Tony Balistrere is entering his sixth season with the Albright College men's basketball program as a volunteer assistant, after a long and successful run as a local high school coach.
Albright went 13-13 in 2013-14, reaching a third straight Commonwealth Conference Tournament. The Lions had two All-Commonwealth selections, and freshman Sameen Swint was named the league's Rookie of the Year.
In 2012-13 season, the Lions won 22 games (second-highest in program history) while hosting both Commonwealth and ECAC South Tournament games. In addition, senior Dave Singleton was named an honorable mention All-American.
Albright achieved a 17-9 mark in 2011-12, qualifying for the Commonwealth Conference Tournament after winning its final six regular season games. The Lions also won the Moravian Greyhound Starter's Classic and Wyndham Reading Tip-Off Tournament, and traveled to Ithaca, N.Y. to face Division I and Ivy League opponent Cornell University.
Balistrere spent nine seasons at nearby Holy Name High School, where he was head coach for the past five years. Under Balistrere, Holy Name had a record of 82-42, and won two Berks County Division IV championships. He was named the Berks County Division IV Coach of the Year in 2006-07 and 2007-08.
In the 1990s, Balistrere was the head varsity coach at Waynesboro High School, taking an 0-21 team and within three years leading them to back-to-back championship game appearances. He also played and coached at Susquehanna University, winning the MAC championship as a player in 1992 and a Commonwealth title as an assistant in 1995.
Balistrere is currently employed as the principal at Berks Catholic High School (a merger of Holy Name and Reading Central Catholic) after working for seven years as the Director of Institutional Advancement for Holy Name.
