Bennett “Ben” Resnick, also known as “Mr. Bethpage” has been a coach, friend, and mentor to thousands of Bethpage Golden Eagles student athletes for the past 45 years. After graduating Bethpage High School in 1981 as an All County wrestler, Bennett attended and wrestled for Nassau Community College. That winter, Ben volunteered with the Bethpage High School wrestling team, and he found his true calling as a coach. He became an assistant coach on the wrestling team the following year and has been on staff in various roles in the wrestling, football, and the baseball programs for the last 45 years. 

During his tenure in the Bethpage wrestling program, the Golden Eagles have won eight Nassau County Conference Championships, finished in the top ten of the Nassau County Tournament thirteen times, and won five Nassau County Dual Meet titles. In addition, Coach Resnick was in the corner for over one hundred All County wrestlers, twenty seven Nassau County Champions, twenty two All State wrestlers, and two New York State Champions: Tom Sinacore in 1989 and Gabrielle Severin in 2026. Seventeen Bethpage wrestlers have gone on to wrestle at the collegiate level with one earning All American honors: John Roden for Springfield College in 1999 and 2000, where he placed 4th and 2nd, respectively. 

Known for his intense practices that he promised would be “short, but hard,” Coach Resnick earned the respect of every wrestler who stepped foot in the famous “Harold Resnick Wrestling Room,” named for his father, who was a longtime member of the Bethpage Board of Education and mainstay on the sidelines of every sporting event that included a Bethpage student. As a former heavyweight himself, Bennet spent countless hours working with “the big guys” on proper technique that would all but guarantee them having their hands raised in victory. In the offseason, he ran “open mat” practices and traveled all over the country with his wrestlers in order to create as many opportunities as possible for them to advance in the sport of wrestling. He co–founded the Bethpage PAL wrestling program to give youth students a chance to learn and benefit all that wrestling has to offer. That program is still running strong with around one hundred Bethpage residents enrolled each year. Bennett has also served as a mentor to many assistants and younger coaches, not only in Bethpage but all throughout Nassau County. He is always available to lend a hand, answer questions, and offer advice to coaches who are trying to find their way through the world of coaching wrestling. He is the first to volunteer to help Nassau County wrestling with any event and for the last two decades, and he has been the voice of the Nassau County Championship weigh-ins.

Off the mat, Bennett followed in his father’s footsteps. His presence at all Bethpage sporting events and non-sporting events cemented him as a man of the community. His impact on the student athletes from Bethpage extends much further than the mat, the field, and the diamond. He is a fixture in their lives; he gets to know their families, and becomes someone that the students can rely on long after their high school and college athletics days are over. If you meet anyone from Bethpage and mention the name Ben Resnick, you will be inundated with stories of his impact; some will be funny, some will be heartfelt and uplifting, but all will display his character, humility, and love for the Bethpage community. 

Bennett has been married to his wife Maria for forty years and they have two children, Marina and Ryan, both graduates of Bethpage High School. Marina continued her education at Dowling College and graduated with a degree in mathematics and secondary education. She is currently a mission support specialist for the federal government. Ryan was an All County wrestler and All County lacrosse player for the Golden Eagles and went on to play college lacrosse at Mercy University where he graduated with a degree in secondary social studies education.