Keith Diebler retires from basketball coaching after nearly 5 decades

DANBURY TWP. — Simply put for Keith Diebler, it is time. Diebler announced his retirement from coaching basketball Wednesday morning, telling his team that the timing is right. "I was thoroughly planning on coming back because we're on the edge," Diebler said. "We played a lot of young kids and I think the program is set to go. It's a good time for a person to come in." The timing of Keith's middle son, Jake, being named the head coach at Ohio State played a major role. Keith only missed one game – at Minnesota – since Jake was named the interim coach after the firing of Chris Holtmann. Keith was able to travel to the Big Ten Tournament as well as multiple trips to Columbus in the past month or so. "There's a lot of things that have struck me," Diebler said. "I have three wonderful boys in Jake, Jon, and Jeremiah. They've been asking me why probably the last three or four years. Maybe even five. I think they all three know that it's who we are. It's about service. I think I've found that out more and more in last three or four weeks with what's happening with Jake and the amount of impact you've had on kids." Diebler got his start at Plymouth High School during the 1977-1978 season. After coaching the boys team for three years, he took over the girls job for two years. He didn't coach during the 1982-1983 season before coaching the Plymouth junior varsity team the next season. He then made a move and coached Gibsonburg during the 1984-1985 season before taking over at Bowling Green the next year. He then went back to Gibsonburg, coaching from 1986-1987 until the end of the 2000 season. "There's nobody that works any harder than him," Danbury athletic director Joe Miller said. "He's here every morning by 5 a.m. and is usually the last one to leave. In this day and age, you don't find people that want to commit that kind of time. The search to find his replacement will be tough because those are awfully large shoes to fill." After the 2000 season ended, Diebler made the move to coach Fostoria for four seasons. Diebler then transitioned to Upper Sandusky and found his greatest success, winning the 2005 Division II state championship with an unblemished 27-0 mark, coaching Jake as a senior and Jon as a sophomore. Diebler, a 1970 Colonel Crawford graduate, said it all started from a young age. "I got into coaching because of a football coach," Diebler said. "I got into coaching because I got into teaching. Bob Royer saw an ornery young man that was going through high school. I'll never forget the day when I was in the eighth grade and I was ornery. He pulled me into study hall and said I needed to get involved in sports. That would give me a reason to be in school. It was that day with Bob Royer that got me into sports. "The person that had the biggest impact on my life besides my parents was a coach." Diebler coached a total of six seasons at Upper Sandusky, finishing as state runners-up in 2007. Jon, a senior, was named Mr. Basketball that year before playing four seasons at Ohio State, becoming the Big 10 leader in career 3-pointers made when he graduated. Keith didn't coach for a couple of seasons before two years at Genoa and one at Lakota. After sitting out for a few years, he took over at Danbury before the 2019-2020 season. The Lakers went 1-22 and 2-21 in his first two years before improving to 11-13 and 13-11 across two seasons. Danbury was just 3-20 this past season. "In meeting with the boys and grandchildren, it's time," Keith said. "Sitting at the game last night with my granddaughter beside me kind of brought it full circle. Some of the kids I coached, every decade has gotten a hold of me since Jake's hiring and talked about the impact I've had on lives." Jon is now an assistant at Butler under former Ohio State coach Thad Matta. Jeremiah is an assistant girls basketball coach at Plum High School in Pennsylvania. Keith said Monday's press conference to officially introduce Jake as Ohio State's coach really had a couple of things sink in. "Everybody says you get that moment when you know," Keith said. "Sitting at the press conference, Jake said one of the things that was great about the last month was I was around and that I was coming to games. Listening to Jon and Jeremiah was the same thing. You have to be around. I have yet to get to Indianapolis to see a Butler game. That hit home when Jake said that. I know I've sacrificed a lot in my personal life with family to be of service." Diebler retires with 415 career wins and the state title. Diebler won a pair of district titles at Gibsonburg and competed at the district level five other times. Diebler's teams won 10 or more games 24 times in his career. "I could never tell you what my record was," Diebler said. "I look at the record of kids that had a chance to play for me and became successful. Jerry Roberts was at the game last night. He was on the regional team at Gibsonburg and didn't play much. He thanked me for the winters, hard work, and the valuable lessons. More than the wins and losses, it's the service and relationships you've formed." This won't be the end of the road for Diebler at Danbury. He will stay on as head volleyball coach for the Lakers, who advanced to the district round this past fall. "The good news for us is we don't lose him completely," Miller said. "We're excited about the fact that he's going to come back and continue to be our building sub in addition to being our volleyball coach again next year. The loss we'll feel as he leaves our boys basketball program is significant. Keith has done a great job in his five years. We greatly appreciate the time, energy, and effort that he's put into the program and all the lives he's touched along the way." Diebler will now get the chance to be a full-time grandpa. He has seven grandchildren with Jake and his wife, Jordyn, expecting another one soon. Keith's wife, Debra, also has three grandchildren. "When I saw how much it meant to (Jake) at the press conference and I could hear it in Jon's voice when I talked to him this last time, it is time," Keith said. "Preparing for two sports is 12 months out of the year and it takes away a lot of time. Now I can still have an impact on people's lives because of a person that had that impact on my life. I can still do that." For now, Keith will make the two-hour, 20-minute trek back to Columbus on Saturday as Ohio State takes on Virginia Tech in the second round of the NIT at 7 p.m. Somewhere in the crowd, Jake's biggest fan will be cheering on and watching someone coach eerily similar to himself. "At the press conference, it just hit me," Keith said. "I've given so much and now I've got grandchildren. Some of them have only seen me when on Facetime. They said I'd never give it up. I told them a long time ago the first one to get a head coaching job, whether high school or college, I'd walk away. "That day came." --- Keith Diebler coaching career School&emsp;Record&emsp;YearsPlymouth&emsp;13-46&emsp;1977-1980Plymouth (girls)&emsp;24-17&emsp;1980-1982Gibsonburg&emsp;16-6&emsp;1984-1985Bowling Green&emsp;4-17&emsp;1985-1986Gibsonburg&emsp;152-157&emsp;1986-2000Fostoria&emsp;63-25&emsp;2000-2004Upper Sandusky&emsp;97-46&emsp;2004-2010Genoa&emsp;13-33&emsp;2012-2014Lakota&emsp;3-20&emsp;2014-2015Danbury&emsp;30-87&emsp;2019-2024Overall&emsp;415-454&emsp;1977-2024