Two-time area coach of the year Michael Menifee has resigned at Danville to take the girls basketball head coaching position with Lexington Christian Academy.

Menifee spoke to his team Monday morning about the switch.

“It’s been everything to me,” Menifee said of his Danville job. “It was my first head coaching job, at the school I attended. It was a great honor and I’m thankful that they gave me the opportunity to do that and show that I can lead a program. It wasn’t an easy decision, it was a very tough one. Just sometimes, it seems like you need to do something different or move forward.”

Menifee led the Admirals to an 18-9 record this season, going undefeated in the 45th District during the regular season for the first time in school history.

Last season, Menifee and the Admirals made the 12th Region tournament after upsetting Boyle County in the first round of the 45th District tournament.

In both years, the Admirals won the 12th Region All-A tournament and played in the All-A Classic in Frankfort.

He said in his two season, he’s proud of what his team has accomplished.

“I think they’ve been very good,” Menifee said. “Those games that we won, we expected to win them. Some that we lost, we felt like we should’ve won those. It was funny that we were kind of sold short on what we could do and what I could do, leading and coaching them. It made it a little more gratifying when we did win those and to get the award because I knew a lot of people felt that myself and the team just weren’t able to live up to the same standard or success that Danville has had in the past.”

Menifee will be leaving a program that graduates three starters, but he said the team should be in good shape for whoever takes over. Starters Ivy Turner and Kirby Alcorn return, as do a slew of underclassmen.

“The program should be fine,” he said. “There is a good, solid group of middle schoolers and eighth graders that will be freshmen, freshmen into sophomores. Along with Ivy, Kirby will be back, Cassidy Lannigan, she didn’t get a lot of time this year, just getting acclimated, but she’s somebody that is going to be able to contribute. The younger kids in and some in middle school that are coming up, they didn’t get a lot of time this year, they had seniors in front of them. But the Gonzalez twins, the Akers twins, you have Ayana Burnette, younger kids coming up, Madison Terrell, there’s a lot of pieces there to work with and keep the program going and be successful.”

Menifee lives in Lexington and will take over a team that went 7-20 last season in the 11th Region.

“In this coaching business, it always seems weird when you do leave,” Menifee said. “But sometimes you just need to put your faith where it needs to be and move forward with it.”

Follow Matt Overing on Twitter @MOvering