Saquon Barkley’s fiancé was a Northeast Pa High School Basketball Star

The 26-year-old was a team captain and all-star for Forest City’s girls basketball team. In her senior year in 2016, she helped lead the forest users to the District 2 Class 1A championship.

“There was just something about her,” said the then forest girls head coach John Duffy. “As soon as I went in and looked at practice, I knew she was a leader.”

Duffy, who worked through his first year with the team, couldn’t pile enough praise for Congdon’s contribution.

“She was a good kid. She treated everyone with respect, ”said Duffy. “She treated the 15th child on the team in the same way she treated the No. 1 player on the team.”

Congdon’s contribution was not exclusive to the leadership department. She found ways to hit big shots as they matter, even despite playing with other all-star caliber players.

In the semi-finals of the district, Congdon hit two clutches 3-Pointers to put Forest City over the edge and get a performance in the final-something for forestry users parlayed into their first district championship of five years.

For her efforts, Congdon received the nickname “Malibu Barbie, Point Guard”, according to her former coach.

Duffy remains in occasional contact with Forest City’s local celebrity, but Congdon is closest with his former teammates.

“She is still talking to the girls she played with,” Duffy said. “She was an intelligent, beautiful girl and you would never know. She was the best child for everyone in school.

“It’s a small, densely composed community, Forest City. She took care of everyone. “

Like many schools in the area, Forest City made an effort to give back to society. Congdon remained a leader through the team’s philanthropic endeavor and helped organize Christmas trading runs for a woman’s resource center and light bingo nights at older centers.

“Just a respectful child. Her family was great too. You can tell that her parents are good people, ”Duffy said.

Congdon’s parents, Kathleen and Dan, still live in the area, and her brother, Danny, is still a strong supporter of Forest City Basketball.

“They welcomed me with open arms when I took the job in Forest City. In particular, her mother was very nice to me, ”Duffy said. “I got the job in early August and my brother died for the next week. Her mother didn’t even know me so well and she went to the funeral. “

Duffy believes that Congdon’s salt of the Earth’s upbringing has an impact on her motherhood. Her family is quiet but ensures that their close friends feel loved and supported.

So he says it’s no surprise that Barkley and Congdon duo are so private. The efforts to reach members of Congdon’s immediate family were not successful.

“She never really liked the limelight to be honest with you. She was always that kind of child, ”said Duffy. “I know it’s the type of mother she is. She is probably very protective of the children and does not want them to be in that kind of thing – the circus and what it could become. “

Congdon was thrown into the cultural ramped Sunday when People -Magazine reported it She and Barkley announced their commitment. Although Congdon referred to Barkley as her fiancé on social media as early as November, Sunday marked the NFL Power couple’s first official recognition of the milestone.

The duo met and started dating in Penn State in 2016, took her from district champion to the Big Ten Master and potentially Super Bowl champion against Kansas City Chiefs. In April 2018, their daughter, Jada, was born. Four years later, Saquon Jr. Born in November 2022.

“Everyone knew Saquon from here. He was one of the best running rumors in the Pennsylvania story, ”Duffy said. “I knew she would be okay because she wouldn’t let anyone treat her right. She is a hard child but a girlfriend of a child. “

Barkley has his own ties to northeastern Pennsylvania. The 2024 NFL Offensive Player of the Year Participated in the Whitehall High School in Lehigh Valley. In 2012, Whitehall traveled to play Delaware Valley in District 2-11 Class 4A Subregional Quarterfinals.

If not a complete unknown, Barkley didn’t have the same pedigree he does today. He was only entrusted with three carriers as underclasses that game, but he made them count. Three touches were to 61 yards and a touchdown, highlighted by a 52-yard outbreak score that put Whitehall in a back and forth fourth quarter.

“He hit the hole and we were as if he were gone,” Delaware Valley’s head coach Keith Olsmers remembered. “They had a few guys who had a huge speed. This guy’s speed was at another level.

“But I just remember he had a big impact on the game, probably more so defensively than offensively because he played so much on the defense that game. As the game unfolded, we learned what most of the Lehigh Valley already knew. Whitehall had a really good young child. We found out the first hand. “

Delaware Valley angled Whitehall, 46-45, after successfully converting a two-point attempt at overtime.

Barkley is known for being a semi-regular visitors to Lehigh Valley, and that’s what Olsommer finds the most impressive-imposing as his skill on the gridiron can be.

“He is a big athlete, but from what I have been in the short little, I have been around him outside the football field, he is a huge guy,” said Olsommer. “I’m not so sure that there are many guys in his position who will take the time to show up for such an event, and then do what he does as a man. That’s pretty impressive thing. “

Duffy Seconds Olsummer’s takeover of the couple.

“I used to write the kids senior letter at the end of their senior evening. And I always said the world would be a much better place if there were more Anna Congdons in the world, ”Duffy said. “She had all the things to be a sneaky child, but she was never. She always put everyone except even first.

“Let me say it to you this way: People would know who Anna Congdon was, even though she never connected to Saquon. That’s the kind of child she was. “

Originally published: February 8, 2025 at. 12:00 Ast