I would like you all to meet a cheerleader who really defines what mental toughness is all about. Her name is Lexus Kline and she cheers for the Wheeling All Stars in Follansbee, West Virginia. Her birthday is coming up soon; she will turn 11 on July 7th.
If you read my blog you know that I write a lot about persistence, courage, commitment, and dedication. Well, Lexus has it all! Here is her story: (more…)
Soon, thousands of cheerleaders, coaches, cheer parents and fans from all over the world will be pouring into Orlando Florida for the annual Worlds Cheerleading and Dance Competition. This weekend marks the end or near end of the cheerleading competition season.
In reflecting on this past competition season, I recall someone asking me what words of wisdom or what inspirational talk could a cheerleading coach offer to his or her team right before they go on stage. (more…)
In response to my recent post about special-needs cheerleading teams, I heard from Sarah Cronk who is President and co-founder of an organization called The Sparkle Effect.
The Sparkle Effect, http://www.thesparkleeffect.org is a nonprofit corporation that provides guidance, peer mentoring, online tools, free uniforms, and free on-site training to enable high school students across the United States to create cheerleading squads that include students with disabilities and to fully integrate those squads into the high school sports curriculum.
How cool is that??
The Sparkle Effect offers a step-by-step model that students can follow in setting up their own squads, including sample letters to administrators, practice tips, fundraising ideas and more!
The Sparkle Effect invites you to join the movement that is changing game night in America forever. After all, when everyone cheers, everyone wins!
If you’re interested, please contact Sarah Cronk at sarah.cronk@thesparkleeffect.org
If you’ve ever been to a cheerleading competition, you may have had the pleasure of seeing a special-needs cheerleading team perform. The pleasure comes from seeing the focus and determination on the cheerleaders’ faces as they perform and the sheer joy of triumph when they finish. All their hard work has paid off and now they want to celebrate! And we all celebrate with them. We salute their courage, their resilience, and their vitality. Bravo!
I have been thinking about writing a post about this topic for a while now and lo and behold, Bill Presson provided a link on Facebook to an article that appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. The reporter is Karen Kadilac and it appeared in Thursday’s paper. I will be borrowing from this article for my post. (more…)
There I was, sitting at my booth at Spirit Cheer’s Beast of the East Winter Nationals Cheerleading Competitions in Hartford, when a team from Valley Elite All Stars gathered in front of me, closed their eyes and visualized their performance, including their hand gestures, movements, and so forth.
Well, I couldn’t resist adding my two cents so after they finished, I told them about power words. (more…)
I just heard about a great service that is available from Varsity All Star. You all know how fierce competition can be, right? Well, wouldn’t it be helpful to get some early feedback on how your teams will score way before you actually arrive at the competition arena?
Now you can! Varsity All Star is offering a new service – Virtual Critique – to help you maximize your team’s potential! This service will provide you with some insight on how your team is going to place in the rankings. (more…)
Everyone involved with the cheerleading industry knows how kind and generous cheer folks can be. Well, there is an opportunity for you to continue to show the world that the cheerleading industry cares.
Here is the story about a young man named Matt McCallum, ACE Cheer Company and Cheer for a Cause. (more…)
Yesterday I wrote about how some cheerleaders over-react to a bad practice. Let’s take that a bit further today.
I invite you to think about how you assess a bad day or good day. Do you tend to allow a rough practice ruin your whole day or even your week? Do you float on cloud 9 if you have a great practice? What is the conversation you have with yourself about this? (more…)
It’s no secret that cheerleaders are often leaders in their communities. Many devote long hours volunteering at their local school, hospitals, and community centers.
Hannah McRae Young, who cheers for Cheer Extreme Allstars and for East Forsyth High in Kernersville, North Carolina, founded a wonderful non-profit organization called CheeReaders – in her spare time! (more…)
Tomorrow I head off to Toronto for the first annual Spring Coaches Conference. Many of you know about Spring Tumbling. Kenny Feeley and Lisa Aucoin, tumbling and cheerleading experts, are the owners. Spring Tumbling is based in Canada, the United States and the UK. (more…)