Some cheerleading squads are limited in terms of how many athletes can be accepted. This can lead to frustration and heartache for those who don’t make the team. But – don’t give up!! Consider that there are many factors that go into a coach’s decision to create a team. Your job is to figure out what you need to do to get accepted this time! (more…)
Occasionally I get emails from disgruntled cheerleaders who are unhappy that they did not get chosen for a particular role on a squad. A typical message states that someone else was picked for a position (often it’s the flyer) and that the person who was selected is not really that good so “why was she selected and not me!!”
The complaint is usually about fairness or the seeming lack of it. The cheerleader wants to know what to do about the situation. This is how I reply: (more…)
Fear of failure is not uncommon in cheerleaders, as I mentioned in my previous posting. Excessive concern about making mistakes and perceived pressure to be perfect are associated with fear of failure. It can be a problem in that it may lead to sub-optimal performance, avoidance behavior and mental blocks.
What contributes to this dilemma?
Well first is the cheerleader’s basic temperament and personality style but then we need to consider the coach and the parents. A good coach wants his or her athletes to excel. A good parent wants his or her child to succeed. But how this is communicated can make all the difference between a cheerleader who has fun while learning and one who agonizes over every mishap.
A sport environment is an evaluative environment. The athlete is a learner who must be open to instruction and coaching. Ideally a cheerleader has or develops what I call a championship mind-set which means being open to learning, eager for feedback, and maintaining a perspective that every set-back and mistake is a wonderful opportunity to learn and grow and improve. (This is a life skill, too!)
Coaches and parents can nurture a championship mind-set or they can interfere with it. If the egos of the coach and/or parent are too closely intertwined with the success of the cheerleader, objectivity can suffer and emotions may run high.
If a coach/parent gets unduly upset when an cheerleader makes a mistake, this communicates to the athlete that mistakes are not ok, that they are a problem and are to be avoided. Patience and a sense of humor plus a championship mind-set on the part of the parents/coaches go a long way toward creating a healthy learning atmosphere.
Let’s not forget that this sport of cheerleading is supposed to be fun!
It is good to set high standards and strive for excellence in sport performance and it is imperative that coaches and parents never put down the cheerleader’s efforts, performance, and self worth when the results are imperfect.
To an athlete, the reactions and words of a parent and/or coach carry enormous weight. If coaches/parents pressure athletes (especially young beginners) to perform perfectly, to avoid mistakes, and to meet high (perhaps unrealistic) expectations, and if they criticize the athlete when he or she fails to meet those expectations, all this contributes to the athletes’ fear of failure.
Fostering a good work ethic with clearly defined and realistically high expectations, encouraging healthy team relationships, nurturing a spirit of curiosity and openness to learning where mistakes are gifts and not demons are all ways to contribute to the development of a happy, healthy cheerleader.
You say you want to place first at your cheerleading competition? How hard are you willing to work for it?
Successful athletes are single-minded in their focus and have crystal clear goals and expectations. This clarity helps them keep track of their progress and ensures they will reach their goals.
Since I assume you, too, want to be a successful athlete, here are some questions for you to help you organize your thoughts and create a winning plan. Remember – the more specific and detailed your plan, the better it will help you succeed.
And yes, this takes a bit of time and patience but a true champion is willing to do the work in order to win!
1. Can you envision your cheerleading goal? Can you describe it in detail? Good! Go ahead and write it in here and be specific!
2. What are the benefits or rewards you will gain by pursuing your goal?
3. What are the costs? (Such as time, money, forgoing other activities.)
4. What might get in your way? What challenges might you encounter?
5. How can you deal with these challenges? Who might help?
6. What specific steps do you need to take to reach your goal?
7. How will you be accountable? Who else will know if you follow through with your plan?
8. In the space below, write in the times during a typical week that you will devote to working on your goal. Include time for practice with your team and alone
Mondays:___________________________________________________
Tuesdays:___________________________________________________
Wednesdays:________________________________________________
Thursdays:__________________________________________________
Fridays:____________________________________________________
Week-ends:_________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
To succeed at cheerleading competitions, you need to think and act like a champion.
The best cheerleaders are willing to evaluate every aspect of their performance. A champion does so in an objective way, almost as if he or she is observing someone else in order to gain information. The more you learn about yourself the more information you have that will enable you to improve your performance.
Performance Questions:
Take a few moments and think about your current level of performance. Answer the following questions as honestly and fully as you can. If you are unsure how to respond, leave blank and return to this later on.
Very good! Thanks for answering these questions. You are beginning to get to know your performing-self better – an important first step in becoming a better performer!
In my last post I wrote about sore losers - cheerleaders cheer coaches and cheer parents who respond negatively (and loudly – in some cases) to not placing first in a cheerleading competition.
This behavior has led some people to ask: “whatever happened to good sportsmanship?” Good question!
While it is natural and understandable to feel sad, frustrated, or disheartened when you do not place in the top tier, this is no excuse for unseemly behavior. Honor your feelings of disappointment by accepting them and then – and this is important – step back and try to determine what you could have done differently in order to win.
You may not be able to do this right away…wait a while and then debrief with your team at a point when you can all be more objective; when you are in a growth and learning mode.
A true champion exhibits grace and class under pressure. I was watching “The Sing Off” on NBC this week and each show one of the singing groups was voted off the show. Each of the groups who was asked to leave did so graciously. Some cried but they accepted their fate with poise and style. They took the high road.
You will never regret taking the high road. And when you do, you will be a real winner!
Do you think resilience is innate (we are born with it) or can it be learned? No matter what you believe, we can all agree that resilience is an important ingredient for cheerleading success (and life success, too!).
Of course I believe it can be learned and so does Dr Karen Reivich who is co-author of The Optimistic Child, with Professor Martin Seligman, and co-author of the Resilience Factor.
Dr, Reivich says that there are (at least) 7 skills associated with resilience. All can be learned and incorporated into your life. Here they are:
1. Emotional awareness and regulation.
This is primarily the ability to identify what you are feeling and, when necessary, the ability to control and manage your feelings.
2. Impulse control.
Highly resilient people are able to tolerate ambiguity so they don’t rush to make decisions. They sit back and look at things in a thoughtful way before acting.
3. Optimism.
This refers to ‘realistic optimism’ not pie-in-the-sky optimism. People who are blindly optimistic do not have a brand of optimism which facilitates problem solving: in fact it interferes with it. So for optimism to help resilience, it needs to be wed to reality.
4. Causal analysis
This means the ability to think comprehensively about the problems you confront. Folks who score high in resilience are able to look at problems from many perspectives and consider many factors.
5. Empathy
People who score high on emotional awareness and understand their own emotions tend also to score high on empathy – the ability to read and understand the emotions of others. This is important for resilience for two reasons: first, it helps build relationships with others and then this builds social support
6. Self-efficacy
This is confidence in your ability to solve problems. This is partly about knowing what your strengths and weaknesses are and relying on your strengths to cope. Reivich stresses that this is different than self esteem. In other words, it is not just about feeling good about yourself, it is what she calls “a skills based mastery notion of coping.”
7. Reaching out
By this Reivich means being prepared to take appropriate risk. People who score high on resilience are willing to try things and think failure is a part of life.
Take a few moments to consider this list. On a scale of 1 – 5, with 1 being low and 5 being high, how would you rate yourself on each dimension? Stay tuned for ways to improve your score!
Cheerleading coaches and cheer parents tell me that some cheerleaders get extremely frustrated when they struggle to learn new skills. When they cannot “get it” right away, they give up. This is too bad because mistakes are the building blocks to success – if you have a championship mindset. That is, if you view mistakes as opportunities to learn and improvel if you view setbacks as challenges that can be overcome – then you will succeed!
Take a look at this video for inspiration!
The Burlington Patriots, a Massachusetts Pop Warner Cheerleading Team (Junior Midgets), has won 11 national titles and want to win another one. Will they do it? Watch the movie and find out!
Film makers Laura Molta and Al Ward follow the Patriots Cheerleading team over the months of preparing for their national cheerleading competitions. From the first practice of the season in August through the many long hours of grueling preparation to the final test of their skill and expertise at Nationals, this film will attract and hold your attention as you root for the home team.
I highly recommend this riveting movie to anyone who is involved in cheerleading. This means all cheerleaders, all cheer coaches, all cheer parents, and everyone in the cheer industry. If you’re new to the spirit world, this is a perfect introduction to the reality of this exciting sport. If you’re a veteran, you will appreciate the story of this team and its leaders as it moves towards its exciting finish.
There is so much to like about this film that it is hard to know where to begin! The cheerleaders themselves are superb athletes who dedicate countless hours perfecting their skills. The coaches pull out all the stops to devote their time, energy and love to the girls in their quest for a title.
If you think winning a title is just a matter of practice, then this film will be a revelation to you. Sure, the physical and technical preparation and practice are important, but the mental preparation is what makes the difference between a championship team and a runner-up. Co-directors Darlene Tierney and Carolyn Shannon and Coach Jennifer Currie know this well and their passion, wisdom and psychological astuteness help the team overcome setbacks and forge ahead. Perhaps without their knowing it, these ladies are teaching valuable mental toughness skills to these girls.
At one point, Carolyn says, “It’s a lesson in life…you don’t have power or control…” True! One of the key principles in sport psychology is to recognize the things you can and cannot control and to devote your energy to those things you can control. These women know this instinctively.
Right before the National competition, one of the girls has to have an appendectomy and cannot perform. Then, the night before the big event, the team is told they have to change one of their moves. One girl has the flu and another has a painful ovarian cyst. What do they do? They work fast and hard to change the routine and the girls pull it all together in a remarkable fashion.
I found myself rooting for the Patriots, feeling the excitement and the tension as they competed. (I even had tears in my eyes.) You can’t help but get involved in this story!
In addition to the main story, there are special features that are like a mini-course in cheerleading. These features include behind the scenes interviews with 10 of the top ranked Pop Warner Cheerleading teams in the country; more than 10 full length competition performances and live critiques of cheer routines by judges. Surely the last feature alone makes this video worth buying. Where else can you hear a judge assess a cheer team’s performance – in the moment?
Do yourself a favor and go to www.Cheerleadingfilm.com to purchase your DVD of Blood, Sweat & Cheers!
To be a good cheerleader, you have to be physically strong. To be a great cheerleader, you also have to be mentally strong. I’ve written about mental toughness before and I’ve identified 8 qualities connected to mental toughness; I call them the “8 C’s” and here they are: 1) Championship mindset; 2) Concentration; 3) Composure; 4) Come-back from mistakes: 5) Clarity about motivation; 6) Commitment: 7) Confidence; and 
Courage.
A good example of a mentally tough athlete is 17 year old tennis star Melanie Oudin who won her first match at the US Open on Monday (she lost on Wednesday but not before winning the hearts of an international audience).
From all accounts, Melanie Oudin demonstrated mental toughness from the beginning of her tennis career.
One of Melanie’s coaches, Noel Wadawu said that everyone saw that mental toughness in Melanie from the day she first walked onto the courts (in Sandy Spring, Ga.). “She was nine year old…not too many kids come out her and, when you say, okay, let’s try to hit 200 balls in a row, and you’ve got ot do it until you get it-she did it every single time.”
Wadawu went onto to say, “It’s always been a mental game (for Melanie); she is simple focused entirely on her game. Mental toughness. You just don’t see too many kids that focused.”
By the way, Melanie wears custom designed yellow and pink shoes with the word “BELIEVE” inscribed on the heel. What do you think this says about her? Belief in your ability to perform well contributes to mental toughness.