The importance of being Fly

Twenty years ago, former athletic director Mike Peeler was searching for an advisor for the cheerleading squad. As luck would have it, the perfect man for the job was right under his nose.

Dr. Jerry Fly had been a professor at Georgia College & State University for five years at that time, and Peeler noticed that Fly was in attendance at every athletic event. Although he probably wouldn’t have known a tuck jump if he had seen one, Fly agreed to be the advisor and simply handle the budget.

And that was where his story began.

Fly, a Mississippi native, earned his undergraduate degree in sociology from Mississippi State after changing his major from accounting. He went on to receive his graduate degree in sociology from Kentucky.

His tenure began twenty-five years ago, when GC&SU
was simply known as Georgia College, and the cheerleaders, decked out in brown and yellow, cheered for the Colonials.

Fly admits that he knew “absolutely nothing” about cheerleading when he took on the job as advisor. However, he began to grow fond of the sport and learned everything he now knows from “on-the-job training.”

Paige Armstrong, a current Bobcat cheerleader, has known Fly since her freshman year. She is now a senior, but remains impressed with Fly’s knowledge.

“[Fly] has a sharp eye for cheerleading,” she said. “He entered the position without having knowledge of the sport, but in the 20 years that he has been the sponsor, he has sat back and observed.”

Now Fly offers critiques, comments on the overall structure of the program, and gives the final word on what takes place.

Many of the cheerleaders are quick to admit that Fly tends to not cut them any slack. But that rule doesn’t just exist in the gym. Many of Fly’s athletes are also enrolled in his classes, and he certainly doesn’t let them shirk on their duties as students.

Fly can teach. He can coach and advise. And he seems to be a sports fanatic.

He still attends many of the athletic events on campus, and he also loves playing golf in his spare time.

A typical baseball and basketball jock in high school, it is not surprising that Fly has found an impressive way to stay actively involved in athletics.

As the Faculty-Athletics representative for GC&SU to the NCAA, Fly finds himself in yet another position in which to lend his skills to the athletic program.

This position requires Fly to educate others on campus, particularly the coaches, the athletics director and the president, about the NCAA rules concerning student-athletes. He must also administer a recruiting test to all of the coaches ensuring that they are only recruiting eligible players.

“[Fly] has always been a big supporter of athletics and obviously has done a great job with the cheerleading program,” said Brad Muller, the Sports Information Director for GC&SU.

“He helps a lot as the NCAA Faculty representative, and really supports the athletics program by enlisting the help of the cheerleaders for athletic fund raisers.”

One would think that with all of these responsibilities, and nearly 10 years of competing at cheerleading’s national level, that Fly would have a difficult time picking out a single highlight of his time spent with most energetic sports team on campus.

However, his response came immediately: The 1997 nationals.

That year, the Bobcat cheerleaders set a goal to finish in the top five at a time when Division II schools competed against Division III schools and a strong group of junior colleges.

As an added incentive, if the team met its goal, Fly promised to shave his head.

A third place finish was enough for a hearty celebration, less hair, and career highlight for Fly.

This top finish and the second national championship won in 1999 are Fly’s best cheerleading memories, overshadowing the first national championship that the team won under his sponsorship in 1998.

“Finishing third at a time when we weren’t expected to
place was a great accomplishment,” said Fly.

“Winning the first championship was good, but winning the second proved that the first wasn’t just a fluke,” he added.

It seems as if Fly has his plate full as he heads into another semester jam-packed with his teaching responsibilities and eight hours in the cheerleading gym each week.

The 2004-2005 squad has practiced throughout the summer, conducted youth camps, and puts in two hours in the gym every Monday through Thursday. Fly is already looking for new recruits for next year.

“My goal each day is to do the best I can, whatever that
is. I don’t set my goal to win, I just do the best I can do.”

“The best [I] can do” seems to be one of Fly’s sayings
that is rubbing off on the cheerleading squad.

The team has already qualified for nationals and remains poised under the leadership of Fly and his two “super-duper” coaches. The team is focused and determined to turn in its best performance at cheerleading’s premier competition.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 17 2004. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry