CATLIN — The Salt Fork Storm has always seemed to find a way to stay ahead of the curve.
But with a young team, the Storm will have to work harder to keep their successful run going.
“We got a young group. They are doing a good job of being a sponge and soaking everything in,” Salt Fork coach Brian Russell said. “So it is going to be one of those things to keep practicing and keep learning and get better every day. We talk about being better today than what we were yesterday and this group is doing that.”
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Last season, the Storm overcame the loss of Alexa Jamison to win the Vermilion County title for a fifth time and a regional title for the third time. Now they have to overcome the loss of Sailor Pacot and Bracie and Brycie Hird from that team.
“It is finally our turn. I am going to have to fill some big shoes,” senior Morgan Russell said. “We had Sailor last year and I was the mini-her and now I am going to have to be her. It will be a little different and we all have to fill some different shoes. I may have to be a shooting guard and a post and I have to get out of my comfort zone and be a little more aggressive and be what the team needs. We all have our specialties but we have to get out of our comfort zones.”
Morgan Russell is one of the top returners that had significant playing time from last year, along with fellow senior Taylor Remole and sophomore Laurilei Pierce.
“The two that got a lot of playing time was Morgan and Taylor. Laurilei got some experience toward the end of the year, so she’s going to help,” Brian Russell said. “We are just going to have to learn from mistakes because they are going to happen and once you make them, you learn from them and try not to do them again.”
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Getting acquainted
Practice is the way to get things going for the team. Working in the younger players and finishing their strengths and weaknesses is the goal.
“We just have to get better every day and have a good attitude and control what we can control. If you do that, you give yourself a chance to win,” Brian Russell said. “Right now, everyone had their strengths and weaknesses. As a coaching staff, it’s our job how to piece together like a puzzle and figure out what strength goes with what strength.”
“We just have to tell them to be comfortable and they are a little anxious because they haven’t played in this level yet,” Morgan Russell said. “In the last few practices, we have been practicing in that high level to get them used to what it is like in a game. The more practices we have had, the more comfortable they are. I feel that we all are good shooters, it is just getting used to a defense coming at them.”
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Starting rough
The Storm will start play on Tuesday against Monticello and will play Villa Grove on Thursday and Seeger on Nov. 21.
“We are going to find out where we are at. We said it is not where you are at the beginning, it is where you are at the end,” Brian Russell said. “The county tournament is near the end of the season and there is regionals, so those are the things were are focusing on and we want to win every game, but also make sure we are learning.”
County targets
With dominating the decade in county action, the Storm knows teams will bring their best shot every night.
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“It is going to be one of those things where the seniors know that we are going to have an intense few weeks and then calms down,” Morgan Russell said. “But each team is going to step up this year because we are always the target since we have won conference. All of the teams in the conference is coming to beat us, so we can’t relax and we have to think it will be intense every week and think that every game is a hard game.
“We played Bismarck and Westville over the summer. Westville are getting a ton of freshmen that played well in junior high but I think with our practices, our freshmen are pretty good as well. The seniors and I agree we don’t want to be the team that stops that county run and regional run, so we are going to keep going to keep that alive.”
Around the area
Schlarman Academy will have a new coach in Kashif Watson and he will inherit a team led by seniors Addison Forsyth, Reagan Troglia and Layla Briggs. …. Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin is coming off a 20-win season and will return most of that team with top players Giana Brown, Gentry Elson and Raylynn Hearnley coming back. … Armstrong-Potomac returns senior Elle Jameson and juniors Ashlyn Ackerman, Isabel Bullington and Chesney Franzen to try to improve on last year’s 16-12 record. … Hoopeston Area was led by a core of four seniors lsat season, but return Kayla Crull, Rilyn Fell and Mady Klaber. … Georgetown-Ridge Farm returns Madi Spesard, Addisen Ellis and Annistyn Tovey to a program that has seen constant improvement over the years. … Oakwood returns Lainee Smith, Avery Trimmell and Ashtyn Dailey to improve from last season’s 11-20 record. … Westville only won six games last season, but with a freshman class that is coming off a county title in junior high, the Tigers are looking to improve on that.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
