Diebler returns to coaching at Danbury

Keith Diebler was retired as a head varsity basketball coach for just under 18 months. Diebler, who still coaches volleyball at Danbury, was named the new boys basketball coach for the Lakers on Wednesday. "Everyone is going to ask why. The simplest answer is that it's who I am," Diebler said. "Danbury has been super to me and I feel good. I still am going to do what I need to do as far as seeing basketball games and things like that. "I miss the bounce of the ball. I miss not finishing something I started here at Danbury. That all tied together." Keith said that if you asked his sons — Jeremiah, Jake and Jon — none of them would be surprised by his return to the sidelines. Jeremiah lives in Pennsylvania and is entering his third year as a girls basketball varsity assistant. Jake is the head boys coach at Ohio State. Jon is an assistant coach at Butler under former OSU coach Thad Matta. "That's who they are, too," Keith said. "They're in the same field because of their passion. They may not be in it as long as me, but I wouldn't think that possibility doesn't exist. It's who we are." Adam Scott coached the Lakers last year before returning to Ohio Northern to be an assistant coach for the Polar Bears. Diebler has 415 career wins as a head basketball coach. At Upper Sandusky, he won the Division II state championship in 2005 and the Rams were runners-up in 2007. Diebler previously served as Danbury's head coach from 2019-2024, going 30-87. "A lot of the kids that are coming back played varsity for me two years ago," Diebler said. "The familiarity is there. Last year, having coached the seventh-grade team that will be eighth-graders now, I have a grip on what's coming and where the program is going to head. "When I do get in a position to be done, the next coach will be set up for success. Adam had the program moving in the right direction." Had Diebler not been named the coach, the Lakers were starring at three coaches in as many seasons. "That was in the back of my mind," Diebler said. "It's hard to have consistency. I really felt compelled on that end to step in at that point. I wanted to step in for them to have the chance to have that consistency." First-team Sandusky Bay Conference River Division selection Tyler Harris led Danbury with 16.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game last year, but graduated. "The time of the move for Coach Scott wasn't great for us, but obviously we're supper happy for him to have that opportunity," Danbury athletic director Joe Miller said. "With that being said, knowing the timeframe of when we were going to start interviewing — and most head coaches weren't gonna leave in June — wasn't going to be the easiest process. "When Keith came forward with an interest to coach, that certainly made things a lot easier on us knowing you're going to get the pedigree he has and experience he has and familiarity he has with our boys." Junior Frankie Kovach added 15.2 points and 5.0 rebounds a night. Kovach led the team in free throwing shooting and topped the Lakers with 2.6 assists per contest. "I always felt like it was important to have your varsity coaches in the building every day building relationships with athletes," Miller said. "Him being in the building seeing the boys was a huge plus for us. "With him involved in our middle school teams last year and being the head coach a year ago, all of those kinds of positives made that decision rather easy in bringing him back and leading the program." Diebler said the summer is moving along. The volleyball team is getting work in and will really ramp up next week. "I had my first meeting with the basketball kids Wednesday," Diebler said. "We haven't done a ton with volleyball except for a Monday night league at Oak Harbor and that was with kids that weren't basketball players. "Joe and I have an understanding that June is for basketball. He has the kids in a league. We combine on injury prevention in the morning. The kids that play basketball have his workouts, so we don't do much together. Volleyball will get going soon with Monday, Wednesday and Friday weight lifting and open nets." All told, Diebler has coached nearly five decades, getting his first job at Plymouth in 1977. Diebler has also coached at Gibsonburg, Bowling Green, Fostoria, Genoa and Lakota. "As long as my health is there, I can be effective and work with kids," Diebler said. "It's exciting. I feel really refreshed. I look forward to getting the kids back in the gym and getting to work."