It’s 600 wins and counting for Berks Catholic’s Bob Birmingham

By Jason Guarente — MikeDragoSports.com senior correspondent

Rick Keeley was a few weeks into his new job as athletic director when he unexpectedly had to make his first hire.

Kevin Calabria left to launch Alvernia’s women’s basketball program and Holy Name’s girls needed a coach. It was September 1989, the season was fast approaching and Keeley had someone in mind.

“He was a teacher, he loved the game, he was a good young man in our building,” Keeley said. “He was the kind of guy that I thought would do a good job being our head girls basketball coach. He never looked back.”

That’s how it started for Bob Birmingham. He was 23 at the time, a kid himself really, with only two junior high seasons worth of coaching experience. One with boys basketball and one with baseball.

Birmingham had yet to apply for the position when Keeley approached him. It was an interesting opportunity that Birmingham initially saw as a stepping stone. He could coach the girls for a few years and eventually replace Lloyd Wolf as boys coach.

More than three decades later, Birmingham is still with the girls. He coached Holy Name until 2011 and stayed on the bench when the school merged with Central Catholic to form Berks Catholic. 

Birmingham is Berks County’s all-time leader in wins and has claimed five league and three District 3 championships. He reached a milestone Friday morning. Berks Catholic’s victory over Roosevelt (Ore.) at the KSA Tournament in Orlando, Florida was the 600th of his career.

“It means a lot to my family,” said Birmingham, who is 600-290 in his career. “They’ve been with me the whole time. I’m going to be around for a couple of more years. Six hundred is great but I know it’s not going to be the end.”

Keeley was once Birmingham’s coach in baseball and teacher in class. The longtime football coach had no idea he was creating an institution when he made that initial hire. The magnitude of decisions can sneak up on you.

Birmingham has become a central figure in many of his players’ lives as the years have fallen off the calendar. His impact extends far beyond the court. Former players return to visit. Some have become assistant coaches. He gets invited to weddings and other family engagements. He’s always a phone call away.

“He’s an icon and he’s a mentor,” said Kristin Yeasted Hawley, a Holy Name grad and former Berks Player of the Year. “He takes you under his wing and makes sure that not only are you doing well in basketball but you’re doing well in school and you’re doing well in life.”

When Birmingham took over the girls program he misjudged how close Wolf was to retirement. By the time the legend left as boys coach Birmingham was entrenched with the girls. 

Success came instantly and it proved to be a perfect fit. Holy Name reached the PIAA final in Birmingham’s fourth season. He returned to the state title game with Berks Catholic in 2018.

“We’ve been very successful,” Birmingham said. “I’ve been blessed with a lot of good players. I’ve been blessed with a lot of teams that get along and enjoy being together. I tell kids all the time that when they leave here, they’re still part of our family.”

Hawley leans on Birmingham more than most. She’s working through her own coaching career and is now at Penn State Berks.

If she sends a postgame text message, there’s always an immediate response. If she asks Birmingham to attend a practice and offer guidance, he stops by the gym.

“He always has good words of advice and he’s always encouraging,” Hawley said. “He lays it out there for you. He doesn’t always sugarcoat it. But he knows what he’s talking about and that’s why I continue to reach out to him and take his advice and run with what he says.”

Birmingham finds a way to straddle the difficult line between being demanding and being a friend. He earns the trust of his players. He makes them want to excel partly because they don’t want to disappoint him.

After all the seasons and all the championships, players look forward to their four years at Berks Catholic. 

“Coming up, all I wanted to do was play for him,” senior point guard Mackenzie Gordos said. “In the beginning it was kind of scary. He has a big legacy. Team after team won counties. I always looked up to them. I wanted to fill out the same thing.”

The program has never been stronger. Last season brought Berks Catholic’s third county championship since 2017 and the Saints are one of the favorites to win it again in February.

Caroline Reedy, an All-Berks selection, has cherished her time playing for Birmingham.

“He’s a great coach,” Reedy said. “Definitely my favorite coach that I’ve ever played for. He has high expectations for us but we also know he cares about us and we know he doesn’t expect more than we can deliver.”

Birmingham said he wants to coach as long as he teaches. That means at least six more years and it would put him on the brink of 40 seasons.

No Berks girls coach can match his longevity and record. That wasn’t the plan in 1989 but that’s how it turned out.

Keeley was right to trust that hunch.

“In my heart of hearts, I just felt that it would be a good hire,” Keeley said. “My goodness, it has been.”