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Former Belding boys basketball head coach Dave Ingles speaks to the team during a home game against Northpointe Christian in February 2024.
Ingles will take over the varsity girls basketball program as head coach from former head coach Shad Breimayer.
DN file photo BELDING Change is coming to Belding basketball, but not from the outside.
The Black Knights are turning to two coaches who know the program inside and out.
After spending the last two seasons at the helm of the boys varsity team, Dave Ingles is shifting across the gym to become head coach of the girls program.
Stepping into Ingles former role is his assistant coach Nate Lisenbee, who will lead the boys team in his first-ever head coach position at the varsity level.
For both coaches, the move represents more than a little change.
It offers an opportunity to build on existing relationships while putting their own stamp on two programs that share the same goal: continuing to move Belding basketball forward.
As someone whos been coaching boys basketball for the last 30 years, Ingles decision to make the switch wasnt about leaving the boys program behind.
Instead, it was about embracing a new challenge while remaining part of a school community he has come to know so well.
When I left Kent City, I was looking at a couple girls coaching jobs that were open, Ingles said.
I was a finalist for a couple of them, but then Zach (Ingles) called me and I came to Belding and I just stuck with the boys.
Coaching girls basketball has been on my mind for a while.
I just think some of the things I do with the boys, I think, could be really successful with the girls.
Before coming to Belding, Ingles was the head coach at Kent City for eight years, leading the Eagles to four conference titles and one undefeated 20-0 regular season in 2018.
He also coached at Reeths-Puffer for three years and Muskegon Catholic Central, leading the Crusaders to a final-four appearance in 2012.
Outside of high school basketball, Ingles was an assistant coach at Western Michigan University and Alma College.
Ingles, who took over the boys program in the summer of 2024, follows the exit of former head coach Shad Breimayer, who led the girls team for eight years with back-to-back district titles in 2022 and 2023 and 15-plus win seasons in four out of the last five years.
Despite being his first head coach job on the girls side, Ingles is excited for the new opportunity.
Former Belding boys basketball head coach Dave Ingles, left, and former Belding boys basketball assistant coach Nate Lisenbee, center, speak to the team during a game at Cornerstone in December 2025.
As Ingles takes over the girls program, Lisenbee will take over the varsity boys basketball program as head coach this season.
Submitted photo Ive loved coaching the boys, he said.
I like being around the guys, but coaching the girls is something new.
I havent had something new like that in a long time.
Ive been doing this for 30 years, so its kind of exciting that were going to change things up a little bit.
While Ingles begins a new chapter with the girls program, Lisenbee will take over a boys team hes helped build over the past two seasons.
The last two years have been kind of my introduction to Belding, Lisenbee said.
Not only the people involved with the basketball program, but the community and Ive really enjoyed my time here and working with the kids.
I really enjoyed working with Dave, but when the opportunity came up, it was a great opportunity and I was really excited to be involved.
Though this is his first head coaching position at the varsity level, Lisenbee is no stranger to coaching basketball at various levels.
He started his coaching journey as a varsity assistant for West Catholic where he coached for three years before taking a freshman head coach position at Northview.
In his most recent position before Belding, he coached at Comstock Park for five years at both the freshman and junior varsity levels.
When hes not coaching basketball, Lisenbee teaches social studies at Northview High School.
Having worked under Ingles for the last two seasons, he feels as though there is a solid foundation to build upon as he takes over the program.
Dave is great, Lisenbee said.
I knew his teams played hard and I knew that they often would run complex things that I wanted to steal and use for my own teams.
Working with him has been great, not just to learn the Xs and Os, but the way he manages adversity and handles the difficult situations was very interesting to watch.
I just knew that Nate would be a perfect fit, Ingles added.
Hes dedicated, he wants to be the head coach and he knows what hes doing.
I even talked to the principal about that and they all agreed that they thought thatd be a pretty good fit and I think they made a good choice.
Considering the fact that neither coach is a brand-new face when it comes to Belding basketball, they both claim the transitions into their respective positions have been smooth.
Its been phenomenal, honestly, Ingles said.
Our varsity numbers are already better than I thought theyd be, so thats really exciting.
Were also going to play a different style than theyve played in the past.
Were going to play a lot faster and were changing it up.
Were trying to make it exciting for the girls and something fun for them.
Theyve already completely bought in, so thats been good.
Its been great, Lisenbee said.
I knew everybody going in, so that was great.
Ive told the guys that were going to continue to build on what we have, but theyre going to see some changes and see some things that we might do differently.
I think the familiarity has helped a lot and its been fun so far.
Although theyll now patrol opposite sidelines, Ingles and Lisenbee share a common goal of helping Beldings student-athletes succeed.
With offseason workouts and camps already underway, both coaches are eager to begin writing the next chapter for their respective programs.
I hope both are very successful, Ingle said.
On the girls side, I think its great because the twins (Emma and Olivia Ingles) are going to be juniors and then its a ton of sophomores playing on varsity.
Were going to be pretty young, which is kind of exciting for next year and the year after.
With a little success and excitement, our numbers are really going to get going and thats what were trying to get done.
When youre the varsity head coach, youre judged on wins and losses, Lisenbee said.
When I look at success at the high school level, Im looking at the leadership among the guys and the way they sacrifice for each other and the way that they cheer for each other.
Those are going to be the things that were really going to hone in on and thats going to make us successful.
Wins and losses, you cant really control those, but the things that we can control, were going to do our best to do that.
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