Now is the time to stop sleeping on Birmingham High

Year after year after year, the Birmingham High boys team sends players to college, and even some directly to the professional level, but year after year after year, the team gets overlooked.   In fact, the entire Los Angeles City Section gets overlooked, which leads to people not realizing how good of a team Birmingham High is, and has been, for quite some time.   In 22 seasons with E.B. Madha at the helm as the head coach the Patriots program has won 313 matches, and has four 20-win seasons. The team has gone to the LA City Section final six times, winning four CIF titles. Since California started its Regional State playoffs, Birmingham has been in the Southern California CIF semifinals three times and reached the final once.   To say Birmingham has had success over the past two decades would be putting it lightly, but Madha is quick to deflect any attention from himself, saying he has been blessed with talent over that time.   And though Madha deserves more credit than that, it is true that he has had a lot of talent. Last season's team is a microcosm of that. Five players went on to play after high school, four of them in the college ranks and one went professional, going directly to the United Soccer League. However, you need good coaching to help develop that talent.   "It takes players to be successful, but what makes us so successful as a program is our facilities, our administration and our coaching staff," Madha said. "Our administrative is very supportive of our program and our coaching staff is one of the best staffs around."   The staff includes current professional players Tony Lopez and Gustavo Villalobos as well as former pro Julian Lopez. Madha himself also used to play professionally.   A staff like that gives knowledge to players that they wouldn't have access to otherwise, and this year's Patriots team has five players you could, and should, see playing either in college or at a professional rank.   [player_tooltip player_id='7436' first='Diego' last='Ceja'], Senior, Midfielder   Ceja should be considered as one of the best players in California. He played for the LAFC Academy before returning to play for his high school team, and the Patriots are glad to have him. He's got a soccer IQ that is off the charts. He's the type of player that seems to be playing chess when others are playing checkers. He is very creative, incredibly skilled to where the ball is basically glued to his foot when he receives it and he has a very lethal shot with either foot. He's incredibly fast and is the engine of the team.   Anthony Macedo, Senior, Forward   Macedo is a crafty No. 7 who sets up a lot of the Birmingham goals. He's very fast, has a very good shot and shows off great speed. He really goes at midfielders and defenders, and because of that the opposing team has to move players around to keep up with him.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/01/Jerry-Ramos-crop-722x475-1673581563.jpg?w=721" alt="" class="wp-image-81042" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Birmingham High</figcaption></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='39350' first='Jerry' last='Ramos'], Senior, Forward   Ramos is the leading goal scorer for the Patriots, scoring 17 goals in the 10 matches he has played in this season. He is a player that flashes incredible speed, he's strong, explosive and can create separation from defenders quite easily. He's got a great shot with either foot, and has decided to head to Salt Lake Junior College, a school known for taking players out of high school and getting them to Major League Soccer.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/01/Steven-Ramos-crop-647x425-1673581660.jpg?w=646" alt="" class="wp-image-81044" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Birmingham High</figcaption></figure>   Steven Ramos, Sophomore, Outside Defender   Ramos has potential pro written all over him. He is a left back who is extremely strong, especially for his age. He has great ball skills and technical ability. He connects with forwards very well and is very eager and skilled at going forward and getting into the attack.   Oscar Vargas, Senior, Forward   Vargas is a true goal scorer. He knows where to be, showing that uncanny knack for just being in the right place to put a goal away, and he knows how to finish. Vargas is a big, strong striker making him hard to handle for defenses.

Year after year after year, the Birmingham High boys team sends players to college, and even some directly to the professional level, but year after year after year, the team gets overlooked.