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…)
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…)
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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Anyone who has been to a cheerleading competition knows that sometimes it’s the little things that count. Very small differences can make the BIG difference between coming in first and placing second.
Focus is the granddaddy of the small differences. It is the most important mental skill that is associated with winning performances. Developing this skill is essential – not only for cheerleading, but for any endeavor. That’s why I recommend training for focus at all practice sessions way before the actual competition.
Here are some reasons why focus is so critical:
If a cheerleader is proficient in his or her skills (technically and physically) and makes a mistake in execution, it is likely due to a focus problem. Either the cheerleader is focusing inward (with thoughts such as “I hope I can do this…”) which happens with anxiety or is distracted by external factors.
Managing distraction is a skill that can be developed and that should be developed. More on that soon!
Speaking of competitions, have you seen my training program? It’s called The Mental Game of Cheerleading: Training for Competitions. It’s a 2-CD audio program with a 40 page workbook. You can order the digital version for less. Order either one and I’ll give you a free one-hour consultation!
Most cheerleading coaches know the importance of establishing goals for their cheerleaders as individuals and as a team. Typically these goals focus on improving cheerleading skills or physical conditioning. These are certainly important but I encourage you to include mental game goals as well.
Part of the joy of coaching is seeing your cheerleaders grow as athletes and as individuals. You can enhance this process by teaching your squad some simple mental game techniques. These techniques are valuable not only for cheerleading, but for life!
Here are a few you can easily incorporate:
This is how it could work.
Get your free Peak Performance Tips by typing in your name and email in the little box at the top right of this blog. Go ahead…in a few minutes you will get your annotated tips!
It’s not unusual for some cheerleaders to wrestle with negative thoughts that can undermine performance. This is a topic I’ve written about many times before. Here is another way to manage and transform negative thinking.
Tip # 1 – Change a thought into a feeling. This is the reverse of what is usually suggested. Like many psychologists, I have told you that the way you feel is dependent on the way you think so if you don’t like what you are feeling change the thought!
This is still true but here I am suggesting that when you are thinking something negative such as, “I am no good at tumbling,” change it to: “I feel like I am no good at tumbling.” By doing this you can give yourself room to step back and see that this does not necessarily represent the truth…it is a feeling, not a fact.
So, try to get into the habit of identifying your negative thoughts and changing them from “I think” or “I am” into “I feel that…”
Tip #2 – Add a “but” to your feeling statement. When you say the word “but” as in, “I really like cheerleading but it’s a lot of work,” the “but” negates what came before it; it calls into question the truth of the first part of the sentence.
You can use this to your advantage. For example, you can say, “I feel like I’m no good at tumbling but I am working hard each day to get better.” The “but” in this case weakens the first part of the statement.
These may seem like small things but language can exert a powerful influence on how our brains and bodies work. Try it and let me know how it works for you!
By the way – it’s competition season! Are you interested in gaining a competitive edge? Check out my training program – The Mental Game of Cheerleading: Training for Competitions. I will give a free consultation to anyone who purchases a program. Get yours now!
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.