Richmond competitive cheer coach Kelli Matthes elected to CCCAM Hall of Fame

In 2006, Kelli Matthes thought she was ready to retire from coaching high school competitive cheer. She had just led Macomb L'Anse Creuse North to a state championship — the first of her career.

But retirement would have to wait. Two years later, she took over as coach at Richmond. And the rest is history. 

Matthes was invited to join the Competitive Cheer Coaches Association of Michigan (CCCAM) Hall of Fame on Sunday. She will be enshrined during the CCCAM Summit in October. 

"It's very humbling," Matthes said. "I'm extremely honored ... I'm still really speechless about the whole thing. You don't coach for yourself or for individual accolades. You coach for your kids, your teams and your schools. So when something big like this happens it's pretty amazing."

The list of accomplishments is long for Matthes, whose coaching career spans 32 years. But it's her past 14 in Richmond that've produced a dynasty. 

The Blue Devils have won six state championships in Division 3 during her tenure, including the last four. That also includes eight district titles, nine regional titles and 14 consecutive BWAC titles. They've finished as runner-up five times and have never placed lower than fourth in a state tournament. 

"A lot of (our success) comes from the community where we're at," Matthes said. "From the time I started at Richmond, everybody has bought in. The kids listen and they follow the lead. We stay extremely focused on ourselves and what the task is at hand ... the culture that I've been able to build here has made a huge difference."

In addition to the CCCAM Hall of Fame, Matthes was named Coach of the Year for Division 3 and District 15. 

"Everybody has got to be on the same page and doing the same thing," Matthes said. "It's not just me, but it's administrators, the athletic director, coaching staff, athletes and parents.

"It takes a village to do what we've been able to do. And I'm just very fortunate that they're my village."

Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendenWelper.