Doug Myer ready for fresh start, new challenge, with Twin Valley girls basketball

By Jason Guarente — MikeDragoSports.com senior correspondent

One of Berks County’s most accomplished girls basketball coaches has found a new home. Doug Myer is taking over at Twin Valley.

Myer coached at Wilson for 18 seasons and won five county championships. He spent the past two seasons as a boys assistant at Conrad Weiser.

“Those two years were good for me,” said Myer, who was approved by the school board Monday night. “Just to take a step back a little bit. But in my heart I always knew I wanted to go back to being a head coach somewhere. Twin Valley, when that came open, seemed like a really good fit.”

Mark Morrow stepped down as Twin Valley’s coach in July. Morrow led the Raiders through the greatest era in school history. They went 121-45 with four division titles and a trip to the District 3 Class 5A championship game.

It’ll be a new look on the court and on the bench for Twin Valley. Many of the key players from the recent run of success are gone.

Peyton McDaniel, one of six 2,000-point scorers in Berks history, is entering her sophomore season at James Madison. Three-year starters Ava Morrow, Mark’s daughter and an All-Berks selection, and point guard Morgan Lennon have graduated. 

Natali Foster, an all-division selection, Anna Kaplan and Rachel Knight are among the noteworthy players expected to return. Foster, who averaged 10.3 points, and Kaplan are the Berks Players of the Year in field hockey and lacrosse, respectively.

“A big thing that attracted me to Twin Valley is their star athletes are multi-sport,” Myer said. “That’s something I always believed in as a coach. Some of my favorite teams at Wilson were ones where our best players went to play other sports in college.”

Myer’s teams are known for their tenacious defense. Twin Valley was one of the county’s best defensive teams under Morrow, so that much should remain the same. Foster and Kaplan fit Myer’s approach perfectly.

“It’s not a secret what we’re going to try and do,” Myer said. “We’re going to play man-to-man. We’re going to try and get up and guard people. Offensively we just want to share the basketball. I think when you have all five girls on the court capable of scoring you’re harder to guard.”

Twin Valley went 17-8, reached the county semifinals and ran away with Berks II last season. The Raiders should contend in the division again and will try to compete with Berks I powers Gov. Mifflin, Berks Catholic and, of course, Wilson.

Myer posted a 338-167 record and was an AP calculus teacher at Wilson. He also coached cross country and track and field. He was removed from his coaching positions and resigned as a teacher at the end of the 2018-19 school year after being suspended for reasons the district refused to disclose. An outpouring of support from students past and present failed to get him reinstated.

After spending nearly two decades turning the Bulldogs into a perennial District 3 basketball power and assisting gold medal distance runners, Myer said Wilson became part of him. He misses those connections he made.

Now it’s a fresh start at Twin Valley. The task is to continue the Raiders’ recent trends.

“I’m ready for a new challenge,” Myer said. “Sometimes in the back of your mind as a coach you think, ‘Would what we do here work in another place?’ That’s what I’m excited to find out.”