Boyertown coach Bieber surpasses 100-win mark
Boyertown head coach Jason Bieber already has two PAC-10 championships and a PIAA-AAAA semifinal berth under his belt.
Now, he can add another notch as the sixth-year coach earned his 100th victory at the helm of Boyertown with a 59-28 victory over Lebanon last week.
Bieber, who now has 103 wins at week’s end, becomes the third active PAC-10 coach with 100 victories, joining Methacton’s Craig Kaminski (195) and Pottsgrove’s Mike Brendlinger (138) at the top of the list.
Following the team’s 18-point victory over OJR Friday, Bieber pushed all the credit to the girls he’s coached.
“It was really nice (picking up win No. 100),’ Bieber said. “I mean, it’s a tribute to all the girls that put all their time and effort into this program. We put a lot of time in as a program playing in the offseason and getting together. These girls have been dedicated. It’s a nice payoff because it’s nice to see them be successful on the court.’
His resume at the helm of Boyertown has been inspiring.
Bieber guided his team to a PAC-10 title in his first season, compiling a 21-7 record, before leading the Bears to a 28-5 record, a PAC-10 championship, District 1-AAAA quarterfinal berth and PIAA-AAAA semifinal berth in 2010-2011. Following a District 1-AAAA playoff appearance again in 2011-2012, Bieber guided his team to another PIAA-AAAA berth the next season before compiling a 16-7 record last season.
“The first year was a surprise, coming into it and winning a PAC-10 championship with a young team,’ Bieber said. “Following year we had high expectations, we built it up and got to the state semifinals.’
Now, Bieber faces the same challenge as he did earlier in his career as his team is loaded with a young roster featuring only two seniors. But the wealth of talent the team brings back has Boyertown on the cusp of stringing together PAC-10 runs. The Bears are led by the big (literally) trio of sophomore Abby Kapp (11.4 ppg), junior Ali Bauman (11.2 ppg) and junior Maria Garofolo (7.2 ppg). The 6-0 trio have helped the Bears storm out to a 5-0 start in 2014, winning their games by an average of 20 points per game.
“Our goals are always the same coming into the season, we want to get into the PAC-10 final four and the state playoffs. We keep it very simple,’ Bieber said. “Last year I played a lot of kids in and out to get ready for the next couple of years because we’re young this year. We only have two seniors but we have a lot of talent coming back.
“It’s nice to see the program grow. And I think now we are known around the area and around the state as a pretty good program, which is nice to see. It’s all a tribute to what the girls are doing.’
And come Thursday night, two heavyweights will go at it as the Bears host three-time defending PAC-10 champion Spring-Ford at 7:30 p.m.
“Spring-Ford has a very nice team but night in and night out, we have a tough division,’ Bieber said. “Perk Valley has a nice team, everybody’s a really nice team. We have to be ready each night.
“Spring-Ford and us, we play very similar. Coach (Mickey) McDaniel and I are real good friends. It’s nice to have those games because we have a nice, friendly rivalry. It’s going to be an exciting game going up and down the court. What could be the difference in that game is whatever team brings the energy and establishes that early.’
Numbers never lie?
It’s record indicates that Spring-Ford (2-2 overall) has gotten off to a slow start. Those two losses however came from defending Virginia 5A North region champion Edison and District of Columbia State Athletic Association runner-up Georgetown Visitation Prep. The Rams have been just fine in the PAC-10, topping Perkiomen Valley and Phoenixville by an average of 26.5 points.
Blazing Blue
Daniel Boone received an all-around effort from Kaitlyn Keeley, Steph Sievers, Alayna Roesener and Shelby Vanderslice in a 2-0 week. Sievers (13 points) and Keeley (10 points) paced the Blazers to a 21-point victory over Twin Valley before Vanderslice (12 points), Keeley (11 points) and Roesener (11 points) each scored in double-digits in a 44-39 victory over York Country Day. Daniel Boone (3-1) faces Wilson Tuesday in its Berks Conference opener.
Bullish Effort
The Hill School rebounded from an overtime loss to Stone Ridge of Maryland in the opening round of the Bullis Tournament with a convincing 63-36 victory over St. Mary’s of Annapolis Saturday. Jonica Brown hit for 10 of her game-high 18 points in the second quarter and added three assists and two steals in the win.
X-Press Lane
· Spring-Ford graduate and Lycoming freshman Shelby Mueller has averaged a team-high 9.8 points per game for the Warriors (7-1).
· Fellow Spring-Ford graduate Sammy Stipa has recorded seven assists and three steals in eight games off the bench for Division I Lafayette.
· Kelsey Watson (Methacton) is averaging 8.7 ppg in eight games this season for Kutztown (3-3).
The week ahead
Spring-Ford travels to Boyertown Thursday in what could be a PAC-10 finals preview. Pottsgrove, which has dropped its first two PAC-10 contests, will look to right the ship as Pottstown visits Tuesday while Methacton visits Spring-Ford the same night.
