Both the Boys and Girls soccer teams at Hopewell High School will have new head coaches for the 2026 season.
Martin Byrnes will be returning to take over the girls’ program, while Ben Bezems is the new head coach of the Vikings boys soccer team.
Byrnes previously coached the Vikings girls’ team from 2005-16 while this will become the first head coaching job for Bezems.
The 29-year-old Bezems comes to Hopewell after spending the last 5 seasons as an assistant coach at West Allegheny High School. Bezems will be replacing Nathan Richter who was hired as head coach in January of 2024.
This afternoon, Vikings Sports Now had the chance to talk with the new leader of the Hopewell Vikings boys’ soccer program, Head Coach Ben Bezems.
VSN Question: Your thoughts on getting your first chance to be in charge of a soccer team and what drew you to have interest in the job?
Bezems Answer: “I’ve been an assistant at West Allegheny the past five seasons and I feel like I’ve accumulated enough knowledge to run a high school program. But I didn’t just apply for just any opportunity. I had a pretty good feeling for what programs were in a pretty good place and also the programs that might be a little more trouble than what they’re worth. I’ve heard nothing but good things about the Hopewell program and the community in general. Talking to people throughout the soccer community and area coaches, a lot of positive things were said about the Hopewell program.”
“Also, being a smaller school and not necessarily jumping into the deep end at a bigger program for my first job, that was important for me as well. I felt throughout the interview process and now getting to know the boosters, some of the parents and the players from our first couple weeks of summer practice, I feel Hopewell is a good program that’s in a really good place with a ton of potential. That was what I was hoping for when I applied and I’m very excited to have this opportunity.”
VSN Question: Now that you’ve been hired your thoughts on running your program and getting the chance to mold and develop these young players.
Bezems Answer: “Having played high school soccer, I feel as though it’s one of the most formative experiences of a young man’s life. I want to be able to pass along the great experiences I had in high school as much as I can. In terms of my philosophy, I want them to learn and understand soccer at a deeper level. I want them to have an appreciation for the game. I want them to understand why we do the things we do while we train and want them to understand soccer is a mental game as much as it’s a physical game.”
“You’re able to reach that next level as a player if you really understand the game well and appreciate the little details of the game. I also want my players to learn about life as well. I told the boys last week we’re here to learn lessons about life and have fun while we do that. I preach things like attention to detail, being prepared, working hard, perseverance and being willing to be a part of something that’s bigger than yourselves while having fun throughout the process. Ultimately, at the end of the day, it’s a game, we’re playing to win but at the same time, we want to win in the right way and enjoy that stage. Yes, I’m a competitive person and want to win but I want to do that in the right way. Whether we win the WPIAL every year or not, I want the boys to be able to look back at their soccer experience and say ‘I really enjoyed playing for Coach Ben, I made a lot of good friends and I learned a lot of life lessons from playing for Hopewell soccer.”
VSN Question: For the players and fans watching, what will Hopewell’s style of play be?
Bezems Answer: “I want a team that’s trying to play high-quality soccer. So much of the soccer in the WPIAL with all due respect to other teams and coaches is it feels like a game of kick ball. You’re not really learning a lot about soccer by playing that way IMO. I want a team that’s in really good shape and running all over the field. I want them to be pressing high so that we’re keeping in the opponents half and as close to their goal as possible. But we’re also defending as a team, we’re in shape and have a high fitness level.”
“On the ball, I want us to possess and be comfortable moving the ball around, trying to find those openings to score but possessing with a purpose, not just passing it around for passing sake. That’s my ideal team and the way we’d play but we’ll see what we have in the program this year but also in the future. As a coach, I have to be adaptable to being able to put them in a system that fits to their strengths as well. I want our team to be high energy, flying all around the field, one that attacks, scores a lot of goals but I need to learn our players strengths and put them in a position to be able to do that and is something I hope to do by the time we start playing in August.”
VSN Questions: Realizing it’s extremely early and have just had a couple weeks of summer workouts but what is your early impression of your team?
Bezems Answer: “I believe this is a group of hard-working, cohesive upper classmen. They seem like they get along really well and hang out with each other off the field and not just putting up with each other for the sake of playing soccer. They’re showing up even before me. Our practices are at 8 AM and I’m there 20 minutes early to make sure we’re ready to go and they’re already there, have the equipment out, their cleats are on and ready to go 20-30 minutes before practice is scheduled to start. That is great and speaks to their attitude, to their commitment to the program and to their desire to have a successful season. That’s something you can’t teach and something you can’t coach.”
“From a soccer perspective, I think defensively we should be pretty solid with the right game plan and information and playing to the boys’ strengths. Obviously, we don’t want to tie every game 0-0 so that’s going to be one of the challenges to figure out where the goals are going to come from and how we’re going to be able to put a couple in the back of the net, especially against those tougher teams we will face.”
“From an attitude and work ethic perspective, I’m really happy with what I’ve seen so far and am excited to build upon that. I’m excited to see how we can build upon things between now and August.”
