She Has the Lely Spirit

Lely head coach Halley Kretschmer has been to college cheerleading's mountaintop. Before settling in as Lely’s head cheerleading coach, Kretschmer was a flyer for the Miami Hurricanes' cheerleading team, from 2009-2011. As a flyer, you could say Kretschmer's seen some of America's most famous football stadiums from some most intriguing angles.

Cheerleading flyers are the ones you see flying high through the air, executing gymnastic feats, in huge stadiums, in front of thousands and thousands of excited fans.

During Kretschmer’s three-and-a-half-year career at UM, the Hurricanes traveled to tangle with Notre Dame and Ohio State in two of the game’s most legendary venues. The petite Kretschmer vividly remembers being launched high into the air at historic Ohio Stadium and storied Soldier Field in Chicago.

“Playing Notre Dame at Soldier Field, it was so cold,” Kretschmer laughs. "We lost, but my family got to attend. Just being in such an historic stadium was really great.”

Playing in Ohio State’s legendary horseshoe-shaped stadium, built in 1922, was a thrill for Kretschmer.

“That was the only time we played Ohio State,” she said, “we lost to them. I remember my coach had to talk to me because of the look I had on my face. That was a lesson learned. Putting on the happy face regardless of what is going on the field. I definitely try to teach that to the girls these days. Being at the Horseshoe, even though we lost, was a great experience.”

But as thrilling as those two games were, it was probably her first game as a college cheerleader that stands out most in Kretschmer’s memory - both for the opponent and the excitement of the game itself.

Kretschmer’s first Florida State-Miami game could not have been better. It was 2009 and the Canes were on the road. Doak Campbell Stadium was rocking as UM and FSU battled back and forth in a game that saw seven lead changes. Miami prevailed that day, 38-34, in dramatic fashion.

 "That was an unrivaled experience,” Kretschmer recalls with fondness. "We won, so that enhanced the experience. Opening my college career with that was incredible. Beating them at Florida State, on their home field. It came down to the last minute of the game when we pulled ahead. That was definitely a notable one memory wise.”

Kretschmer still follows University of Miami football. However she wasn’t much of a football fan as a high school cheerleader at Lely. That changed after she got introduced to big time college football.

"In high school,” she said, "I guess I didn’t care about the game too much. Because I didn’t know the game. But coming to college and the heightened stakes, you respond to everything that’s going on the field, you perform to the action that is going on behind you. So I had to learn the game in order to know what to do on the field. Once I learned the game, I fell in love with it. It’s a family event for us to either go over to the games or watch on TV."

Kretschmer, whose parents Ellen and Bruce founded one of Marco Island’s favorite restaurants, Kretch’s, were staunch supporters of their cheerleading daughter.

"My parents,” Kretschmer said, "were at every single game when I cheered.”  

As a cheerleader, Kretschmer and her teammates flew on the team plane with the players.

"We travel with the players and administration,” she said, "usually on a private plane. They put you up in a hotel. Once the game is done, they put you back on the plane no matter what time of night it is. That was interesting.”

Kretschmer cheered for three and a half years at Miami. She did not cheer for basketball during her senior year. Cheerleading, which is recognized as a sport at UM, requires a lot of discipline. But she wouldn't trade a minute of the experience.

"It was a lot to manage,” Kretschmer said. "You’d be traveling and doing a game every weekend. It was a lot with school, but it was a lot to look forward to. I kind of lived by each game. The whole week was building to that game on Saturday. You’d have to plan around it and manage the schooling.”

 There was nothing like the excitement of cheering in front of a packed stadium.

"It never stopped being thrilling,” Kretschmer said, "You feed off the energy of the crowd. It was excited nerves. The more excited you are, the more excited they are, and vice versa. The amount of people never made me extra nervous. It was just getting into the whole energy of it all.”

Kretschmer said that while performing in front of big crowds never bothered her, speaking in front of a classroom is a different thing altogether.

 "For me,” she said, "I could cheer in front of thousands of people, but giving a classroom presentation, or public speaking, scares the heck out of me.”

After graduating from UM, Kretschmer was back on Marco Island, weighing her options, when she saw Lely’s opening for a cheerleading head coach.

"Once I came back from school,” she said, "I wasn’t sure what direction I wanted to go. I was checking the county job posting and I saw the head coaching position at Lely.”

Kretschmer said it took her a while to get her program to take hold at Lely. But now she sounds like she may be there for the long haul.

 "At first it was hard to come in as the new coach,” Kretschmer recalls. "Some of the upperclassmen were used to one way. But seven years in, I’ve kind of set my standard and they know what I expect. It’s gotten easier over time.”

Kretschmer’s standard is all about respect.

“I value basic respect with communicating with me,” Kretschmer said, "with communicating with each other. I have a zero tolerance for treating each other poorly. Also, kind of going back to what I got talked to about in college. Don’t let it be written all over your face when something may be upsetting you. It may be something outside of cheerleading, or it may be the game itself that’s upsetting you.”

She tells her team that responsibility comes with wearing the Trojan cheerleading uniform. 

"I always tell them,” she said, "when you’re putting on a uniform, you’re stepping into a role. You have a job to do. They’ve responded really well to that.”

She realizes that not everyone is up for the commitment it takes to be a cheerleader at Lely.

"Cheerleading is a big time, intensive commitment,” Kretschmer said. "Not everyone can manage that. I try to help them out as much as possible. I want them to get the most out of it as they can."

Kretschmer said some of her Lely cheerleaders also perform in the marching band. She said they are normally pretty special individuals.

“I love having someone out there at halftime playing in a cheer uniform,” Kretschmer said. "We work with the band as much as possible. Each year we have at least one person who’s also in band. It’s the ultimate in school spirit. Intense dedication. It's dedication to the sports and activities and dedication to the spirit of Lely.”

So what is the Spirit of Lely? Kretschmer describes it as an intangible thing.

“The spirit of Lely,” she said, "it’s a culture and a mindset. Having Lely as one of the oldest schools in the area, having the history of those who came before you. The fans, the players, and the administration are all out there the next week, regardless of the outcome of the game. I think it’s a really strong group to be a part of. The cheerleaders can feel that.”