Peyton Fenner making music on and off the court

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An injury for an athlete is often a motivator to work harder to get back on the court. For Naperville North girls basketball forward Peyton Fenner, it literally changed her life. A standout player in the Huskies’ success both in the DVC and Class 4A, Fenner tore her labrum in 2020 that benched her for 10 months giving her time to spend on other things like singing and writing. This Feature Story is sponsored by Edward-Elmhurst Health.

“I would spend like two to three hours singing. I was not reading as much as I would have liked, but I was starting to kind of like write songs. And I realized in that time that maybe some of the reasons I wanted to play college basketball had less to do with how much I loved it and more to do with I liked the idea of playing college basketball,” said Peyton Fenner, forward for Naperville North girls basketball.

This led the veteran leader to break from the pack and not pursue basketball in college even though it’s been a huge part of her life.

“I started basketball when I was like eight and everything else just stopped. It was like, ‘This is my favorite. I don’t want to do anything else.’ And that was kind of how I started playing. Funny enough, it was actually Greta Kampschroeder. My older sibling and Greta were on a YMCA team together and that was my first exposure to basketball,” said Fenner.

Fenner became interested in writing and singing right around the same time she got into hoops. She performed in musicals in elementary school and eventually took part in voice lessons and music programs.

Her writing skills came from reading, which she didn’t enjoy initially.

“I actually hated reading until I was in like fourth grade and would pretend to read and lie about the number of pages that I read for the logs they made us do. And then I started to really like reading and I started to really like writing. After COVID, I was like, ‘I want to take a class that actually involves creative writing.’ So, I took creative writing last semester and then I also started writing songs over COVID. And I’ve been doing that ever since,” said Fenner.

Fenner practices her singing almost every day and she usually works on Broadway and opera music. Believe it or not, she’s not in the school choir. Basketball and academics take up her schedule, therefore, she doesn’t have time for any other extracurricular activities. So, trying to balance sports, schoolwork, and singing has its challenges.

“It can be difficult. I would say that it’s more like finding the energy because I feel like the time is always there. There’s always an odd hour here or there, but it’s like whether or not I can get myself to do it. But a lot of times with singing and basketball, I sing in the car and that’s like, ‘Oh, everybody sings’, but I actually try to practice while I’m driving,” said Fenner.

The work Peyton Fenner puts into her passions on the court and off leaves a strong impression on her teammates and coaches like Husky assistant Molly Murray.

“She strives for perfection in everything that she does so I’m not surprised at all with her success and her interests are unique and varied. At times, much more mature than maybe some of her peers. She’s independent and I really like the way she thinks,” said Molly Murray, assistant coach for Naperville North girls basketball.

The freedom of the decision to not play basketball in college gives Peyton a new look at the game.

“It’s kind of less like, ‘Oh, I’m not playing in college, so this is a last hurrah’ and more like I realize my relationship with basketball just kind of changed. So, being able to kind of show up and be in the moment because I’m not thinking about the future so much with basketball anymore has definitely allowed me to not worry so much about the mistakes I make,” said Fenner.

The senior is still figuring out where she wants to attend college to pursue writing and singing. In the meantime, she still has a few goals in mind before her final season on the court comes to a close.

“It’s honestly about trying to come into playoffs and give it all I’ve got. That’s all I really want. Give it all I’ve got. Be able to get everybody on the floor to do the same so that no matter where we end up, obviously the goal is the big gold trophy. To be able to walk away and feel like I put in my all,” said Fenner.