It will be a jam-packed weekend with lots of class options for the coaches.  I will be teaching 3 different classes: How to Bring out the Leader in your Cheerleader; How to Enhance Motivation and Improve Performance; and How to Identify and Change Negative Thinking.

All of these classes are based on best practices from sport psychology and all are evidence-based.  This means that there is scientific proof that these techniques really work – if – if they are actually put into practice! For example, did you know that just by setting clear goals, you will enhance motivation for your athletes?  That may be something you “feel” is right but knowing that there is evidence to support your “feeling” makes it even better! Goals help to mobilize an athlete and aids in prolonging persistence. 

The way you set goals is also important; it should be a joint effort with you and your cheerleader coming up with the goals. One of my favorite sayings is, “That which you help to create, you will support.” 

A goal is a worthless without a plan.  I may say I want to lose 5 lbs but unless I have a clear plan as to how I will achieve that goal, I’ll probably end up gaining 5 lbs first! 

There are outcome goals (placing first in a competition), performance goals (successfully executing a skill) and process goals (focus on the specific steps that go into execution of a skill). An over-emphasis on outcome may boost motivation in the short-term but because outcome (in a competition at least) is not under your control, it can lead to disappointment and a dip in motivation. 

The best way to go is to put more effort into performance and process goals. 

If you do want to improve your chances of placing first in a competition, check out my training program – The Mental Game of Cheerleading: Training for Competitions!

I was warmly greeted by the conference organizer, Lin Lindsay and her assistant /friend, Cricket Butler. They, along with out-going President Tina Hester, in-coming President Carrie Lasseter and website maven, Cammie Dalley took  fellow conference speaker, Robb Webb and me out to dinner on Thursday night.  We went to the Last Resort which I would highly recommend.

On Friday I presented two workshops: Using Sport Psychology to Improve Performance and Bringing out the Leader in Your Cheerleaders.  On Saturday, two more workshops: Mental Toughness – The Key Ingredient for Athletic Success and Unlock the Block: How to Resolve MentalBlocks in Tumbling. I’m pleased to say that the attendees were enthusiastic, engaged, and involved in the whole process.  I had a ball and I was told they did, too!

Georgia-based Nfinity Shoes unveiled their brand new product called the Game Day shoe which is specially designed for spirit or sideline cheerleaders.  David Marler, National Sales Director at Nfinity, hosted a party to celebrate the inauguration of the new shoe and invited the University of Georgia drum line (see photo) to perform and some U of GA cheerleaders to cheer.  Munchies and beverages were also provided, all of which took place outside on a blissfully warm day.

 University of Georgia Drum Line

One of the disadvantages of being a speaker is that I cannot attend many of the other workshops.  I did manage to sit in on two of Robb Webb’s workshops.  One was Creative Transitional Stunts and the other was How to Synchronize Tumbling.  (Robb owns Robb Webb’s Schol of Stunt and Tumble and can be reached at magicalstunts@yahoo.com..)

 The conference was a big success (at least it seemed that to me!). It drew a big crowd of dedicated, enthusiastic coaches and I was honored to be part of this event!

 Tina Hester, Brooke McArthur and Lin Lindsay

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending and teaching at Spring Tumbling’s first annual cheer coaches’ conference in Toronto. Mike Pare, President of Spirit Cheer, UCA All Star Director for UCA All Star, and assistant cheerleading coach at the University of Central Florida (whew! – when does he sleep?) offered a class called “Running an Effective Practice” which I attended.  A number of years ago, Mike attended a course given by the great Notre Dame Football coach, Lou Holtz and learned the acronym W.I.N which stands for What’s Important Now?  Mike suggested that this question can be a key to coaching in that it helps coaches stay on track. 

Mike emphasized that planning is key to effective practices and encouraged coaches to organize their practice sessions carefully including blocking out time for stretching, tumbling, stunts and pyramids. Each day should have a focus and practice sessions should allow athletes to access and work on their weaknesses. 

Mike believes in helping cheerleaders assume ownership over their goals and so he has developed a format which I think will be helpful to cheer coaches and their athletes. 

For Individual goals for the cheerleader: 

1. Write down a goal you want to accomplish this season along with a reasonable time frame. For example, you might say you want to master a standing back hand spring over the next 3 months.

2. Write down three things you can do to ensure you reach this goal. So, you might write that you will work on your strength and conditioning, you will watch training videos, and you will seek private tutoring.

3. Now write down 3 things your coach can help you with.  This could include your coach giving you practice drills, private time for tutoring, and video advice.

 For Team goals: 

1. Team works together to create a goal for the season.

2. Team writes down three things they can do to achieve the goal along with a reasonable time frame.

3. Team writes down three things they need from their coaches in order to accomplish the team goal. 

Mike then collects all these papers and reviews them periodically to make sure individuals and the team are staying on track toward their goals. 

How do you organize your practice sessions?  What works?  What doesn’t?  Please offer your comments!  And if you’re on Facebook (hey, who isn’t?) please “like” my Confident Cheerleading Center page!  If you do, you can get some free goodies!

In addition to teaching and traveling all over the world, Kenny and Lisa decided to host their first conference for coaches in Toronto this year.  (They re also launching their new cheerleading magazine called Twist on this Saturday!)

I’m pleased to be one of the teachers at the conference.  My courses are: Unlock the Block: How to Resolve Mental Blocks; Mental Toughness: the Secret Ingredient to Success; and The Mental Game of Competitions.  If you’re near the Toronto area, please consider registering for this event (Saturday, October 16th).

Other teachers include the wonderful Elaine Pascale of World Cup fame,  Mike Pare, President of Spirit Cheer and UCA All Star Director for UCA All Star; Diana Miller, co-owner of Pro-Spirit; and many other fine experts from the cheer industry. 

This should be a terrific conference!

 Teaching, speaking, and educating are things I LOVE to do so I am definitely looking forward to the weekend.  I also love meeting new people and making new friends – plus it will be a learning experience for me, too.  (Every time I teach, I learn!) 

I will be giving two talks and one class.  The talks are: “The body does what the brain thinks: How sport psychology can improve athletic performance;”  “How to use sport psychology techniques to enhance motivation and improve performance;” and the class is “The Mental Game of Cheerleading: Training for Competitions.”

 Well, I better finish my packing!  See you next week!

This event was nominated Best Coaches Conference for SITA and Inside Cheerleading Magazine Reader’s Choice Awards!

I am pleased to be this year’s keynote presenter for this award nominated conference.  Of course I won’t be alone!  The other esteemed presenters and the schedule are listed below.

Friday: 6-8pm check in and reception.

7:00 pm Keynote Speaker Pamela Enders: “How to identify and change negative thinking to improve performance”

Saturday: 10-11am brunch. 11:30 awards

12:00: Andrew Gustafson: “Team Building”. Please bring 10 business cards or gym brochures for this exercise.

12:30: Pamela Enders: “Understanding the Teenage Brain”

1:30: Kate Grieve “Maximize your Score sheet”

2:00 Diane Altman “Uplifting your Athletes”

2:30: Pamela Enders “Sport Psychology Techniques to Improve Practice”

3:30: Dave Pilcher “Building Skills at all Levels”

4:30: Pamela Enders: “Training for Competitions”

President of Pac West, Kiki Bittner, offers this Conference FREE to her customers!  This includes the Friday night cocktail reception and Saturday Champagne brunch! Where else can you get a deal like that?  Kiki says she offers this as a way of saying thank you!

Coaches who are new to Pac West may join this amazing reception, conference and brunch for only $29 per person! Incredible!!! All participants must register to attend.

I hope to see you soon!

Cheer Expo takes place this coming Saturday and Sunday in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  It sounds like it will be a grand time and a busy weekend.  Not only are there the National Cheerleading and Dance Championship Competitions but there is also an Expo/Trade Show for cheerleaders, dancers, gymnasts and of course…their coaches!

It is also a conference for coaches, the athletes and their parents

I will be teaching 9 different workshops over 2 days so I’ll be plenty busy! Here is the line-up of my workshops:

Saturday 10:05

Mental Toughness: The key ingredient to athletic success 

Saturday 12:05

Unlock the Block: How to resolve mental blocks in tumbling 

Saturday 2:05

Sport Psychology: How to use sport psychology techniques to make the most of practice 

Saturday 3:05

The Mental Game of training for competitions 

Saturday 4:05

How to create and use winning visualizations 

Sunday 9:05

Stress Reduction Techniques 

Sunday 11:05

The Mental Game of Safety: How mental game coaching can improve safety 

Sunday 1:05

How to train your brain to get your body to do what you want 

Sunday 3:05

How to identify and change negative thinking

By the way, one of the things I love to do is teach so if you run events like this, please keep me in mind for a keynote speech or a series of workshops.

The event offered abundant opportunities for coaches (and cheerleaders) to learn new skills and refine and strengthen existing ones. Some coaches attended safety certification programs which, of course, are essential for any coach. Other courses included such topics as team-building, tryouts, flexibility, tumbling, stunts and pyramids, and developing leadership skills. 

Cheerleaders were able to attend some of the same courses as coaches and also had their own courses such as a cheerleader master class, motions, jumps, how to succeed in college, and confidence.

 I was honored to offer two classes, one for coaches and one for cheerleaders on The Mental Game of Cheerleading. 

I was impressed with the enthusiasm of the other instructors and all of the participants.  It’s clear that everyone sees him/herself as life-long learners. That makes sense since excellence means that one is always open to learning! 

It wasn’t all work however!  There was a lot of fun including chatting at mealtimes, the big pep rally on Friday night, and the wonderful celebration dinner on Saturday night where coaches and cheerleaders were honored for their contribution to the spri industry. (More about that in a future blog.) 

 It was a personal pleasure for me to be so warmly welcomed into the cheerleading community by these outstanding individuals.  I learned a lot and look forward to continuing my education and deepening my relationships with my new found friends.

I am honored and excited to be one of the featured presenters at this years CheerCon! This grand event will take place from May 14 – 17 at Methodist University in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Gwen Holtsclaw, founder and president of Cheer Ltd interviewed me recently about sports psychology and cheerleading and we recorded the interview so you could hear it, too! Please feel free to listen in on our conversation.  We hope it will encourage you to register for CheerCon – the largest and longest running spirit industry conference! 

CheerCon is the largest cheer conference offered to coaches, cheerleaders, vendors, and industry leaders.  Whether you are a new coach or a veteran who just can’t quit, a team captain or a cheer fanatic, a vendor with that latest and greatest…you are invited! CheerCon was awarded the SPIRIT INDUSTRY Best Coaches Conference for a second time at the SITA Awards Gala in Chicago.

You’ll hear more about CheerCon as we get closer to May but for now…here’s the recording for you!