• Love and unity are her top priorities for the program.
Kyli Scherbel has been hired by LCSD No. 2 as the new coach of the award-winning Star Valley High School Brave Cadettes. Scherbel is expected to assume her responsibilities when tryouts begin this spring.
Born and raised in Star Valley, Kyli is the daughter of Van and Susan Hale. She attended SVHS and won a spot on the Brave Cadettes squad under the direction of Sally Nelson, who inspired and instilled a love of dance in Kyli’s young heart.
After graduation in 2007, Kyli began her post high school education at the University of Wyoming, studying Music Education and Dance. While at UW, she was involved with traveling performing groups, where she honed her skill and love of music and dance.
In her first year of studies at UW, Kyli married Dan Scherbel, the son of Paul and Geri Scherbel, who was also raised in Star Valley and is a graduate of SVHS. The couple followed employment opportunities to Salt Lake and then to Rexburg, where Dan taught at Madison High School.
While in Rexburg, Kyli noticed that the dance program at Madison needed a boost, so she approached the athletic director and volunteered to join the coaching staff. Her first year there, she served as an assistant coach, and was hired as the head coach the following year when the position became available.
“I coached for four years there in Rexburg at Madison High School,” said Kyli in an interview with SVI Media. “We ended up growing a really great program there and it was really fun to be able to be part of that growth.”
When Dan accepted a position at Swift Creek High School teaching Math for the 2023-2024 school year, Dan and Kyli, and their young family of five children, returned to Star Valley in August of 2023.
Kyli was approached this spring by the SVHS Cheer Coach, Faith McNaughton, to apply for the open Assistant Cheer Coach position, so Kyli applied.
As administrators reviewed her resume and saw the dance coaching experience that she had listed there, they encouraged her to apply instead for the open position of head coach of the Brave Cadette’s. She chose to submit her application and was formally hired in April.
“I have some good resources and I love being here and I love the Brave Cadettes and I really admire what Sally did and what all the coaches have done,” Kyli admitted. “These are such big shoes to fill and it’s such a legendary program that people have high expectations for, so it’s a little intimidating. I definitely want to live up to the reputation of this great program. Wendy [Kabonic] and Shanna [Hurd] did such a good job building up the program and I admire them. I have some new ideas, but I am a big fan of tradition. It will be nice to kind of have a mix of tradition with new ideas to honor the spirit of the Brave Cadettes.”
“I love kids,” said Kyli. “I love them a lot. All kids. And no matter whose kids they are, I just love kids. I want to bring in a lot of love. The whole purpose of a dance team in high school, in my opinion, is to entertain people. Half time is not entertaining unless there’s a dance team. That’s a huge responsibility, and I think it’s beautiful. We can bring the school together and we can support the other team, and that’s one thing that I really love about any type of spirit squad, whether it’s cheer or dance, especially when they work really closely together, and I would love to make that happen as well.”
Kyli looks forward to working closely with her good friend, Faith, and hopes to bring the cheer and dance squads together in more collaborative experiences. “I just really want to bring a lot of heart. I’m big on the love and the unity part.”
Admitting that she is living a dream, Kyli humbly offered, “I have the most amazing parents in the universe, but it takes a village, and this community has definitely raised me. I am grateful that they are allowing me to have this chance to fulfill a little childhood dream I had watching Sally. It is a dream to be here. It is a dream to be able to coach. I love coaching. It’s definitely my favorite job, second only to motherhood. Coaching is definitely one of my most favorite things and I’m grateful that the community has accepted me so willingly.”
