BETHALTO - Rick Reinhart is a famous name from the past in the history of football at Civic Memorial High School, having coached the Eagles from 1989-2006, going 97-79 in his 18 seasons while being inducted into both the St. Louis Metro and Illinois Football Coaches Hall of Fame, having a career record of 212-186.

And after serving as an assistant for former head coach Mike Parmentier for the last three seasons, Reinhart is back as CM's head coach, having been recently hired for the job by the Bethalto school board.

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"It meant a lot to me that the school gave me another shot and I was here for 18 years," Reinhart said in a recent interview, "left and came back and I've got the same job I had when I coached in 1989," he said with a laugh.

The Parmentier family has played a big role in Reinhart's career as well.

"I was offensive coordinator under Mike and it was awesome," Reinhart said. "I hired Mike for his first coaching job in 1994 and it's come full circle. He's had a great career, and now, he's a Hall of Famer and his son (Luke) played for him in his senior year. It was great to see him grow into a great young man and to see his family grow. It was great to catch up with his dad, Bill, and it was like going back in time. That's our coaching family there. It's all great."

The 69-year-old Reinhart will be taking over a team that went 7-4 last season, making it to the IHSA Class 4A playoffs, being eliminated in the second round by Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin Catholic, and hopes to build on the momentum of the 2021 season, an especially challenging time for the last three senior classes.

"Hopefully, we can keep it going and build on it," Reinhart said. "We've had three good groups in a row. The last three senior classes went through a lot with COVID and just that they're going to be a hard act to follow."

There won't be any major changes to how the Eagles will operate this coming season and Reinhart is already itching to get started.

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"I think of a lot of the things and there won't be any major changes," Reinhart said. "We're just going to try to have a great off-season, get our kids in shape and to go out and compete."

Reinhart still loves competition and looks forward to working with his players and assistant coaches to get ready for the 2022 season.

"I still enjoy it," Reinhart said, "and I'm looking forward to the challenge. We have a great young coaching staff, our standards are high, we expect our kids to be in the weight room and getting better."

All of it heads towards opening night at home Aug. 26 against Marquette Catholic and also will face the always-tough competition in the Mississippi Valley Conference.

"We're the smallest school in the conference," Reinhart said, "and we have to be ready every Friday night."

It's going to be a busy time for Reinhart to get things organized for the Eagles, but once things are in place, it's going to be full speed ahead.

"We're calling it a reboot," Reinhart said. "We've got spring break coming up and we'll have a meeting with the parents and the players, we'll go over our standards and expectations and then, we'll get to work."

Reinhart is indeed grateful for the new chance to be CM's head coach and is very thankful for the opportunity.

"I'd like to thank the administration for giving me this opportunity," Reinhart said. "We're ready to roll."

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