When Brooke Kelley needed a caddy for her practice round at last year's state golf championships at Sedalia Country Club, she didn't have to look far.
In fact, the answer was - sort of - looking her right in the face in the form of her twin sister, Ashley.
"It was nice to have her there supporting me," Brooke said. "She always is; I didn't expect anything different."
For Ashley - who fell short of moving on to state from the sectional round - it was a glimpse of what might have been, yet what still could be.
"To see that experience and see how awesome (it was), I knew I had to be there," Ashley said. "This is where I want to be next year."
This time around, the New Bloomfield seniors will both compete in the Class 1 girls' golf state championships starting Monday at Rivercut Golf Club in Springfield.
Brooke tees off from the 10th green at 8:48 a.m., while Ashley starts her round from the same box at 8:57.
For Ashley - the oldest by 62 minutes - it's the culmination of a year's worth of work fueled by failing to qualify for the 2013 state tournament. Both sisters competed at the sectional championships in Eureka, though Ashley had a sneaking suspicion her 36-over par, 108 score wouldn't advance her to state.
Despite her disappointment, she knew Brooke still had a chance.
"I knew it wasn't a possibility for me, so I had to go be sad, then come back and help her," Ashley said. "Being sad was probably a good 20 minutes, then I was like, "OK, Brooke still has a shot to do this.'"
Brooke would move on to the state championships, grabbing the final individual slot with her 18th-place score of 93. Her joy, though, was somewhat subdued out of concern for her twin.
"I wanted to be excited, but I didn't want her to be upset," Brooke said. "And she just reassured me the whole time, "You need to be excited. This is awesome.' She was very good through it."
While Ashley's state golf experience as a spectator provided a sneak peek into what she could expect, Brooke's was a lesson in keeping her wits about her on the big stage.
The environment and sheer volume of competitors weighed on Brooke's nerves and performance a bit as she finished 42nd with a two-round total of 195.
Still, the event and the season that preceded it provided her with a blueprint of what it would take to get back to that same spot this year.
"You're more mentally prepared for the district and sectionals process, which can be stressful," Brooke said. "And you know what it takes to get back there; you're tournament-ready and you have tournament experience."
Her 2014 campaign didn't start off the way she hoped it would, though. Brooke described herself as "a wreck" and found her quest to return to the state championships to be, at times, stressful.
But some sound advice from New Bloomfield head coach Debbie Cuno eventually started to sink in.
"... Mrs. Cuno talked to me about it and convinced me that as long as I continue to do what I can do consistently, I wouldn't have to worry," Brooke said. "So I really started to believe that - it took a while to believe it, but she wanted me to trust in my ability."
Meanwhile, Ashley's game found stability that it had been lacking in previous seasons. The "up and down" rounds she had as a junior gave way to more even-keeled play this year.
"I've seen her hitting the ball a lot farther ...," said Brooke, the longer driver between the two. "Just her consistency and the distance of her shot has improved."
"They've both been playing solid golf this year, really all the way through," Cuno added. "You haven't had those highs and lows like they did last year. They've played very well."
Their individual performances carried New Bloomfield to a second-place team showing at the District 3 championships in Eugene and a berth in the Sectional 2 championships in Marshfield. The Lady Wildcats set a school record at the event with a fourth-place score of 370, two spots short of sending the entire team to state.
As is their routine, each sister finished their sectional round and asked how the other fared. Brooke finished 11th with a 13-over 83, while Ashley tied with two others for 12th with a 14-over 84.
"Seeing all the scores go up, there's a point where you realize, "I'm in,'" Ashley said. "And that was exciting."
Now that Ashley has qualified, Brooke has some advice for her older sister.
"You can't get nervous; it's just like any other tournament we've played all year, except there's nowhere to go after that," Brooke said. "So just go out, you have fun and you obviously want to play well."
One year after caddying for her sister during that practice round at state, Ashley shared advice Brooke gave her, while imparting some of her own.
"She's told me, "This is the ultimate goal, Ashley. You're here, that was where you wanted to be,'" Ashley said. "... Now I would tell her to just have fun. You've made it back, you're where you want to be."