Abbegael David vows for long stay as Lexington girls basketball coach

LEXINGTON — Abbegael David grew up in the quaint town of Cuyahoga Falls where she quickly fell in love with basketball thanks to a youth program that was run by Woodridge schools.

She played as a young child developing skill and running similar offensive and defensive schemes that she would later know in her sleep when she was a standout player at Woodridge High School. She built a solid basketball foundation as a youngster that helped her earn first team All-Portage Trail Conference, second team All-District, All-Ohio honorable mention during her senior year in 2016. The youth program helped her become a dynamic scorer with more than 1,300 varsity points, go on to play college hoops at Malone and earn a spot in her high school’s athletic hall of fame.

Growing up in sports made her want to return the favor one day. After college, she was the head volleyball coach at Parma Senior High School and a varsity assistant basketball coach at Louisville High School. It was an upbringing that she thoroughly enjoyed and one she hopes to help the youth of Lexington experience after she took over the varsity girls basketball position ahead of the 2025-26 season.

“When I was at Woodridge, we were a public school with a feeder program,” David said. “Even some of our high school players, like when I was a senior, would go down and coach some of the youth programs. That is what I want to eventually get to here at Lexington. Get some of these high schoolers giving back to the community, going down and helping coach some of the youth kids just to make that impact and keep them interested in basketball.”

David steps into a situation that is unlike many others. She is the 12th varsity girls basketball coach in the last 16 years. The Lexington girls basketball program hasn’t had a coach stay for more than two years since Daryl Uhde coaches from 2010-2013 and hasn’t had one for more than three years since Dan Trease’s run in the early 2000s-2010. Lady Lex has had just four coaches stay two years and had five coaches stay just one season.

David is the fifth coach in the last six seasons.

And the program is struggling because of it. Without coaching continuity, participation numbers are suffering to the tune of only eight girls in the entire high school program. Lexington cannot field a junior varsity team and will play varsity-only contests in 2025-26.

David is currently focused on this season.

“First of all, we have to build team chemistry at our varsity level,” David said. “We have two seniors who have taken on the responsibility or helping us build that and they are running our team. With our eight players, we are feisty, but we are hoping to add in chemistry with that in the next week or so and starting getting some Ws.”

While her focus is on helping the 2025-26 Lady Lex team reach its full potential, she is also working to build up numbers for future teams.

“We are also going to put a lot of emphasis in our youth,” David said. “We have done a lot of bitty ball sessions and held a ton of open gyms with our middle school. We are hoping to get our youth more involved so we can build a solid program for years to come.”

David grew up in bitty ball and remembered how instrumental it was when she would meet varsity basketball players who were invested in the present and future of the program. It had a direct impact on how well she did in high school and in college.

“Having a feeder program is essential,” David said. “It is invaluable when girls are playing together for many years before they even get to varsity. Having those friendships built is a huge asset because at the varsity level, chemistry is everything. Incorporating everything we do at the varsity level defensively and offensively only helps them so when they get to high school, we can focus on more important things other than teaching some of the basics.”

As an Ashland resident and a math teacher at Gateway Online Academy, David seems committed to bringing some stability to the Lexington girls basketball program. Young and relatable to her players, David sees her stop at Lexington as a long-term plan where, if she coaches four seasons, will be the longest tenured coach in the last 15 years.

“That is the plan, yes,” David said. “I have a great group of girls and I am looking forward to what they do this season as we build toward the future.”

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