

“It’s a great opportunity with great tradition that I have to keep going,” said Thompson. “It’s not going to be easy. The goal every year is to be a state champion.

“There’s only one way I can go as a coach with this team and it’s down after they won the state championship last year, but it was the same thing that I went through when I was at Phillipsburg after we’d win states. We would just reload and that’s what I expect to happen here. Our goals are always going to be the best team in the state.”