By Yonah Perline
Syracuse, N.Y. - Kerry Bretti doesn't have a bad bone in her body. Now that her athletic career has finished, her off-the-field caring and selfless demeanor doesn't see her aggressive and dominating side any longer. Off the field, she'll go out of her way to help anyone. In fact, she has trouble saying "no."
As a child growing up in Katonah, New York, which is about 40 miles north of Manhattan, Bretti was a gymnast, which was great for her athleticism, but she eventually wanted to join a team game. Bretti soon tried her foot in soccer, before finding lacrosse in high school.
She played lacrosse at SUNY Cortland, where she excelled on the defensive side and helped her team make it to the DIII Final Four each year of her career. She is extremely proud and grateful to have been part of such a successful and loving team. "We just had the best group of girls and best families," Bretti said. "I don't regret going to Cortland for any reason mainly because of my team."
Bretti's favorite time with her father was when he took her to San Francisco to see the 2011 NFC Championship game, where the New York Giants, her team, won. "He loves that I love sports and he supports me," Bretti said. "He doesn't even like the Giants but he picked up and left for the weekend because he wanted me to go and experience that."
Interview Transcript
YP: We're here with Kerry Britti, 23 years old, from Katonah New York, now, there's no better way to start than the here and now, we're in Syracuse University, why are you here and where do you want it to take you?
KB: Obviously here for my Master's Degree, in broadcast digital journalism. I'm not sure where I wanna go yet, somewhere along the lines of sideline reporting, sports broadcasting, not quite sure.
YP: Is there a team that you'd love to do it for?
KB: The Giants, New York Giants- not San Francisco.
YP: Now, in your undergrad, you started at UConn but you left after one semester. Why is that?
KB: UConn wasn't the right fit for me. I think I had high expectations going in then maybe too high where it was impossible to reach them. I played sports my whole life, I kind of needed sports back in my life. I wasn't originally going to play lacrosse at UConn an I began to tryout and halfway through the tryout I realized I was going to transfer so there was no point. Just wasn't the right fit for me
YP: So, alright, you had mentioned that you went to Cortland after that, and you played lacrosse. Can you tell me about your experience on the team?
KB: Lacrosse at Cortland was awesome, we were awesome. We we undefeated at home, every year we just had th best group of girls, best families, just, it was a big family. I couldn't- I don't regret going to Cortland for any reason mainly because of my team.
YP: Were you successful on the field?
KB: Yes
YP: How so?
KB: I think I definitely improved freshman year to senior year. We obviously won a lot of games, I think I lost eight games in my career at Cortland. I think that's actually seven. I don't know. Just, yea, we were successful on the field as a team and I think I excelled individually as well.
YP: What position were you?
KB: I played defense
YP: Defense, ok.
KB: I started to late in the game. I started in high school, so like by the time I began, all the other girls had been playing for a bunch of years, so I was just like, I was pretty athletic I was into gymnastics my whole life, so it was, throw her into defense you don't really need stick skills for that, so…
YP: And you also played a sport where you didn't need sticks as well, which one was that?
KB: Soccer.
YP: Oh yea. How'd you like soccer?
KB: I like soccer a lot. I think soccer was definitely more fun than lacrosse, and you can play a pickup game of soccer like no problem and then obviously soccer is way more popular that lacrosse so you can really watch soccer on TV and root for you country and root for your MLS team and your Premiere League team, so, soccer is good in that way.
YP: How was your experience at Cortland educationally?
KB: Not the best. Cortland wasn't the greatest academic school. I mean, it was a school for education, and people who wanted to be teachers, mainly wanted to be phys ed. teacher, but they had a communications department which was ok, but wasn't top tier.
YP: But you enjoyed yourself?
KB: Yea, I enjoyed myself.
YP : And you learned?
KB Yea, I learned.
YP: Cool. So, you have two siblings, can you tell me about them?
KB: My brother is 26 years old. He graduated from Syracuse as an undergrad.
YP: What's his name?
KB: John. And he works no at AXA Financial. It's actually based in Syracuse but he works in New York City. Then my sister is 25 years old. Her name is Leanne, and she does a little residential real-estate through my dad and my dad's friends and that's it.
YP: What are their personalities compared to yours?
KB: I think that I'm a little bit of both them. My brother is more, I wanna say laid back, more realistic. My sister is kind of out there, kind of like a diva, everything revolves around her so I'm a little in between them both.
YP: In what ways have they influenced you over your childhood?
KB: My brother has always influenced me to like do the right thing, try to be better as a person, better as a student, better as an athlete, he always wants you to do better. And my sister, she kinda keeps me lively, she keeps me fun, kind of, I don't want to say she keeps me, never mind.
YP: You sure you don't wanna finish?
KB: Yea.
YP: Ok. You're parents names are John and Susan. John's actually a running name in your family. Can you tell me a little bit a bout them?
KB: The running name or both my parents?
YP: Your parents.
KB: My dad grew up in Westchester, where I'm from, where I lived growing up. Both of his parents are off the boat from Italy. He does commercial real-estate now. He went to San Diego State. Knew no one just picked up his stuff and left, went cross country. He says that it was the best place ever, best weather. My mom grew up in Miami. She went to Fordham for her degree. She's an elementary school teacher now.
YP: Now, I now for a fact, that you really get along with your father. Can you please give me your favorite memory of your father? Last question...
KB: My dad's a Raiders fan. He watches Giants games because I watch Giants games and I like the Giants. And, back when I was a sophomore in college, the Giants were beating the Packers to win a trip to the NFC Championship game in San Francisco, and somehow they pulled it off and before the game was even finished my dad had bought tickets to the game in San Francisco, bought airline tickets and my dad and I went to the NFC Championship game, and the Giants somehow won and all because he loves that I love sports and he supports me. He doesn't even like the Giants but he just picked up and left for the weekend because he wanted me to go and experience that.
YP: Kerry, thank you very much for talking with me.
KB: Thank you.
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