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 miss the bounce of the ball. I miss not finishing something I started here at Danbury. That all tied together." Diebler 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 Diebler 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." 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."