Skylar Keesee, left, and her sister, Piper Madison Keesee sang together when they were younger but both now are at Centre College. Piper is still a successful singer.
Her mother got her and her sister playing tennis when they were young and Centre College freshman Skylar Keesee says she has always been passionate about the sport
“I love athletics and working out,” said Keesee.
Keesee was born in Louisville but moved to California at age 5 and continued to participate in tennis clinics and junior leagues. When her family later moved back to Louisville, she “really got into tennis” even more. She was homeschooled and did not have a chance to play on a high school team, so she played in United States Tennis Association (USTA) events.
However, her journey to join the Centre College tennis team had a lot of other interesting turns along the way. Her family moved to California so her and her sister could pursue acting careers.
“My sister wanted to do acting. She looked at the TV and said she wanted to try and do what those people were doing. My parents took us to California for an acting camp in the summer and we loved it. My parents loved California. We were supposed to stay three months and stayed six before we just moved out there,” Keesee said.
Keesee, who recently turned 18, said she had a “lot of luck” with her acting career. She played the friend of Ella Anderson’s character on Nickelodeon’s “Henry Danger” and also had a recurring role on Disney’s “Shake It Up!” She also appeared on the web series Harvard Court as well as videos for Funny or Die.
“I loved it all. It was such a surreal experience and something I am so grateful I had the chance to do,” the Centre freshman said.
She also sang as a member of the musical duo Madison Fayre with her sister, Piper Madison Keesee, a successful singer who also attends Centre College. The duo won first place a few times at the Topanga Banjo Fiddle Contest and Folk Festival.
After the family moved back to Louisville when she was 16, her acting options decreased. She cannot go for live auditions and has to depend on taped auditions.
“It was a big transition when we came back to Louisville during COVID,” she said.
Attending Centre College was a fairly easy decision. Her father attended Centre and her sister had transferred to Centre.
“My family is very close and I liked the idea of being together with my sister,” Keesee said. “Dad obviously wanted both of us there, so it just worked out very well.”
She reached out to Centre College tennis coach Currie Martin to see what the team was like and had the opportunity to hit with the players during a campus visit.
“I loved the girls and the atmosphere was amazing. That made it easier to choose Centre, too,” she said. “I was definitely surprised by the facilities. They were a lot nicer than I thought with the indoor courts. It’s such a big thing to have those indoor courts and they get used so much. The outdoor courts are great, too.”
Centre opens its season in mid-February and Keesee feels she’s improving. She’s not sure whether she might have a chance to play singles or doubles.
“I think it might be more doubles, but that is just a guess on my part,” she said.
She’s also adjusting to life in a town a lot smaller than Los Angeles and/or Louisville.
“Not saying it is good or bad. It’s just been an adjustment in Danville,” Keesee said. “I have had to get used to it but Danville is such a great place for me to study. I don’t have as many opportunities to get distracted because it is smaller. I have time for tennis and to study, so that’s been very helpful.”
She’s not yet decided on a major but anticipates she could be a business major because she hopes to start her own business eventually.
“I have lived a different life from a lot of people. Some of my teammates have actually watched some of the shows I was in,” she laughed and said. “I love all the opportunities I have had and I am really excited for what lies ahead for me here at Centre.”
