David resigns as Mt. Lebanon basketball coach
David resigns as Mt. Lebanon basketball coach
At 62, Joe David of Mt. Lebanon is not slowing down.
David works out for nearly three hours on his in-home exercise equipment four days a week. He still golfs. He travels, mainly to Italy to manage the professional basketball team he recently purchased. He also oversees his physical therapy business, which he opened more than 30 years ago.
However, David is no longer the varsity boys basketball coach at Mt. Lebanon High School. He announced his resignation in a Facebook post on Sept. 14 after announcing his intentions to his players during a team meeting
“It was the right time,” David said. “It had to happen sooner or later. I could coach to 70 but things change.”
Since he took the position as Blue Devil skipper in 2001, plenty has changed but within the past few years there have been many adjustments to David’s life and that at the high school.
“I have not had a free winter since 1999,” explained David, who embarked on his head coaching career after one year as an assistant to Pete Serio, who was coaching the Mt. Lebanon girls team.
Since Feb. 2 when the Blue Devils ended their 2026 season with a 67-49 loss to New Castle in the quarterfinals of the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs to finish 15-9 overall, David has been mulling over retirement because much was shifting in his personal and professional life.
While he already has two grandchildren, Jack and Eli, David and his wife, Sandy, are anticipating three more additions to the ever-expanding family by 2027.
His business – David Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Center on Castle Shannon Boulevard – is flourishing and since has expanded to a practice in the Southpointe location in Canonsburg. He works alongside his children, Jeremy, Justin, Jonny and Samantha, all of whom earned their doctorate degrees in physical therapy from the University of Pittsburgh like their father.
A few years ago, David joined the ownership group of the Italian professional basketball team Pistoia Basket 2000. He has since become the president and majority shareholder/owner of the club, which is a top tier team in the Italian League.
Additionally, the Mt. Lebanon athletic department has undergone a transformation. After John Grogan retired as athletic director, Daniel Bonaventura was hired to fill the position, which oversees all sports for grades 7-12.
David said that retiring was “one of those things” that he had been thinking about since June.
“I want to go slow in making my decision. I wanted to make sure it was the right thing. A lot of change was happening and I just felt like it was the right time.”
In resigning now, David hopes to ensure his assistant, Tyler Bluemling, will inherit the position. A member of Mt. Lebanon’s Distinguished Blue Devils Club, Bluemling is the school’s all-time leading scorer. He played at Duquesne University from 2001-05 before spending a year as a graduate assistant at the University of Michigan. Bluemling teaches at Jefferson Middle School in the district.
“Tyler’s been with me for some time,” said David. “I hope they see that he’s the right person to succeed me. I want him to have the opportunity to continue the culture we created.”
At Mt. Lebanon, David extended the tradition of winning. He compiled a 444-200 record with six WPIAL championship appearances. The Blue Devils won district titles three times under David and captured 11 section banners.
Mt. Lebanon qualified for the WPIAL playoffs 23 times with David at the helm. The Blue Devils participated in the PIAA tournament 17 times with the 2011 team advancing all the way to the state finals only to lose to Chester, 72-60, in overtime on March 23 at the Bryce Jordan Center on the Penn State University campus.
“Coaching was never about the wins. They were a byproduct of why I wanted to coach. To give back to the game and help young men learn lessons through basketball,” David said.
David was once one of those young men.
He was such a standout player in the early 1980s at Upper St. Clair where he was inducted into the school’s first Hall of Fame class in 2000. David went on to play for the University of Pittsburgh during the Big East Conference era.
Hence, he has plenty of memories, but most vivid are the coaching recollections. David cherishes them all.
“Of all the wins, I am more proud of the fact that we were in 92 playoff games. That’s a lot of playoff games and shows the success we had,” David said.
David cited wins against Montverde Academy, 56-44 on Dec. 29, 2009 in the Junior Orange Bowl Classic and against Penn Wood, 52-48, on March 23, 2011 at Chambersburg High School in the PIAA Class 4A semifinals as highlights.
“The greatest win was against Montverde because they were the top-ranked team in the country at the time and had all these Division I players. That was significant. And the semifinal game that took us to the state championship,” David added.
Those teams featured Luke Hagy and Paul Lang. Hagy, who was The Almanac’s Athlete of the Year for his excellence in football, basketball and baseball, went on to play football at Cornell. Lang played tight end at Michigan State and was signed, but later cut, by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2016.
“We had some great players. Hagy and Lang were two of them on that state runner-up team. We did a good job against Montverde and Chester,” David said.
“Being in a state championship game is a highlight and all the WPIAL championships, six times, and the three wins were wonderful,” he added.
For David, the relationships were equally enjoyable and unforgettable.
“I am extremely thankful for all the support from the administrators, especially John Grogan, the fans and community. I’ve also had great relationships with my players. Some of them are gray now with their own kids. That is fun to see and enjoy.”
Today, David is enjoying his free time, if there is any.
“Now I can focus on myself. Do things that I want to do,” he said. “But there still never seems to be enough time.”
And, who knows, there may still be some time for coaching. David said other coaches have already reached out to him.
“I would consider watching practice, teaching and showing them things because I love being in the gym. That’s part of me.
“I think I’m done,” he continued. “I wouldn’t rule out the right situation though if one would come up again.”