In taking Becahi boys hoops job, Frew says: "This is a wonderful opportunity."

FROM KEITH GROLLER

Michael Frew knows the critics will be out there. In fact, some of them have already been heard on the comment section of this blog.

It's understandable that a coach who was 22-68 in his previous post may not receive the red-carpet treatment at his new position.

But sometimes you can only do so much with the talent you have, and you get the strong sense that Frew, who coached four seasons at Pen Argyl, believes he can do a lot better at a school that has had a rich basketball tradition like Becahi.

Frew

Make no mistake, Frew didn't say anything negative about Pen Argyl today as he accepted the Bethlehem Catholic position.

"I have had the priviIege to be the head coach of the Green Knights for four years," he said. "But as a coach, I have my own aspirations. The opportunity to coach in the LVC has always been a goal of mine. I was fortunate to have been a college assistant for five years [at Moravian, his alma mater] and fortunate to be the coach at Pen Argyl for four seasons.

"And I just felt this was the right time to make this move. I felt it was a good move for me, my family, and for the coaches who want to come with me to be part of the tradition and the excellence that is Bethlehem Catholic."

It's clear that he considers the LVC a step up from the Colonial League and it's also a better situation for him since he lives in Bethlehem and has lived in the Christmas City since the New Jersey native came to Moravian as a student in 1998.

Frew said: "The LVC is THE conference. You can't have an off night in this league, You have to be at your best. I have my own preconceived notions about what it will take to succeed in this league and it's going to take defense, hard work and desire. It will take a little bit of luck, too. You always need that in this business. We need to be the hardest-working team in the LVC to get back on top."

Frew said that when he first came to Bethlehem, "Bethlehem Catholic was THE PROGRAM. Bethlehem Catholic was THE EVERYTHING. We want to bring that back. Our goal is to win games and for us to mold boys academically and spiritually. We want to bring them together as people and athletes. It's going to take a lot of hard work, but I am up for the challenge."

Frew acknowledged that the talent level at Becahi "is certainly going to be different."

"Having the talent here at Becahi is going to be very nice," he said. "My Pen Argyl kids were great. They gave me everything they could. But the talent level is certainly going to be different here."

Frew, who will continue as a third-grade teacher in the Pen Argyl school district, said he was eager to get his coaching staff finalized and acknowledged that the start of summer basketball is just a few weeks away.

I know there has been and there will be criticism of this choice.

And in the case of full disclosure, I admit I was rooting for Bob Wootsick, who I consider to be a friend and a guy I immensely enjoy working with at the Stellar tournament every July. I know Bob has to be very disappointed this didn't go his way, and I just hope that he gets another opportunity someday at some school who wants a dedicated, loyal person involved with their program.

But I would encourage the bashers to give Frew a chance.

People in the coaching community who I respect have nothing but good things to say about him.

He is a very positive, enthusiastic, young person who loves Bethlehem, And with a different level of talent than he had at Pen Argyl, I wouldn't doubt that he will get the Golden Hawks to a competitive level again.

Time will tell.

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