'Basketball' a way of life for Kaelyn Froebe and Skylar Hayes

 

[June 26, 2018] 

Eat, sleep, basketball - repeat. That might be just a slight exaggeration when it comes to two of the area’s leading ladies on the basketball court but honestly, not by much.

Lincoln’s Kaelyn Froebe and Mount Pulaski’s Skylar Hayes are two local basketball players who made the headlines of the Lincoln Daily News sports section a lot this past season.

Froebe helped guide the Lady Railers to a 20-10 record this season as she averaged 15.8 points, 5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.7 steals during her senior campaign.

Hayes put up solid stats her junior year for the Lady Hilltoppers that included averaging 20.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 3.3 steals.

By the end of the high school girls basketball season, both student-athletes had racked up several awards, most notably the Associated Press All-State Team.

Sitting down to chat with these two ballers at the end of the school ball season was a real treat, but it didn’t take long to figure out these two don’t put down a basketball for very long. For both Froebe and Hayes, basketball and fun go hand in hand and neither has an off-season.

Froebe recently played in the IBCA All-Star Game in Pontiac, where the 2018 LCHS graduate started the game and scored nine points for the 3A-4A South Girls team. The South Team lost to the North Team 104-72, but Froebe had fun and said, “Just being there was a great honor.”

Meanwhile, Hayes just snuck in a trip to Costa Rica in between basketball games for her AAU summer team, Heart of Illinois. Hayes continues to make noise on the court and she made the AAU All-Star Team at a recent tournament.

For Hayes and Froebe basketball is just a way of life.

The two girls have some obvious differences. Hayes hails from a smaller 1A school and is a year younger than Froebe, is a high-energy, fast-talking bundle of basketball knowledge who got a “late start” in the game. Froebe hails from a larger 3A school and has been dribbling the ball since she was a pre-toddler, is a bit laid back and chooses her words carefully when talking about the sport she is so passionate about. Yet, they also share so many similarities and there are so many levels of inspiration these girls bring to the table or let’s say, court in this case, that their impact on the game here in Logan County has been and continues to be remarkable.

Sitting down with Froebe and Hayes this spring inside of a fourth grade WLB classroom not only offered an opportunity to see just how much hard work they put in to achieve their levels of success but also a chance to catch a glimpse of them as two fun-loving girls who are still talking, laughing and sharing stories long after the interview is over. And as with any casual conversation among teenagers, the topics literally bounce all over the place, but with these two ladies everything gets tossed back to basketball.

When the two sat down together, the wound-up Hayes was still riding high from a basketball experience of a lifetime. Hayes attended the 2018 NCAA Women’s Final Four in Columbus, Ohio and was part of the record sellout crowds that saw three of the most exciting games in tournament history. Both semifinal games went into overtime and the 2018 National Champion Notre Dame Fighting Irish won both their games on buzzer-beaters that earned much respect and praise from even Kobe Bryant himself.

“Oh my gosh,” exclaimed an excited Hayes. “There are literally no words. Those are like three of the best games I’ve ever watched. And the upsets! Everyone was like UConn will win for sure. I mean they had been undefeated the entire season. And then Notre Dame, Arike Ogunbowale like buzzer-beater. What? That’s unbelievable!” Hayes says smiling and pronouncing every letter correctly without hesitation. “They were just awesome games. They were so inspiring and motivational.”

Hayes turns to Froebe and says, “Have you been to a college game?” Froebe smiles and nods yes. “Like I want to do that now,” says Hayes. “It’s awesome.”

To add to the frenzy, a USA Today sports photographer also snapped a photo of Hayes at the Final Four, which was posted online nationally in the newspaper’s photo gallery. Hayes explained she was getting her picture by these statue-type things and a photographer walks up and snaps a pic and so she asked, “Who are you for…like why are you taking my picture?” He says, “USA Today” and walks away quickly. Hayes was surprised to say the least. The USA Today sports gallery is still online from the tournament and sure enough sitting among the NCAA Final Four signage that reads, “FOUR IT ALL” is a smiling Hayes perched and holding a no. 1 up with her right hand. The photo is mixed in among the magnificent action shots taken by the USA Today Sports Department.

Oh, and one other minor detail to make the story absolutely amazing: Hayes is a Notre Dame fan and not just because she shares a name with Notre Dame legend and current WNBA star Skylar Diggins-Smith.

In fifth grade Hayes attended a basketball camp at Notre Dame with her older sister, Alec, and she immediately felt a connection to the program. Hayes returned to the camp the summer before her freshman year in high school. Hayes found the Fighting Irish basketball camps to be very inspiring.

“Every time I would go, it would be so inspirational,” she said. “It’s that feeling when you go to a game and you think, ‘Wow, I wanna do this. I wanna work hard everyday to do this and to be at this level.’"

Muffett McGraw was the coach back then and she still is. “Yes, she’s been at it for so long. Me and my dad got to talk to her once and she was very motivational. She was always telling you to do your best,” said Hayes.

Froebe also went to a team camp at Notre Dame with the Lady Railers. The team went Froebe’s sophomore and junior years and the Lincoln point guard had many memories from the experience.

“We would stay overnight,” said Froebe. “Those are memories I will never forget. Just bonding with the team and how fun it was.” Froebe emphasizes the word “fun.”

“Like not only were we playing basketball but we were bonding as a team. I feel like it was just really cool just being around the campus. Some of the Notre Dame basketball girls were there, too, and so we got to see them, and Muffett would actually watch some of our games. My very first behind the back pass was, oh it made me so mad,” Froebe cuts herself off and Hayes asks, “Was she watching?”

Froebe continues, “Yes, she was watching that game and then as soon as I did it, she was turning around.” Hayes groans and reacts to the thought of the Notre Dame coach missing the sweet move by Froebe.

“Oh no,” Hayes sympathizes with Froebe.

Froebe keeps smiling and says, “I was like ok, wow, sweet. But it was really cool.”

Froebe admitted she missed the 2018 NCAA Women’s Final Four because she was off in Mexico on a vacation with the rest of the family, as she calls them, “The Crazy K’s.” Kaelyn is the oldest of four children. Kaden, Kloe and Kruz follow her in the craziness.

While the topic of Notre Dame girls basketball is still at the forefront, the two girls focus the conversation on other female athletes they’ve competed against and the name Anaya Peoples comes up. Peoples incidentally was one of 12 girls just chosen to represent Team USA this summer. She also happens to be the No. 1 point guard in the Class of 2019.

“Anaya Peoples is going to Notre Dame on a full-ride,” says Froebe. “We played against her and we played against Arieal Scott.” Scott was recruited by Duke, UCLA and a handful of other notable programs before finally choosing the University of Illinois, after pulling out of Duke, Froebe explained.

“Anaya is just one of those girls who you wanna be like her,” said Froebe. “She’s a junior and I find her inspirational. She’s perfect. Her dad does a great job at Danville.” Anaya’s dad is Keith Peoples, the girls basketball coach at Schlarman Academy in Danville.

“She is just so respectful and she has already committed to Notre Dame,” chimes in Hayes.

“She’s beautiful. She’s kind. She’s everything,” said Froebe. “She is just so nice. Whenever I see her at tournaments she will always come over and just talk. We wish each other happy birthday. We still just kind of connected even though we were like rivals, quote unquote. I respected her so much and she didn’t even think like, ‘oh wow, I’m better than her.’ She just viewed me as a player that loved the game. Keith actually asked me to come play for them one tournament because they were missing a girl. So I went over there and we really bonded and had a good time. It was a lot of fun.”

That was one summer when Froebe was back in junior high.

Since the key words “junior high” come up, do these two recall playing each other in junior high?

“Oh, yeah,” they both say quickly in unison.

Both girls remember the West Lincoln-Broadwell —Mount Pulaski rivalry in the Logan County Tournament. “WLB would always win,” said Hayes. “They were great games. Fun games.”

“I remember my seventh grade year,” said Froebe. “We were playing eighth grade and I got knocked in the nose.”

“It was a dangerous game,” said Hayes. “There was some feisty stuff going on.”

“We’d always go at it,” added Froebe. “It was like Lincoln and Lanphier.”

Both girls laugh at the comparison and the intense rivalry.

“One thing I remember is that we had to stop Kaelyn Froebe,” said Hayes.

Froebe comes back with, “Skylar and Abi (Fitzpatrick). We knew we had to stop those two.”

Both Froebe and Hayes earned state medals while in junior high. Froebe picked up two IESA medals. In 2012 her WLB Lady Wolverines were the runners-up to a Danville Schlarman team coached by Keith Peoples. The Lady Wolverines lost the Class 7-1A Championship game to Danville by a score of 35-17 that year. That Danville team was led by Arieal Scott and Anaya Peoples. In 2013 WLB finished in third place in the IESA Class 8-1A State Girls Basketball Tournament.

2014 was a memorable year for Hayes and again the name Peoples popped up. In October of that year she made history and scored her 1,000 point in a game versus Williamsville. She is believed to be the only female athlete to do so in the history of the Mount Pulaski Honeybear program. She finished her career at MPGS with 1,341 points. Later that season Hayes and her Honeybears made a trip to the IESA Class 8-1A State Girls Basketball Tournament and went all the way to the championship game. Here they were knocked off 48-38 by Danville Schlarman and Anaya Peoples.

Given their success at the junior high level, there was never a doubt these two would achieve great success at the high school level.

Even though it took Froebe a few games to make the starting lineup for the Lady Railers her freshman year, she still ended up making Special Mention on the Central State Eight All-Conference Team and her impact on the court was just the beginning of turning the program around.

Froebe set the scoring record her sophomore year by scoring 551 points in a season. She just missed breaking the scoring record her junior season by three points. However, in December of 2016 she did hit her 1,000 career point in a game versus Lanphier. She finished her Lady Railer career with 1,902 points and in what might be a surprise, she also broke the rebounding record at LCHS.

“How tall is she?” asked Hayes.

“5’6”, Froebe answers with a smile.

“Are you kidding me?” Hayes says, giving her a high five.

Yes, at 5’6” Froebe ended her LCHS career as the all-time leading rebounder with 594 rebounds. She broke the old record of 446 rebounds held by Hannah Cameron. That’s what heart and hustle accomplishes on the basketball court.

Despite that stellar high school career, Froebe still remembers a couple devastating losses. “After we lost to Lanphier,” she begins slowly, referencing the abrupt season-ending loss to the spunky Lady Lions in the 2018 Regionals. “That was terrible. The drive home was terrible. Everything was just terrible. I get home, I walk in, my mom gives me a hug and I am like ‘I am done.’ I was so upset.”

“It was not as bad though as the Super-Sectional,” Froebe continues thinking back to her sophomore season. “Being one game away. I blame that game on me. I always will. I wanted to win that game so bad for Hannah Cameron because she was the only senior, she always guided us and she was just a good leader. I felt like I let the whole team down because I got those two quick fouls, which I don’t know if they were fouls, but they were fouls, and so I had to sit. I still think what if I could have played. We were one game away from State. It’s just something that I look back on.” The Lady Railers were knocked out of the Super-Sectional in 2016 by Highland by a score of 48-40.

Hayes attempts to make Froebe feel better by adding, “Don’t blame it on yourself. Still you were one game away. That’s awesome.”

Froebe smiles and has accepted that it is now time to move forward. Her LCHS career is in the books, a successful AAU run with the Predators has ended and a college basketball future is quickly approaching.

“Now it’s on to the next chapter,” Froebe says.

A basketball career awaits her at NCAA Division II McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois. Froebe will be a Bearcat and play under another coach by the name of Kari, this time Coach Kari Kerkhoff. “Coach Kerkhoff is going to be so much fun. I cannot wait to play for her. Coach Sample seems like so much fun, too.” Froebe recounts a story of hopping in Assistant Coach Hailie Sample’s truck and riding around for fun. Sample herself had an outstanding basketball career at the University of Nebraska and all of this has Froebe pumped about joining the Bearcats program.

“I am excited for the girls, too,” Froebe went on. “I am excited to meet new people. I am excited just to be with people that love the game and just want to work hard at it.” Froebe mentioned she will also be reunited with one of her Predator teammates at McKendree University. Froebe plans to study Special Education and Psychology at McKendree University.

When Froebe mentions her future academic plans, Hayes is quick to say, “Alec is doing this, too. That’s what my sister is studying.”

Froebe worked in the Guidance Office at Lincoln Community High School her senior year and noted that the office was near the Special Education classroom and she was inspired by several of these kids. “I always like talking to the kids,” she said. “They all know my name and they give high fives and we dab.”

“She’s just like Alec, wow, ok” says a smiling Hayes.

“We had a kid, Zeke, who went to WLB,” explained Froebe. “Sweetest kid ever. He’s one of my favorites. He’s just so sweet.” Froebe goes on to name several of the special education kids and lists some of their favorite things and is all smiles while telling stories about interactions with them. She even has a special handshake with Josh, a Chicago Bears fan. Another girl always had her hands full while trying to open her locker and it was Froebe eager to lend a helping hand.

Hayes is in awe of Froebe and says, “That’s what’s happening to Kaelyn. Like she’s inspiring those kids and those kids are inspiring Kaelyn to do what she wants to do.”

How we choose to interact with people on a daily basis and how we influence their lives is really important and these girls get that at their age.

With Hayes being a year younger than Froebe, she might just be a step behind in choosing colleges and a career, but that’s okay. She’s right in step with everything else.

“I mean it’s important to be positive,” said Hayes. “Because I would not have liked basketball if it was not for the people ahead of me who had a positive attitude towards basketball, like Jessica Awe and Erika Leever. They love the sport and I would see them at practice and they always had a great attitude and they were in a positive mood. And I thought, ‘ok, this is fun. I wanna do basketball. I wanna be like them.’ So it was extremely important to be positive.”

Hayes brings up her sister, Alec, again. It’s obvious Hayes looks up to her older sister a lot, both on and off the court. Alec was a freshman on the Mount Pulaski High School Girls Basketball Team that finished in second place in the 2013 IHSA Class 1A State Tournament. Awe and Leever were seniors on that team. The Lady Hilltoppers were not expected to go much farther than a regional championship that season and ended up knocking off state-ranked Illini Bluffs to earn a shot at the state tournament at Redbird Arena.

So who did Froebe look up to a lot?

“Do you know Michelle Paulus?” Froebe asks quietly. “Well she used to play basketball and she was just so sweet and I felt like her little sister. Obviously my mom, too, because she’s always taken me everywhere. But Michelle Paulus inspired me. She would just take me under her wing and we’d just have a good time. She’d joke around with me and we’d laugh. She’d always play me in horse or knock out. She’d always hustle. She was really good at defense and hustling and she had a good shot but like…”

“She was a hard worker,” said Hayes, finishing the sentence for Froebe.

Kaelyn Froebe and Skylar Hayes

Froebe smiles and says to Hayes, “Yeah, thank you, the hard work.” Choosing her words carefully, Froebe recalled the hard work ethic of the 2016 Logan County Fair Queen. “The whole Paulus family is amazing,” said Froebe. The conversation turns to the Paulus family and mama Lynn. “They are hard workers,” says Froebe. “Lynn is literally everywhere. I don’t know how she does it. She stays up until 4 a.m. and then wakes up at 7 a.m. I’m like, ‘Lynn, you need to sleep.’”

“Take a nap,” laughs Hayes.

Froebe just missed being in high school with Michelle Paulus by one year but at WLB she interacted with the older girls and it left a lasting impact on her. “Even in volleyball I was the manager for girls like Michelle, Livvie Muck and Lexie Klockenga,” said Froebe. “All of those girls were funny and so positive. It was just fun to watch them. They weren’t obsessed with basketball or volleyball they just loved playing it. They wanted to go out there and have fun. It was just fun watching them and Michelle was definitely the one that inspired me.”

While there is no argument that Lynn Paulus is simply the best, Froebe did bring up this tidbit about the woman behind the camera who never misses a local sporting event. “Okay, so she’ll get really bad photos of our faces and she’ll use them against us,” laughed Froebe. “She’ll blackmail us. She’ll send them to one of us and it’s just so fun. It’s hilarious.”

Hayes understands that situation as she has Rob Siebert in Mount Pulaski who captures her funny looks on the court.

“What I couldn’t believe was when you got your black eyes,” Froebe said to Hayes.

“Oh, that was so bad,” said Hayes.

“I loved it though,” said Froebe. “Was it her head or her elbow? Like I tried to watch it and I could’t tell.”

Both girls start laughing hysterically as Hayes tells the story of getting a broken nose and black eyes earlier this season in a game where she collided with another girl’s head. A video of the incident surfaced and it was really hard to tell what happened but the end result was Hayes kept on playing with a broken nose, two badly bruised eyes and eventually a face guard.

“I ended up getting the foul on that,” said Hayes. “How did I get a foul on that? I was on the ground and my nose is broken. It was bad. I looked like a raccoon for a month.”

“I think that’s awesome,” said Froebe, laughing. “I am not gonna lie. I love bruises. You’re like, see this, this is hard work.”

The girls continue to laugh at each other and agree that bumps and bruises earned on the court are just signs of hard work.

“Everyone is like, ‘Try to cover it up with makeup,’” says Hayes and both her and Froebe say in unison, “No.”

“Why would I want to do that?” asks a grinning Froebe.

"I got your back," said Froebe who is on Hayes' back but offering to help Hayes with college decisions.

"I always wanted to dunk," said Froebe, as Hayes hoisted her towards the rim.

When the question comes up if Froebe’s parents played basketball in college, she admits, “That’s actually where they met, at Monmouth. Oh, the stories,” she begins, laughing. “I think my mom was shooting free throws and my dad walked in the practice and he like hit his friend and said, “Who’s that girl over there? I’ve never seen a beautiful basketball player before.”

“My mom was dating this other guy and so my mom was like, “You need to leave me alone and stop asking me on dates. Stop it. I have a boyfriend.” Both girls are tickled at this notion and can’t stop the giggles.

Kent Froebe, who played a year of baseball while at Monmouth, too, courted Kari it sounds like until she caved in.

“My mom would go to a baseball game and my dad would walk up and go, “So were you here for the game for me?” My mom was like, “No.” More laughter ensued.

Long story short, Kent and Kari ended up together and according to their firstborn, Kaelyn, “I have literally been watching basketball since I was born. My dad was always a basketball coach and I actually learned to dribble at my dad’s practices.” Her dad coached at Morrisonville early on in his career and Froebe credits her ball handling skills from those early days as a toddler on the hardwood.

Hayes, on the other hand, didn’t pick up a basketball until she was in third grade. “This is a funny story,” Hayes said. “Usually people who play basketball start off when they are really little. Not me. I didn’t start off until I was in third grade. I didn’t want to do Jr. Toppers. I just wanted to go home and sleep.” Hayes’ dad, Steven, encouraged her to play. “My dad said, “We’re going to the gym and you’re going to pick up a ball and do whatever you do.” Hayes admits to being glad she found the sport.

Hayes' dad is no stranger to basketball success as he was a member of the 1980 Class B State Champion Mount Pulaski Bruins and the 1984 Class A State Runner-Up Mount Pulaski Hilltoppers. As a point guard he handled the ball well on offense and aggravated the daylights out of his opponents on defense. The younger Hayes plays the game with a similar tenacity as her dad.

Meanwhile, Hayes has really had an impressive career at MPHS and it’s not over yet. Her highly anticipated senior season will most likely see her shatter the girls all-time scoring record in the first game of the season. Hayes sits at 1,674 career points as of now, with Jessica Awe on top with 1,687. Within reasonable reach for Hayes is the all-time scoring leader for both boys and girls. Jeff Clements holds that record of 2,212 points scored. Hayes has racked up numerous awards in the purple and gold uniform and she hit her 1,000 point in a game versus Maroa-Forsyth in January of 2017.

Hayes also played AAU ball in the summers, and like Froebe, she’s played basketball for the Predators. But this summer Hayes made the switch to Heart of Illinois. Both girls have witnessed changes in basketball just in their relatively short careers as the popularity of girls basketball has grown and the competition among the girls has reached new heights.

“Basketball is evolving so much,” begins Hayes. “I sometimes go to the grade school and watch some of the girls games. So many kids are more inspired now. Like the WNBA is now evolving and everyone sees that the WNBA is cool. And like AAU tournaments….WOW! I never in my life thought there would be more than 500 girls in the same spot playing basketball.”

“That’s an eye-opener,” said Froebe.

“Yes and these girls are so athletic. There are 100 girls who are just as athletic as me and Kaelyn,” said Hayes.

“And they love the game just as much as we do,” added Froebe. “It’s fun. I think my favorite thing was just traveling and being with the girls because those are your friends you are going to have for life.”

Hayes and Froebe bounce the different levels of competition off each other from high school to summer travel ball and come to these conclusions.

“For AAU you are playing against 10-15 great players who all love the game and you are there to showcase. Each girl wants a spot on that team and you want to be the best,” said Froebe.

“It’s super-motivational to see a hundred girls who really want to play basketball,” added Hayes.

While high school basketball is quite different than AAU ball, Froebe summarizes, “You really get the best of both worlds. What you find out is it is such a small world. Like I found out in the basketball business, every one knows everybody,” Froebe says as she mentions playing teams from Georgia, New York and Indiana just to name a few.

“There’s something about the atmosphere, too, like at the Nike Tournament,” said Froebe.

“Yes. So motivational. Love the Nike Tournament,” says Hayes. “Everyone is back together. Literally we are all connected.”

The Nike Tournament is in Chicago, added Hayes, while Froebe chimed in, “There’s over 600 college coaches at the Nike Tournament. We (Predators) played a team from New York and I played against a sophomore who was getting looked at by UConn. So the UConn coach was there. We put on a great game. It was one of the best games that we played. It’s just amazing.” Froebe goes on to explain how 64 courts are set up at McCormick Center in Chicago for this tournament.

Both girls admit to being in awe of the situation, even though they are a part of it, but something else evolves out of the conversation that truly transcends any basketball court.

“I know you and your dad are really, really close,” says Froebe to Hayes, “and like it made me closer to my mom and dad, well mostly my mom because she always drove me places. She literally became one of my best friends.”

“Like I know when I play bad, but I will listen to her,” said Froebe of her mom. “I try to understand and I’ll try to make it up the next game.”

The girls chat about how their weekends would also involve shooting hoops when most girls their age went shopping or to the movies.

“We are always gone,” notes Froebe. “But after the games my mom would always take me shopping. Instead of going with our friends we were able to create a bond with our parents.”

“I totally agree with that,” said Hayes. “Because my dad is my coach in high school and he comes with me to every tournament in the summer. He will coach from the sidelines. He is that parent. But he can’t help it, he’s a coach. I am not saying I am more closer to my dad than my mom, but me and my dad have that little sports bond. He played sports and so he understands what I am going through. So we just have that little connection that we totally made through basketball.”

“My dad would take me shooting and my mom would be the one to take me to tournaments,” added Froebe. “So there is always that. A balance.”

Dads get credit for always staying on top of the stats, too. When you are as busy as these two on the court, it’s nearly a full-time job to compile the statistics and awards.

While all the accolades have been great, you can tell Froebe takes after her mom and really enjoys helping out the next generation of ballplayers. Like her mother, the younger Froebe has been involved in helping teach girls as young as 4th grade basketball skills.

“I feel like with basketball, you’re always wanting to help someone,” Froebe begins. “My mom has fourth graders and it’s just incredible the way they love the game so much. They are also an inspiration. It’s crazy to see my mom has so much impact on these girls. Like I want to do that. Even when I was struggling, my mom always reminded me that I have little girls who look up to me.” Froebe mentioned how the little girls would give her hugs and gifts when she’d show up in the gym to help them.

“It’s crazy how one sport can inspire little kids,” Froebe continued. “They eat up information.” Froebe finds the little kids so coachable and eager to learn.

“And you’re a big part of that,” said Hayes to Froebe. Hayes also likes to return to MPGS and encourage future Honeybears.

“And another thing is, I get to watch the kids grow up,” said Froebe. “I understand why people coach. They don’t make that much money. It’s because they thrive on the success of the players that they coach. It’s just incredible and it makes me have a whole different respect for coaches.”

So is coaching in either of the girls’ future?

Froebe says, “Maybe.”

Hayes admits, “I tell myself I want to.” Hayes has been so inspired by her coaches that she says of coaching, “I want to do that. My coaches inspired me so much that I want to do that.”

For now, Hayes has high school to get through and that big college decision to make.

“I am looking at colleges,” said Hayes, stating, “I am not planning on going too far away from home.”

“If you ever need help, I will help,” says Froebe.

Froebe offered up advice and Hayes soaked it all in.

“I need all the help I can get,” smiled Hayes.

Even though these two wore different basketball uniforms throughout their careers, it’s obvious because of the game, they have forged a bond that allows them to respect each other and even be cheerleaders for each other.

While these two are game-changers in their own right, they’ve also been influenced by others who came before them and in return they realize the importance of maintaining a level of excellence in order to influence future generations.

They truly get it. Basketball is a game but it teaches you so much more. And if there is one positive impact of social media, it is that it allows people to build relationships and make a connection from afar that really feels like it’s bringing people closer together.

Finally these are just two great student-athletes who worked really hard to achieve their accomplishments and in turn they are leaving a legacy behind that will inspire generations to come.

Congratulations to both Kaelyn and Skylar!

Basketball is so much fun for these two. The two seemed to agree they wouldn't know a life without basketball.

Information provided below courtesy of the dads:

Kaelyn Froebe

Freshman year: Special Mention CS8 All Conference.

Sophomore year: 1st Team CS8 All Conference, 4th Team IBCA All-State, AP 3A All State Honorable mention, 1st Team Bloomington Pantagraph All Area, 1st Team Decatur Herald & Review All Area Team, Springfield State Journal Register All Area Team.

Junior year: 1st Team CS8 All Conference, Special Mention IBCA All State, AP 3A All State Special Mention, 1st Team Bloomington Pantagragh All Area Team, 1st Team Decatur Herald & Review All Area Team, Springfield State Journal Register All Area Team.

Senior year: 1st team All Conference in the Apollo, AP 3A All State Special Mention, 1st Team Bloomington Pantagragh All Area Team, 1st team Decatur Herald All Area, All-Metro Girls Basketball Team

Lady Railer Basketball MVP for three years.

Skylar Hayes

Freshman year: Clinton Thanksgiving Tournament All Tournament Team, Try-City Holiday Tournament All Tournament Team, 1st Team All Conference, 4th Team IBCA All-State, Offensive Player of the Year, All Area 2nd Team Decatur Herald & Review, All Area 2nd Team Bloomington Pantagraph, Special Mention 50 Champaign-Urbana News Gazette All-State Team, All Area 2nd Team Springfield State Journal Register.

Sophomore year: Clinton Thanksgiving Tournament All Tournament Team, Try-City Holiday Tournament All Tournament Team, AP 1A All-State Honorable Mention, 1st Team All Conference, IBCA All State Honorable Mention, Offensive Player of the Year, MVP of the Year, All Area 1st Team Bloomington Pantagraph, All Area 3rd Team Decatur Herald & Review, All Area 2nd Team Springfield State Journal Register.

Junior year: Clinton Thanksgiving Tournament All Tournament Team, Try-City Holiday Tournament All Tournament Team, AP 1A All-State Honorable Mention, 1st Team All Conference, 4th Team IBCA All State, Offensive Player of the Year, All Area 1st Team Bloomington Pantagraph, All Area 1st Team Decatur Herald & Review, All Area 1st Team Springfield State Journal Register, All Area Special Mention Champaign News Gazette, All-Prairie Girls Basketball Team.

[Teena Lowery]