Darci Ammen to Lead Turner Tornadoes, Ready to Roll in 2022-23 District 9C

The Turner Tornadoes have been in a slide the past several seasons and last year was no different. Turner finished 2-16 overall and 0-14 in

District 9C play. This years team has been invigorated by having a new, but familiar face on the sideline. Head Coach, Darci Ammen takes over this winter as Head Coach of the Turner Tornado varsity boys basketball team.

Ammen is taking over the reigns of the boys while also serving as a Head Coach for the first time at the high school level. Ammen however is certainly not a new face to students at Turner High School. She has served as the Assistant Girls Basketball Coach for the past eight years and is currently the Head Coach for the Tornado Junior High girls team.

Ammen insists that pulling double duty this year is a task she is more than ready to take on, "No one coaches for the money, we do it for the kids and I'm really looking forward to an exciting season for both the girls and boys.

The Tornadoes will look to senior Charlie Calvert and juniors Ryan Doyle and Trent Billmayer for leadership on the court. Doyle earned District 9C All Conference honors a season ago and will be asked once again to lead the attack offensively while also spearheading the defense.

Sophomores Carson Maloney, Tate Beck, JR Brown and Caleb Zellmer will add some experience and depth to this years team as well. The Tornadoes lone freshman is Joe Trautmann.

After completing their junior high season eighth graders Ty Beck, Preston Eggbert, Jake Brown and Brady Zellmer will expand the Tornadoes roster and allow them to play a JV schedule this winter.

The Tornadoes were busy this off season preparing for the 2022-23 campaign. "We were able to play in some summer tournaments, which was nice because I got to work with them and they could get familiar with me on the side of the court heading into winter practice," commented Ammen.

Assessing her team Ammen has a lot of confidence, "Charlie (Calvert), he is a great defensive minded player, and has logged a lot of minutes on the court the past four seasons. Charlie has a high basketball IQ and has really worked hard and shown a ton of growth the past few years. He is a fast and a very good defender and really is showing a lot of senior leadership right now."

A lot will be asked of their All-Conference performer from a season ago, "Ryan (Doyle) will be our primary ball handler and he has great court vision and is a solid player on both sides of the court," said Ammen. "He has played a ton of minutes since his eighth grade year and is a very strong leader. Ryan is a great communicator and really helps the younger kids learn what they are expected to do."

The Tornadoes have experience on the perimeter as well, "Trent (Billmayer) can handle the ball well and is a threat on both offense and defense," added Ammen. "Trent has a great three point shot and I am looking to use him both outside and inside a lot this season."

Ammen is pleased with the role all three upperclassmen have taken on, "The three older kids are all great leaders they show tremendous ability to teach the younger kids. Ryan and Trent can both really attack the basket well and I hope to be able to create some mismatches with them. I expect to see some pretty good things from them this year."

Turner varsity basketball gets their eighth graders involved every year, so this years sophomore class already has a couple years of experience to build on, "The sophomore class, as a group, is a good size class for Turner and they all bring a lot to the table. Carson (Maloney) played a lot of minutes last year and has really improved in the post and has a good three point shot as well," said Ammen. "The other three have really shown growth and are getting better at attacking the basket."

Overall Ammen likes the way her team is put together heading into the season, "We have a lot of height this year and I am really excited about how we can challenge other teams in the conference this year. Their length is going to create a lot of problems for other teams and thats exciting for us, maybe we can even play some zone defense this year."

Getting all the kids some quality time on the court is a priority to Ammen, "With the younger group and having more kids we will be able to play a JV schedule this year which will give them more confidence. They will adjust a lot faster being able to play at the junior varsity level."

Practice has been good so far, "They have been working hard and really getting after it, I'm looking forward to getting started in Glasgow next week and really getting a chance to see where we are at. I'm looking forward to seeing these boys win some games this year and have a successful season, I really think we are capable of doing that and I cant wait to see it," said Ammen. "Dalton Cornell is my assistant coach and has been a really big help in getting the gym open this summer and spending a lot of time with boys."

The Tornadoes will kick off the 2022-23 season this Friday in Glasgow at the Class C Showcase and will take the court for the first time at 10:30 am against the Nashua Porcupines. Saturday morning, also at 10:30 am, the Tornadoes will play the Glasgow Scotties JV.

Turner will play their first home contest on Friday, December 16 against the Fort Benton Longhorns. They will close out 2022 with road games against Chester/J-I (December 17) and Dodson (December 19 and at home December 21 against Box Elder. They will take the court for the first time in 2023 at home, January 6 against the Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds.