Bob Birmingham-Berks Catholic

As if reaching 600 career wins wasn’t great enough, Bob Birmingham did it while enjoying temperatures in the mid 80s at one of the world’s most popular resorts! The Berks Catholic head coach has been taking his teams to Orlando since 1994. On Friday, the Saints blew out Roosevelt High School from Oregon 49-12 at the KSA Tournament. That victory improved Birmingham’s all-time record to (600-293). This is his 33rd season as a head coach. He spent 22 years at Holy Name before taking over the Berks Catholic program. Birmingham guided the 1993 Blue Jays to the Class 2A state championship game. He led Holy Name to three District 3 titles. Birmingham has won five Berks County championships including three at Berks Catholic since 2017. He told me why he enjoys participating in the KSA Tournament, and his favorite rides at Walt Disney World. We talked about the biggest influences on his coaching career. Birmingham mentioned longtime Holy Name boys basketball coach Lloyd Wolf and current Berks Catholic football coach Rick Keeley. I asked Birmingham what advice would he give to a young coach. He replied, “We use basketball to teach the game of life.” Birmingham stressed that he’s been blessed with a lot of great players, assistant coaches, and administrators. He called Caraline Herb the best shooter that has ever played for him. The 5’7 junior led Berks County with 60 3-pointers last season. Herb tied the state record with twelve against Reading in February! We discussed his goals for this year’s team and the competition in Division 1. Birmingham has three freshman who are getting varsity playing time. Sydney Corado, Madison Langdon, and Molly McFadden have a very bright future. The Saints won 19 games and the county championship last season. Herb and Caroline Reedy, both all-county selections, are back. Berks Catholic takes on perennial power Gov. Mifflin on Tuesday. Birmingham knows that the Saints will have to play good defense on the perimeter. He’s the reigning Berks County Coach of the Year.