Many lucky cheerleaders are getting ready to go to cheer camp.  It is a wonderful opportunity to learn new skills and strengthen old ones. Plus – it’s fun! 

Like anything else, the time will fly by and before you know it, you’ll be back home. To facilitate your learning, here’s a tip for you. 

Focus is essential when learning a new skill.  Sometimes it’s tempting to rush into something and just do it.  What I recommend is to slow things down a bit to allow your brain and body to develop a memory of what you re learning. 

It may be helpful to think of how a camera works.  If you just point and click you may get a picture but it won’t be half as good as it would be if you had taken a moment to compose your shot, check the focus, hold the camera still, and then shoot.  

To help engrave your new learning in your brain, think of your brain as being like a camera – “see” it with your mind’s eye, “feel” it in your body, then do it.  Similarly, when you observe your instructors do a stunt or a jump, imagine your eyes are a camera so, be still, focus, and take it in.

Elite athletes learn to sense how their bodies respond to all sorts of variables.  They learn this so they can then adjust their bodies’ arousal level to match the moment. If they are too revved up, they can calm themselves down; if their energy levels are low, they can rev up a bit. 

I hope you can see how useful it would be to be able to fine-tune your body to match and respond to the demands of the moment. 

To help you do this, try this:  Find a quiet place to sit and close your eyes.  Slow your breathing down by exhaling slowly through your mouth several times, inhaling through your nose. Once you are quiet, with your mind’s eye, do a body scan, beginning with the top of your head and moving down to your toes. 

Just notice if you are holding any tension anywhere in your body.  If you detect tension, try to release it with your out-breath. 

A typical body scan goes like this: 

• With your mind’s eye, “see” in slow sequence:
• The top of your head
• Your forehead, eyes, nose, cheeks, mouth, lips, and jaw
• Your neck
• Moving around to the back of your head, the back of your neck
• Moving down to your shoulders, your upper back
• Middle back, spine, lower back and seat
• Now back up to the front of your shoulders
• Your clavicle, your sternum, upper chest and rib cage
• Your upper stomach and your lower abdomen
• Now your upper arms, elbows, forearms, wrists, hands and fingers
• Move down to your pelvis
• Your upper legs, knees, calves and shins
• Now down to your ankles, the soles of your feet
• The tops of your feet and finally your toes 

The above exercise is an introduction to your body, if you will. I realize that this is impractical to do on a regular basis but if you do it a few times, you will learn how to quickly identify and release unwanted tension in your body. That way at practice or especially at high stakes events like tryouts or competitions, you’ll be able to better control your body’s response to stress.

It’s not unusual for cheerleaders to experience fear when attempting to tumble or execute a stunt.  I frequently get questions from cheerleaders who ask me how to “get over” fear of some kind. What follows is my response to a cheerleader who wrote saying she gets scared everytime she gets ready to throw something like a cartwheel or a forward roll.  She said that she takes a step to do it and then steps back and repeats that over and over.  Since this cheerleader’s problem is fairly typical, I thought I would share my response to her with all of you.

Here is my response:

Dear X,

Do you know why you get scared?  Did you ever fall or injure yourself in any way?  Or are you afraid that might happen?  Since you didn’t mention an injury or a fall, I will assume you are afraid something might happen and that is what’s spooking you.  

Many cheerleaders have fears and many learn how to overcome them.  You can, too!  Ready?  Okay…if you’re really ready to work on your mental block, read on.

First – you must calm down and view this situation like a scientist would – objectively.  Your anxiety is leading you to catastrophize and think the worst which only feeds the anxiety and makes it worse.

So, right now, as you are reading this, slow down your breathing by exhaling slowly – as slowly as possible three times.  Ready?  Go ahead and do it…take your time. Now do it again!  (I told you this required patience.)  With each out-breath, tell yourself that you are relaxing more and more.

Whenever you feel worried or anxious, slow down your breathing by doing this. When we are anxious we don’t think clearly and right now you need to think clearly, right?

Okay. Now that you are calmer, let’s look at this situation as objectively as possible. What are the facts?  It sounds like you are somewhat new to tumbling and often when we try something new, it can be a bit scary.  Your body hasn’t yet gotten comfortable with tumbling.

You may not remember since it was a long time ago but when you were little and just beginning to walk, that seemed hard, too!  You first had to learn how to balance your head, then how to sit up, then how to stand up, then how to balance your body when you would stand up, then how to take that first step, then how to take the second step and so forth. ]

Now you don’t think twice about walking, do you?  It’s the same with tumbling! Eventually, over time, as you practice more and more, tumbling will become almost second nature to you!

Be kind to yourself as you learn something new!

Now, you may want to try this technique which may help you to reduce your fear.  The goal is to reduce your fear to a manageable level.  And I assume you will work with your private coach on this.  He or she can tell you when you are ready to move to the next level.  Safety is important!

1. Find a nice quiet place and while sitting up, close your eyes.
2. Exhale as slowly as you can 3 – 4 times through your mouth, then inhale through your nose.
3. Say to yourself, “With each out-breath, I am relaxing more and more.”
4. Once relaxed, see yourself, with your mind’s eye, in a safe place, a place you feel ultra comfortable, secure and happy.
5. Really enjoy being in your special safe place as you continue to focus on your out-breath.
6. Now, shift your focus and see yourself in your cheerleading practice spot, beginning to do throw your cartwheel or forward roll.
7. See yourself executing the move with grace and ease and “feel” yourself enjoying it; enjoy your success.
8. Now assign a power label or cue word for this successful execution. It can be anything.  For example, you could simply call it “success” or “good move.”
9. Once you have your power label, visualize and feel the whole successful routine again only this time say your cue word to yourself.
10. Repeat over and over.  Each time you do this, you will be creating brain and muscle memory.   
11. If you feel any anxiety during this phase, stop visualizing the cartwheel or forward roll and return to your favorite safe place.
12. Stay in your safe place until you feel relaxed.
13. Once relaxed, return to visualizing throwing your cartwheel and repeat your cue word to yourself again.
14. Keep repeating this process until the anxiety associated with visualizing the cartwheel or forward roll is manageable.
15. Do not expect the anxiety to disappear completely, the goal is MANAGEABLE ANXIETY.
16. Once you can, in your mind’s eye, execute the cartwheel, repeat over and over using your power label.

 This visualization accomplishes several things.  It helps you ease into the idea of doing your tumbling while minimizing your anxiety and it also engraves the successful execution of the move in your brain.  You will be training your brain to feel and think in the way you want.  You will also be learning how to control your thoughts and feelings rather than have them control you! 

Now, one last thing; when you next begin to do your tumbling, take a moment to focus, exhale slowly, say your power label to yourself and see yourself executing the move successfully. Then go ahead! 

I know this has been a long response but I wanted to be thorough.  Change takes time and effort.  If you want, show this to your coach so he or she knows how serious you are about doing well. 

Good luck with this.  I’m so glad you wrote to me about this.  Please keep me posted.

And to all of you who read this, please let me know your thoughts and feel free to write with your questions.

 It’s no secret that some cheerleaders experience injuries during cheerleading practices or performances.  

One such cheerleader recently wrote to me after she fell on her head, asking me to help her cope with the stress of doing the stunt that led to her injury.  This cheerleader fell on her head doing a 360 elevator/extension. 

What follows is my response to this cheerleader: 

How awful that you fell on your head!  No wonder you are afraid! 

First – I assume you got immediate medical attention, right?  Any injury is serious business but a head injury in particular requires immediate and thorough evaluation.  There is no way you should resume physical activity until you are cleared by a physician.

Second – has your coach been certified by an organization such as the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators (AACCA)? All cheer coaches and cheerleading squads should go through a safety course. Safety is fundamental and the most important thing.

Third – ask your coach and squad to review what happened in detail in order to determine what went wrong.  Someone wasn’t doing what he or she should have been doing, right?  A careful analysis sets the stage for a plan to remedy the problem to ensure it doesn’t happen again.  This process will contribute to your feeling a bit more secure about future attempts at doing a 360 elevator/extension.

Fourth – once all of these steps are taken, you can begin the psychological recuperation. 

You have experienced a physical and a psychological trauma and the reality of that needs to be acknowledged and honored.  Of course you are frightened…that is natural. You will need to rebuild your trust in yourself and in your team-mates and perhaps in your coach, too.  This is a process and will take some time.  Ultimately, only you can decide if you wish to return to cheerleading or not.  Do not allow anyone to force you into doing something that you do not want to do. It is your decision. 

If you want to stay in the game, here are some things to consider: After a serious injury, we tend to get stuck on replaying the incident.  This prolongs the fear and it also engraves the incident in our brains. The body does what the brain thinks so you will definitely want to stop this process. To do this, you can try some visualization. (Many pro athletes use this to help them recover from injuries.) 

Here’s how to do it: 

1. Find a nice quiet place and while sitting up, close your eyes.
2. Exhale as slowly as you can 3 – 4 times.
3. Say to yourself, “With each out-breath, I am relaxing more and more.”
4. Once relaxed, see yourself, with your mind’s eye, in a safe place, a place you feel ultra comfortable, secure and happy.
5. Really enjoy being in your special safe place as you continue to focus on your out-breath.
6. Now, shift your focus and see yourself in your cheerleading practice spot, beginning an easy cheerleading stunt, something you learned a long time ago that is simple for you to do.
7. See yourself executing the move with grace and ease and “feel” yourself enjoying it; enjoy your success.
8. If you feel any anxiety during this phase, stop visualizing the stunt and return to your favorite safe place.
9. Stay in your safe place until you feel relaxed.
10. Once relaxed, return again to seeing yourself executing a simple cheer stunt.
11. Repeat until you have seen yourself successfully execute the simple stunt.
12. Now, see yourself begin a slightly more difficult stunt, something that requires more skill and competence.
13. Again, if you feel anxious, return to your safe place and focus on your out-breath.
14. Once relaxed, return to doing your stunt until you can do so with ease and confidence.
15. Keep building up the level of difficulty of the stunt until you are able to “see” yourself and “feel” yourself executing the stunt that resulted in your injury.
16. Remember, if you feel anxious, return to your safe place.
17. Once you can, in your mind’s eye, execute the 360 elevator/extension with success, repeat over and over. 

This visualization accomplishes several things.  It helps you ease back into the idea of cheerleading while minimizing your anxiety and it also engraves successful execution of stunts in your brain.  You will be training your brain to feel and think in the way you want.  You will also be learning how to control your thoughts and feelings rather than have them control you! 

Good luck with this.  I’m so glad you wrote to me about this.  Please keep me posted.

Readers!  Are you on Facebook?  If so, please be my friend and join my Facebook group – Confident Cheerleading!

Cheerleaders are not immune to experiencing mental blocks which can interfere with cheerleading performance.  In my last post, I responded to a question I saw in the forum on Allaboutcheerleading.com  in which a cheerleader asked for help in overcoming her mental block about throwing a full during a practice routine. 

I encouraged this cheerleader to become more objective in her assessment and to embrace mistakes as opportunities for learning and not something to be avoided.   I then reminded her that she clearly is capable of throwing a full under some circumstances so she needs to determine what factors are interfering with her execution some of the time. 

Here is more of what I would say to this cheerleader: Good execution follows good thinking, clear thinking.  Emotional upset creates fuzzy thinking so it’s important to step back and assume an objective stance – as if you are evaluating someone else who is seeking your help. 

Take a few moments and clear your head.  Close your eyes and exhale slowly 3 times.  This will calm you down and when you are calmer your thinking will be more focused and clearer. 

Now, with your eyes closed, think about the times you really hit it with throwing your full.  With your mind’s eye, see yourself executing this move and nailing it. Allow yourself to see yourself doing this successfully over and over.  Now, recall how you felt when you threw your full successfully. Notice every detail – how you focused just prior to execution; how you held your head, your arms, your stance; how you moved; how you were breathing; where your focus was – everything! 

Next, still with your eyes closed, combine the whole thing – see yourself with your mind’s eye and experience yourself kinesthetically (your felt sense) executing the move over and over.  Good.  

Now assign a label or cue word or phrase for this successful execution. It can be anything.  For example, you could simply call it “success” or “good move.”  Once you have your label, visualize and feel the whole successful routine again only this time say your cue word to yourself. Repeat over and over.  Each time you do this, you will be creating brain and muscle memory so that the next time you actually throw a full, you will be able to reconnect with this positive experience and success will be more likely! 

More on this topic in my next post!

Readers – are you on Facebook?  Please become my friend on Facebook and join my group  – Confident Cheerleading!

While exploring the forum on the site – All About Cheerleading, I came across a question written by a cheerleader who has a “mental block” throwing her full. She wrote that she found her fulls easy to do when her team is warming up in the corners but then “blocks” when they do their whole routine. She has to do a pass through 3 other girls which is “scary” for her. 

This cheerleader said that this is “taking a lot of mental energy” as it is “all I think about”   and it’s frustrating for her. She gets mad at herself because she is a “perfectionist.”

Well, as a psychologist and peak performance coach, this caught my interest and I thought I would use her concern as the basis of a blog post – maybe a few!

Where to begin?  I think I’ll focus on the perfectionist problem today.

Perfectionism in itself is not necessarily a problem.  On a positive note, perfectionism can drive a cheerleader (or anyone) to work hard and persevere in the face of discouragement. So, perfectionism can be the fuel that motivates a cheerleader to succeed especially when it is accompanied by commitment, persistence, and attention to detail.  

 A healthy perfectionist can take pleasure in the effort taken to achieve success.

But sometimes, perfectionism isn’t so good for you!  This is true if you are unable to feel satisfaction because you can never believe what you do is good enough or if you are striving towards unrealistic goals. 

 There is an important distinction between striving towards excellence versus perfection. The former is realistic and possible; the latter is rarely possible and more likely to lead to frustration and heartache and in some instances – depression.

In cheerleading, the road to perfecting a stunt or routine is riddled with bumps and potholes. Mistakes are inevitable and, as I’ve mentioned in this forum many times, the best attitude to have towards mistakes is to view them as opportunities to learn and grow.

So here is how I would advise this cheerleader: You are missing out on an opportunity to learn something about yourself that can be valuable to you.  A true champion sees a mistake as information, as data that can be used to learn and to improve!

I would invite you to step back and practice saying this phrase over and over – “Isn’t it interesting that…” and fill in the blank.  So, for example, you could say, “Isn’t it interesting that I can successfully throw a full alone but not with my team mates during our routine.  I wonder why that is?”

If you do this, you will be creating some distance and objectivity to your situation which will help you see the situation more clearly and with less negative emotion.  You become a scientist, filled with curiosity about this problem.  Your goal becomes searching for a solution to the problem which is now more clearly defined which is – there is a difference in your ability to throw a full during a routine versus during a solo practice.

The next question becomes: what is the difference or what are the different variables between the 2 conditions? You are the same cheerleader in both situations, right? It isn’t that you are not physically capable of throwing a full since you are able to do so when practicing alone.

 So what is it about executing this move with your squad that interferes with your ability to nail it?

To help you figure it out, here are some possibilities: you are allowing yourself to get distracted by the movements of your team mates; you have “spooked yourself” into believing that you cannot do it in these circumstances; you are more focused on your negative internal conversation than on executing the move.  Do any of these ring true?

This is a beginning.  Tomorrow I will pick up here and continue.

By the way – are you on Facebook? If so, please be my friend and join my Facebook group – Confident Cheerleading!

This is yet another cognitive distortion that can interfere with cheerleading success.  In this case, you go beyond the evidence you actually have and reach a conclusion that makes things look worse than they are. It takes three distinct forms: Labeling, Mind Reading, and Fortune Telling.

Today I will deal with Labeling.

Here’s an example – You are finishing a practice session in which you just couldn’t hit an inverted back tuck. Each time you tried, you rotated a bit too soon.

What do you tell yourself?  If you tell yourself, “I’m a lousy flyer,” you are Labeling yourself. You are now “a lousy flyer.”  Instead of saying, “I couldn’t get it right today so I better ask coach for advice,” you ended up applying a negative label to a complex event.

Labeling leaves out more than it includes and it ignores the complexity of a given situation. There could be many reasons why you are having trouble with an inverted back tuck, but if you quickly Label yourself a “lousy flyer” you are closing off the opportunity to learn what’s interfering with your progress.

Here’s a better way of handling this situation: “I seem to be having trouble with my inverted back tuck.  It’s frustrating. I wonder what I’m doing wrong.  I can ask coach or some of the other cheerleaders to watch me and tell me what they observe.  Once I know what I’m doing wrong I can get help in correcting it.”

Do you see how this way leads to a plan of action?  Once you have a plan of action, your frustration will diminish because you have hope that things will improve!

So, watch out for Labeling!

Let’s say you’re a cheerleader and you just heard this feedback from your coach: “You’re getting better and better with your toe touch jump.  I’m happy to see the improvement.  It will be even better if you can keep your arms level in a T position and bring your feet closer to your hands.” 

Ok, now what did you hear?  Did you hear it all?  Would you rate it a favorable critique?

If yes, you’re on the right track and you have no need to read further.  If you saw it as a negative critique, please read on! 

As I mentioned in a previous post, cheerleaders and cheer coaches can benefit from knowing about cognitive distortions which can adversely affect the overall performances of cheerleaders. 

Overgeneralization is the most common cognitive distortion and Mental Filtering is one type of Overgeneralization.  Using the example from above, the cheerleader who saw this as a negative critique filtered out the positive and only focused on what was wrong with the toe touch jump.  Do you see how the filtering can work to the cheerleader’s disadvantage?  The cheerleader might spend the next several hours feeling bad because he or she is convinced that the coach disapproves of the toe touch jump! 

Lesson: If you filter out all the positive and focus only on the negative, your performance will suffer. 

Coaches!  Knowing that this scenario is possible, be on the lookout for your cheerleaders using Mental Filtering and engage them in a conversation that might sound like this” “It might be useful for me to hear what you think I just told you so we can be clear we’re on the same page.”  Then, if the cheerleader has seemed to focus on what was wrong with the stunt, you can gently help them see the whole picture.

Many cheerleaders are getting ready for Nationals which means Christmas break is not much of a break for some of you!  It’s tempting to devote every waking moment to practice but that would be a mistake!  Just like the puppy in the photo, it’s important to take time to rest to allow your body and brain to rejuvenate.  So, be sure to set aside time for those naps (but not on a coffee table like our furry friend).

Cheerleaders can benefit from the accumulated wisdom of other athletes. In the world of elite sports, the best athletes are those who are always open to learning and the worst are those who know it all already.  Knowers tend to feel less secure about their performance, by the way.

So, what cheerleader type are you?  How open are you to learning?  And learning encompasses more than just learning the physical moves of cheerleading; it also involves learning how to communicate, how to resolve conflict, how to create a coherent team, etc. 

The next time someone tries to teach you something – whether it’s a coach or a peer, notice your reaction.  Are you closed off and quick to say, “I know that?” Or are you welcoming the insight or information? Even if you think you know something already, the other person will appreciate your listening with an open attitude. 

The best athletes, the Learners,  approach each situation with a spirit of curiosity and an eagerness to see if there’s some new angle that can improve their performance. 

This goes beyond conversation.  There is so much to learn by observation.  Again, a Learner carefully observes other athletes to discern what can be learned by watching other athletes perform. 

So, give it a try…become a Learner and see how you improve