NJ.com Story : Director Ray Bethea
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Trenton wrestling legend is champion for growing youth program in capital city
As published on NJ.com
Trenton High wrestling legend returns home to oversee wrestling club and learning center
By: Joe Zedalis | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Raamiah "Ray" Bethea, the Director of Operations for the Trenton Wrestling Club and Learning Center addresses campers at the Trenton Wrestling Club clinic last week. Joe Zedalis | NJ Advance Media
Raamiah Bethea, was working for a digital media company in Sterling, Va., cueing on-air talent when they were going in and out of commercials.
While it paid the bills, it seemed unbefitting employment for a man with an undergraduate degree in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s in higher education from the University of Virginia.
In late spring of 2022, Bethea’s career path changed with a single telephone call.
The call came from his older brother, Canaan.
In a less obvious fashion, Bethea’s hometown, Trenton, was reaching out to him, too.
The nonprofit Trenton Wrestling Club and Learning Center – founded in 2017 by Bethea’s father, Alex, and Princeton neurosurgeon Dr. Mark McLaughlin, a former college wrestler – was looking for direction, as well as a new leader.
Bethea, who goes by Ray, is the first and only state wrestling champion in the history of Trenton High. After that phone call, he returned to Trenton, when New Jersey’s capital city needed him. What he didn’t know was how much he needed Trenton.
“Ray puts the same energy into running games of dodgeball and running stance and motion workouts he does into supporting kids and parents off the mat,” said Canaan, who like the entire Bethea brood is involved in the club in some capacity.
“His was the first name I thought of when the position opened,” said Canaan, a former state runner-up and former coach at George Mason University, “I reached out and Ray jumped at it.
“Ray has a balance of wrestling knowledge, academic knowledge and the ability to be humble and courageous. He meets challenges and treats everything and everyone around him well.”
Now 30 years old, Ray, the 2012 state champion at 152 pounds, has approached his job as the Director of Operations for the club with the same analytical and tactical sense that helped him go 37-0 on the mat as a senior.
“I know it’s a non-traditional job and people ask me all the time “why aren’t you on Wall Street?’” Ray said. “It’s a great opportunity for me to do something I love, to come home and make the biggest impact.”
The program is geared to students in grades three through eight where wrestling is the hook, but the lessons go well beyond takedowns, half nelsons and pins. The program teaches boys and girls how to win, but the most important victories are most often off the mat.
The city of Trenton has population of nearly 90,000 living in an area of 8.1 miles. The 10th most populated city in New Jersey, the per capita income in Trenton in 2022 was $27,565 with 26.2 percent of Trenton residents living below poverty level according to neighborhoodscout.com.
“Here in Trenton, there are many challenges, obstacles, roadblocks and distractions,” Ray said. “We want to develop students and prepare them to take on life and be good citizens.”
Ray proudly touted that Najay Sinclair, who went through the club program, will be attending George Washington University in the fall.
Another program graduate, Princessstorm Woody – a rising sophomore at Trenton High – was third in the state championships at 107 pounds last March.
“This program is about more than wrestling,” Woody said. “It helps you during school. It helps you outside of school. I was a little shy, but I learned how to communicate better.
“Before being involved with the program, I had no idea what I was going to do with my life. Now, I am aware of the opportunities I have. Kids where I’m from in Trenton now have a better opportunity than the streets. The kids have something better to do after school. This program makes kids look forward to going to school.”
Raamiah "Ray" Bethea works with a camper at the Trenton Wrestling Club clinic last week.Joe Zedalis | NJ Advance Media
In a job where he is coach, fundraiser, politician, counselor and sometimes custodian and food server, Ray is flourishing – and so is the program.
“There are more people involved, more donors and every year there is more and more excitement,” Canaan said.
Since COVID, student participation in the wrestling program has averaged around 150 kids, with 15-18 coaches, from November to March. The free program utilizes six schools around the city. Wrestlers can also compete in a wrestling league, if they desire.
“We have other offerings in the spring and we’re expanding into summer,” Ray said. “We moving toward becoming a year-round operation.
“The most important thing about the program is youth development,” Ray said. “We’re looking to build character and life skills. Wrestling teaches kids how to face adversity, take responsibility and manage emotions.
“We want to show kids how to set goals how to transfer those goals into the classroom and become a well-rounded student. As a program, we are passionate and care about kids. We believe we have a winning formula, and the city and the county believe in us.”
The Bethea household on Cadwalader Drive was a place where education was always paramount
Each of the Bethea children were home-schooled by their mother, Gloria, until they went to high school. Alex Bethea was a teacher, coach, athletic director and vice-principal in the Trenton School District before retiring.
“What people don’t know about Ray is the year he won his state championship, he had straight A’s,” Canaan said. “He was never below a salutatorian grade point average and was never ranked lower than No. 2 in his class.
“When we started this program, we wanted to live our best lives, help others live their best lives and help our community be amazing,” Canaan added.
McLaughlin, who founded the Princeton wrestling club where Ray and his brothers wrestled, has been a major supporter of the Trenton club in both time and money.
Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D-Mercer) recently helped the club get an appropriation as part of Gov. Phil Murphy’s 2025 budget.
“It wasn’t a hard sell for me to buy in,” Reynolds-Jackson said. “When I was on the city council, I worked with Alex Bethea, and he always pitched wrestling as an alternative to traditional sports.
“When you look at the age group the program reaches, it’s a sweet spot,” she said. “It’s the chance to reach the kids before they become smarter than everybody else. It opens opportunities for mentorship and tutoring, things I personally love.
“We’ve all seen the statistics and when children are involved in something that makes them want to be in school, they aren’t captured in absentee numbers.
Reynolds-Jackson noted the appropriation is “small.” Bethea chose not to disclose the appropriation amount.
“When people know you have money, they tend to jack up the price on things,” Ray said.
Raamiah Bethea of Trenton Central reacts after he pins Sal Mastriani of Don Bosco to win their 152-pound final bout at the NJSIAA 2012 Wrestling State Championships in Atlantic City. (3/4/12) Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger TO PURCHASE THIS PHOTO, PLEASE CALL THE STAR-LEDGER PHOTO LIBRARY at (973) 392-1530 or E-MAIL photolibrary@starledger.com SLSL
Ray said the appropriation, small or not, will put the organization closer to the goal of getting a building that will serve as a “home” to the program.
“Our own facility will give the kids in the program a safe space, a place to learn and even have a healthy meal. Of course, we hope to have a state-of-the-art wrestling facility, too. Ideally, our own facility would be centrally located. It will help raise awareness, too.”
Ray noted that even with the state appropriation, the club will still need additional fundraising to buy the space for an everyday facility.
“I’m glad it’s not my job,” said younger brother Maaziah, who was a state runner-up, wrestled at Penn and coaches at the College of New Jersey. “The fundraising, the planning are all things people can’t see from the outside. Ray is passionate about everything he does. He’s always seen the bigger picture.”
“One of the goals is to make Trenton a wrestling town and get more kids to the state tournament and win championships,” Canaan said. “But for Ray, that’s way down on the list. Ray wants to create a safe haven, teach values and build a passionate and committed community.”
“I grew up here and now I get the chance to give something back,” Ray said. “I really believe this is my calling.”
A calling that started with one telephone call from his brother.
Joe Zedalis can be reached at jzedalis@njadvancemedia.com
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