The Miami Trace Lady Panthers basketball program has a new head coach.
Junior-varsity and assistant coach, Kayla Dettwiller, was approved by the Miami Trace Local School Board by a 5-0 vote at their meeting Monday, May 10.
Dettwiller was recommended to the board by Miami Trace High School Athletic Director, Aaron Hammond.
Dettwiller is the daughter of former McClain High School girls’ head coach Dennis Overstake and the late Dixie Overstake.
“I can’t remember a day when I didn’t want to be a head coach,” Dettwiller said. “When I was little, I used to tell dad, ‘the only thing I want to do is coach basketball and raise pigs.’ He’d just look at me and shake his head.”
In fact, Dettwiller, a graphic arts teacher at Miami Trace High School, does raise pigs and now has her first head coaching job.
Sometimes coaches come into a job and are looking to rebuild a program.
That is most assuredly not the case with the Miami Trace girls’ basketball program.
“(The program) is in great shape,” Dettwiller said. “For the last two decades, it’s been a proud tradition. The hope is just to keep building on that and keep the tradition alive and keep it rolling, keep winning.”
Dettwiller said that she is still working on the details of finalizing who will be on her coaching staff.
“Coach (Ben) Ackley has had a very successful run,” Dettwiller said. “With seven league championships in nine years. Nine Sectional championships in those nine years, so, that’s a pretty good winning percentage at 100 percent there.
“You just want to always build on that,” Dettwiller said. “We expect to come in and compete for the league title next year, win a Sectional championship and be playing at the District level.
“Hopefully, in a few years, we’ll be back where we were in 2017 and 2010,” Dettwiller said, referring to Miami Trace’s Regional championship seasons that had them reaching the State Final Four.
“That’s always the goal, building towards that,” Dettwiller said.
“Kayla was a natural choice for the interview committee,” Aaron Hammond said. “When you look at Kayla’s background, her father is synonymous with successful girls basketball in the Southeast District. She was raised in that environment. She’s been our j-v coach for the past four years, coaching under Ben Ackley.
“Each year in the program, Coach Ackley gave her more and more responsibility to where, this past season, she was in charge of our summer workout program, our lifting program. She was key in strategizing and game-planning with Coach Ackley.
“It was a natural progression for Kayla and it was a very easy recommendation for the committee,” Hammond said. “We feel very comfortable with Kayla’s work ethic, her background and her desire to see our young ladies succeed, as they have for the past two decades in our girls’ basketball program.”
“I’d like to thank the board for hiring me and giving me the opportunity to head up the girls’ program,” Dettwiller said. “I know it’s been a long process for them with a lot of meetings involved. I appreciate everything they do and all of the support they’ve given the girls’ program since I’ve been here. That support started a long time ago.
“Each one of the board members, you see them at basketball games,” Dettwiller said. “You see them at other sporting events. They are very involved in the school.
“I just appreciate and am grateful for this opportunity they’ve allowed me to have,” Dettwiller said.
“I appreciate everything Aaron Hammond has done for the program,” Dettwiller said. “Especially during this last year, because, it’s been a whirlwind of a year, with COVID and everything.”
Dettwiller is married to her husband, Jimmy.
Dettwiller graduated from McClain High School in 2007. She is a graduate of Shawnee State and has just graduated from Xavier University with a Master’s Degree.
