Once you have created your practice schedule for your hypnosis practice sessions, the next step is to figure out your goals for using hypnosis.  As a cheerleader, what do you want to change about your performance?  Be specific.  You can realistically work on one or two goals for each session. (more…)

If you’ve seen a nightclub or stage hypnotist, you might think that a hypnotist can take control of your mind and make you do things that you would rather forget!    Well, that is not true.  You cannot be hypnotized unless you want to and you can’t be made to do anything that is normally objectionable to you. 

You night think that if you are hypnotized, you might reveal something that you would rather not.  This is also not true! (more…)

This site is filled with articles about the mental game of cheerleading.  As a mental game coach, I know that you can improve your performance through mental training techniques such as identifying and changing negative thinking; setting appropriate goals; arousal control; focusing and calming strategies; and imagery and visualization.  It makes sense that I would also advocate another mental approach and that is hypnosis.  (more…)

When a cheerleader experiences anxiety in relation to executing a specific skill, there is a tendency to avoid it.  This is pretty natural – we all tend to want to avoid something that makes us uncomfortable.  The problem with this is that it works – meaning that each time we avoid something, our anxiety diminishes and thus we reinforce that avoidance behavior.  (more…)

If I were to ask you if sports help build good character, you (like most people) would quickly say “yes.” But think about this for a moment.  Think about how some pro athletes get arrested for all sorts of crimes and misdemeanors. Recall stories of irate parents screaming at referees or judges or – their own kids! Make note of athletes who pout when they don’t win.  And the list can go on and on. (more…)

At a recent cheerleading coaches event, I posed the following question: What percentage of athletic success do you think can be attributed to physical/technical attributes and how much to mental/emotional factors?  (more…)

Here’s a thought provoking quote for you: “If you demand perfection of yourself you’ll seldom achieve it.  Fear of making a mistake is the biggest cause of making one.  Instead of pushing for perfection, relax and pursue excellence.”   (more…)

What happens when a cheerleader needs to build up her confidence fast?  In this case, the cheerleader is someone who successfully made a varsity team last year as a freshman and hopes to be accepted again this year.  But this year, the competition is tougher.  How can she boost her confidence in 4 days? (Tryouts are this weekend.)

Well, this is how I responded to this athlete’s question:   (more…)

Cheerleaders can get anxious about anything from an up-coming competition, tryouts, or nailing a tumbling skill.  I’ve written many blog posts about this topic and because it’s something that affects so many cheerleaders, I will continue to do so.

Today, I came across a quote from best-selling author Seth Godin and I immediately thought I should pass it on to you.

Here is what he wrote: “Anxiety is nothing…but repeatedly re-experiencing failure in advance. What a waste.”

Simple yet profound.  I like that he summarized the essence of anxiety in one sentence. Let’s look at this, ok?

If you are getting ready for tryouts, you are likely experiencing some anxiety.  But what are you anxious about? Taking a cue from Seth, you are anxious about failing and even more than that, you are anticipating failure; you are envisioning failure; you are seeing yourself fail over and over again and you haven’t even been to tryouts!

Remember – the body does what the brain thinks.  So, if you are thinking failure, what will your body do?  It will perform at a less than optimal degree.

How can you change this?  Well, first of all, review my many other blog posts on this topic.  In essence it’s a matter of awareness – noticing that you are filling your head with negative predictions and then learning how to neutralize the negativity.

Want to learn more?  My program – The Mental Game of Cheerleading: Tryouts! looks at all these issues in depth. It’s a 2-CD audio package plus a 50-page Action Guide.  If you order the digital version, your investment will be even less!  Plus I’ll throw in a complimentary coaching session.

Focusing is the most important skill associated with learning and high level athletic performance (any kind of performance, actually).  If a cheerleader is fully focused, he or she will be able to channeling everything into the performance.  A fully focused mind is one that is completely engaged with what is happening in the moment. 

 Here is a way to understand how focus works (from the research of Robert Nideffer). We can think of attention as occurring on various dimensions. 

It can be directed internally or externally.  It can also be directed narrowly or broadly.  And finally, it can be directed on a time dimension – past, present, or future. 

Different situations require different kinds of focus; if you should be focused externally but instead you are preoccupied with what happened yesterday, your performance will suffer.  If you are anxious, your focus will likely be on yourself and your feelings and negative thoughts.  This, too leads to poor performance. 

What to do?  First step, like always, is awareness.  Simply pay attention to where and how you are paying attention!  Periodically ask yourself, what am I focusing on?  Is this helping me learn better?  Is this helping me perform better?  This can be a good start. 

More to come… 

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