by By Dan Ninham (Oneida)
Kenedy Van Zile passed the career scoring mark at Rhinelander High School, Rhinelander, WI early this season. She currently has 1,366 points.
Kenedy is a senior, 5-6, point guard at Rhinelander High School, Rhinelander, WI. Last season, Kenedy averaged 26.1 ppg and 6.2 rpg. This season, she is averaging 21.1 ppg, 4.6 rbg, 4.0 spg and 2.4 apg for the 5-4 Hodags.
Kenedy is from the Sokaogon Chippewa Community, and lives in Rhinelander, WI. Her dad is Jayme Van Zile, enrolled member of the Sokaogon Chippewa and her mom is Leah Van Zile.
“Our core values emphasize sovereignty and culture,” said Kenedy. “Our traditions have taught me to work hard, cooperate and be a team leader. I have brought these to the sport fields and courts, since they are critical to a successful athlete and team.”
“My older sister is a positive role model,” said Kenedy. “Payton Van Zile is a freshman in college who I have been playing with since I was in fifth grade. She works so hard and never gives up. Her perseverance and commitment to whatever it is she chooses to do gives me a reason to work just as hard as her knowing what she gets in return.”
“My coach Ryan Clark is a positive role model,” said Kenedy. “He has told me ever since sixth grade he knew I would be someone who just played with joy. He has always been there for me whether it is with new basketball moves or help with my shot. Not only has he been my coach since I was 12 years old, he has also been someone I can talk to about anything. He and his wife Natalie care about me so much and are great, lively people with great insight on life. They both have impacted my career but more importantly my life.”
Kenedy has been an all-conference athlete in basketball, soccer, and tennis since sophomore year. As a junior basketball player, she was voted Player of the Year, scored her 1000th point, and led her team to its first conference championship.
“As for other players learn to play with joy and passion,” said Kenedy. “It is so much more fun if you’re playing with joy because things just come a lot smoother. Just focus on playing your game instead of trying to live up to the expectations of others. To add on, play for your crowd, they came and paid money to watch you play, so take that moment and just live in it. Put on a show.”
In 2018-19, Kenedy led Rhinelander to its first-ever conference championship in Girls Basketball, as the team finished with a perfect 12-0 conference record. Rhinelander also finished with its program’s most wins in a season with a record of 18-6. Currently, Rhinelander is 8-4 (5-0 in the GNC) and riding a conference game winning streak of 22 consecutive wins.
“Kenedy is a 4-year starter for us at the point guard position,” said Coach Ryan. “As a freshman, she was just 5’0 tall and approximately 95 pounds. She is currently 5’6. She is a skilled and smooth player with the ball in her hands. She makes her teammates better and can score at all three levels at the rim, pull up jumper and three-point shot. She is a very good ball-handler and what makes her difficult to defend is that she can shoot the ball equally well off the dribble and the catch. Kenedy has great basketball instincts and anticipates what’s next before it develops.”
“Off the court, Kenedy’s interaction and relationships with our youth players might be more impressive than her on-court statistics and accomplishments. It is not uncommon to see Kenedy sitting next to a youth player before our game, or for her to grab some youth players and bring them into our locker room as we get ready to take the court. What she has done for our program is immeasurable,’ added Coach Ryan.
“Kenedy will graduate Rhinelander as arguably its best-ever girls’ basketball player,” said Coach Ryan. “I’ve been blessed to have coached her all four years, and watch her grow as a player, teammate, and leader in our program.”
Mom Leah shared her experiences about her daughter: ”Kenedy has been athletic and competitive since she was little. Always bouncing a ball or kicking a ball and her feet always moving. And she always gives 100% because she wants to win. Her determination to succeed is one of her strengths. When she’s on the court she’s leads her team and encourages her teammates. She leads on the court by example with her aggressiveness and ‘can do’ attitude. Her ball handling skills are unmatched in the Great Northern Conference and she has an acute basketball IQ. Off the court she is involved with helping coach younger players at camps and she loves to swim, snowboard and enjoy the beautiful Wisconsin outdoors.”
“Three of my favorite things when watching her play are:
1) when she’s on a fast break and a defender on her, she will slow up a bit, eye up the defender getting them on their heels, and then taking it to the rim on them.
2) Although 5’6”, she can frequently be seen posting up or defending a larger opponent on the block, she loves playing bigger than she is!
3) She’s modest and never argues with officials. She’s calm and focused which carries over to her teammates,” added Leah.
“My favorite memories were when she scored her 1000th point last year as a junior,” said Leah. “She didn’t even know when it occurred because she was just doing what she does, playing the game. When they stopped the game to honor her accomplishment she was overwhelmed by the support of her teammates and fans.”
“Last season she led her team to Rhinelander High School’s first ever girls conference championship in 2019. Along with her older sister Payton who has been playing with Kenedy since 4th grade, watching them cut down the nets and sharing that moment with her sister is a memory for them that will last their lifetimes,” added Leah.
“Kenedy is a remarkable kid,” said dad Jayme after her first game this season. “As her father, I haven’t missed one layup, turnover, 3-pointer, drop shot in tennis or ace, or penalty kick or hard foul on the pitch.”
“I am most proud of how she carries herself with this small-town recognition. People recognize her, congratulate her on a nice game last night including people she doesn’t know, and she always graciously says thank you! She takes time after a game to offer her shirt to a grade schooler for a picture. And that doesn’t matter boy or girl,” added Jayme.
“Last year’s basketball season to me, and my teammates, meant so much. We came into the year not expecting much. We knew that we would be one of the top teams in the conference, but we didn’t think we could be the best,” reflected Kenedy.
“Last season, we focused a lot on how we would use our speed and ability to run nonstop up and down the court in order to wear other teams down. We tried speeding up the game to play to our strengths. Our team was full of new faces, since we were a young team and not everyone played with each other before. For me, I had been playing basketball with two of the seniors last year, Brooke Mork and my sister Payton. It took some time before our team really clicked, and that wasn’t until Cynthia Beavers joined our team. Not only did she add skills to our team, she had a great personality that made us all mesh together,” added Kenedy.
“Our goals last year were to play our hardest every game like we had nothing to lose,” said Kenedy. “We always played for each other, but I chose to play more for my sister and Brooke. Some of the best moments we had as a team would be when we beat SPASH by one point. It was sort of bittersweet because two years ago, we lost to SPASH by one, and that was my freshman year. To be able to beat the leading team in the Valley meant so much to my team, and from that point on it was a full send mentality. We continued to grow closer as a team on and off the court. After that, we received more respect from more well-known teams and started to gain a following of supporters. We single-handedly turned Rhinelander into a girls’ basketball town versus the boys.”
“When the season started to wind down, and we were growing more confident in winning the conference, we started to decline a little,” said Kenedy. “We started to not take things seriously and sort of mess around. But as soon as our co-captain, my sister Payton, told us that her season will be over soon, we quickly switched back on to play for her and our seniors.”
“After beating our rival, Lakeland, I was only 14 points away from getting 1,000 career points during my high school career,” said Kenedy. “I was excited to achieve this goal but was upset it would not be at home, as we were supposed to play in Eagle River on that upcoming Friday. However, the weather was in my favor and our game was canceled, and the next game was at home on a Monday. Since the game got rescheduled, we were supposed to play at the middle school. I was upset that it wouldn’t be at the high school, but that game was also called. The best game wasn’t until Friday in Medford where I passed the milestone. While that story is crazy, looking back I realized that it doesn’t matter where I was, it mattered who I was with. That night, I was at 12 points, I tried for a three but missed. The next trip down, I received a pass from Cynthia for an easy back cut basket. That feeling of making that shot made me speechless, and I am never quiet. My coach called a time out and all I could do was smile and cry. That feeling will never leave me.”
‘While that accomplishment I am very grateful for, being able to tackle that goal with my sister and Brooke, who I have played with since 5th grade, was so special. They are some of my best friends and I wouldn’t have wanted to be with anyone else in that moment,” added Kenedy.
“The feeling when I got subbed out of our last conference game, double header, huge lead, and the fact that we were about to cut down the nets for the first time ever in RHS girls’ basketball history hit me,” reflected Kenedy. “The feeling of knowing what I helped my team achieve meant so much to me. To be able to help the team in any way was important to me because I was playing for my sister, Brooke and Erika. Our program has been waiting for this for a while, and to be a part of the first team to do it with my sister was something unimaginable. The tears of joy from everyone’s eyes when we each got to cut down the net showed me that we accomplished this, and no one can ever take that away from us. We were THAT team. In addition to that, the little girls who look up to us have a very special place in my heart. I remember when I was that age, just eager to be a part of a winning team. Since my little sister is friends with most of the basketball kids, I have been blessed to be able to get to know and even help some girls out at camps. I know I play for them and that they look up to me as a leader and a figure to follow.”
“I am so grateful and blessed that the team I was on this year was able to accomplish something never done before. I am extremely proud of my sister and Brooke but especially my sister. Knowing they achieved a lifelong goal before they are gone means so much to them and to me. I am happy to know that other coaches have recognized my commitment, and I am extremely happy that I received first team again this year and POY my junior year,” added Kenedy.
“I am excited to see where the future will take me and my team this season,” said Kenedy.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Mayo/The Northwoods River News
