Childhood visits to Delaware Stadium left a lasting impression on Hayley Fletcher of Smyrna.
“Ever since I was little, I used to go to University of Delaware football games with my parents,” she said. “We used to sit in front of the cheerleaders, and I always wanted to be one of them,” she said.
Now that dream is coming true.
When Fletcher goes to the games this fall, she won’t be in the stands; she’ll be on the sidelines cheering for the Blue Hens.
After four years of cheering for the Smyrna High football team, Fletcher will be trading in her red and white Smyrna cheer gear for Delaware’s blue and gold.
Following two days of tryouts in April, Fletcher earned a spot on Delaware’s nationally prestigious cheerleading program.
In order to make the squad, Fletcher had to perform tumbling tricks, stunts and a sideline cheer during her tryout. She competed against about 60 other girls during the tryouts.
“I was relieved when they called my number,” she said. “My heart was racing.”
Throughout her many years in cheerleading, Fletcher’s specialty has been performing high-flying stunts.
“I’ve been a flyer my whole life,” she said.
But cheering at the collegiate level will require some adjustments.
“When I cheered for high school it was all girls – three girls lifting me up and throwing me,” she said. “In college, it’s all guys. When they throw me in the air, I go about three times higher.”
Fletcher said it feels almost like a rollercoaster ride when she flies through the air to perform a stunt.
“My stomach gets light, but you get used to it,” she said.
Fletcher said trust is important when it comes to cheerleading stunts. When someone throws you high into the air, you need to trust that person to catch you on the way down.
“The first time it’s always really scary, but you become really close with everyone – almost like a family – so you really trust them,” she said.
Fletcher will enter college undeclared, but she may decide to pursue her love of cheerleading after school.
“I would love to get into choreography and maybe run my own all-star team someday,” she said.
Cheerleading has been a part of Fletcher’s life for a long time.
She started cheering for Smyrna-Clayton Pop Warner in sixth grade, then went on to Smyrna Middle School and Smyrna High. She also cheered the East Coast Nitros All-Stars.
