Bob Birmingham-Berks Catholic

Bob Birmingham is a fixture in the Berks County high school basketball community. Birmingham is preparing for his 35th season as a girls basketball head coach. This will be his 13th season at Berks Catholic. He spent 22 years on the sideline with Holy Name. “I don’t get as nervous as I used to. It’s still as much fun as it was 35 years ago,” he said with a smile. Birmingham enters this season with a record of (637-306). He’s (238-98) with the Saints. Birmingham has won five Berks County championships and three District 3 titles in his career. Berks Catholic is expected to be a contender again this winter, despite losing Caraline Herb to graduation. The all-county guard finished with 1,140 points and 219 three-pointers. “She was not only our best shooter, but our best all around player and our best defender. You don’t replace a kid like that,” emphasized Birmingham. The Saints ran the table in Division 1 a season ago. They won 20 games, but had some heartbreaking losses in the postseason. Reading defeated Berks Catholic 39-33 in the BCIAA semifinals at Santander Arena. The Red Knights outscored the Saints 17-5 in the fourth quarter. Amaya Stewart sank a trey with six seconds left in the District 3-4A semifinals to give Wyomissing a 24-23 victory at Lloyd Wolf Gymnasium. Berks Catholic then fell to Audenried 59-54 in the opening round of the state playoffs. The Saints had a ten point advantage in the final quarter. “I think it’s in the back of their heads. We don’t talk about last year. We talk about next game,” replied Birmingham. He has three starters returning that are part of a talented junior class. Point guard Madison Langdon averaged 11 points as a sophomore and was voted to the all-division team. Molly McFadden and Sydney Corado have the ability to shoot from the perimeter at 5’10 and 6’ respectively. They each provided 8 ppg. last season when Berks Catholic allowed just 38.5 points a night. “That’s what we really hang our hat on, our defensive ability,” said Birmingham. The Saints host Delone Catholic in an intriguing opener on Friday night. Birmingham will square off against his good friend, Gerry Eckenrode. The Squirettes have won seven District 3 championships and three state crowns. Eckenrode is (643-214) overall and (565-148) at Delone Catholic. Berks Catholic will be battling Wilson, Reading, Gov. Mifflin, and Muhlenberg in Division 1. Birmingham knows that the road ahead could be bumpy. “The county’s gonna be real strong because there were a lot of young players last year…It’s real tough. You’re playing solid teams day in and day out,” he said.