Now as you, my readers, know, this blog is all about the mental game of cheerleading but, as we females know, and as silly as it may seem, a bad hair day can become a negative distraction and hence, may affect your performance!

So here’s the scoop about these products. Many of you use curling irons or straightening irons that use a lot of heat.  Ouch!  This can be bad for your hair but Salon Grafix has a solution.  Their Heat Protect Spray is designed to protect your lovely locks from hair appliances that reach temperatures up to 450 degrees! What’s more, the spray will hold your do even in 90% humidity.  The cost is only $7.99 and it’s available in all CVS and Rite-Aid stores across the US. (Caveat: I have not personally tried this product.)

A common problem cheerleaders have is maintaining a nice, fresh feel to the hair after a hot, sweaty practice session.  Well, the Salon Grafix Invisible Dry Shampoo is just the ticket.  Plus it comes in a convenient 1-ounce travel size so you can carry it with you everywhere.  I tried this product and thought it did a good job of freshening up my hair after a sweaty workout.

When I’ve been at cheer competitions, I see curls everywhere and know that many of you find it challenging to maintain those curls without them drooping or turning into frizz.  The answer can be found at your local drug store for $6.29 and it’s called the Salon Grafix Curl Boosting Spray

Because I have curly hair, I am always looking for a product to control and tame the frizz.  This product performs beautifully.  It controls the frizz and gives a nice hold to the waves plus – it smells heavenly – nice and fresh.  One note of warning: the directions say to spray evenly on damp hair but when I did that, the foamy spray shot out all over the bathroom!  What works much better is to spritz some in your hand and then work it in your hair.  I also discovered that if I don’t want to wash my hair the next day, all I have to do is spritz a bit of water on my hair and then scrunch with my hands to revitalize the effect of the product.

Good stuff!

The contest is being hosted completely online at their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pretzelmaker and offers cheer squads the chance to win up to $10,000 in cash prizes! 

This could be a great and fun way for a cheer team to rake in some cashola which is always much needed!  Plus – think of the publicity for your squad!

To enter the contest, all the cheer squad has to do is submit a video online, no longer than two minutes in length, of the squad executing an original cheer that incorporates the “Pretzelmaker” name and demonstrates a “twist” theme. The “twist” can be any unique stunt, flip, etc.

The contest runs through March 31, after which they will select one squad to receive the Grand Prize of up to $5,000! Two additional squads will be selected as Runners Up and will each receive up to $2,500.

Additional details can be found at www.facebook.com/pretzelmaker.

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This is the perfect time to thank you all for your support of Confident Cheerleading.  I am grateful that you have embraced the importance of the mental game of cheerleading and I am honored to bring you information that will help you to perform your sport with focus and confidence.

Here is a quote from Melody Beattie which I think you will like:

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.  It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.  Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.” 

Warm wishes for a peaceful and joyous Thanksgiving!

 It’s important to praise your cheerleaders when they work hard and do well however be judicious in offering praise. Positive words become meaningless when offered excessively.  Don’t make it a habit – think about what you are praising. 

Coach Wooden avoided the phrase, “That’s great!” Instead, he would say, “Good, very good. That’s getting better.” Or, “That’s the idea. Now you’re getting it. Good.”  His tone was controlled and measured and he only said what he truly believed. 

This meant that the athletes believed him and worded to get his praise.  It meant something; it wasn’t empty. 

For most athletes, being able to play their sport is a carrot and taking away “playing” time becomes a “fearful stick.”  There is no need to scream or yell.  If discipline is required, sometimes removing something that is valued can be a powerful motivator. 

Coach Wooden said that great leaders “…are experts in the appropriate use of the carrot and the stick. And they also understand that you discipline those under your supervision to correct, to help, to improve – not to punish.” 

What about dictator-style coaches? Coach Wooden said, “…the fear and ill feeling that arise from intimidation, punishment, and cruel words have far less power than pride.” 

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A good coach will be tuned in to his or her squad’s mental and physical states.  Along with complacency comes increased distractibility and with that come falls and injuries.  It’s always critical to keep the team focused on the task at hand – especially during the mid-season blahs. 

Cheer coaches might want to be on the look-out for their athletes’ motivation and enthusiasm levels decreasing.  Typical signs are: cheerleaders finding it harder to get to practice on time; chatting more and focusing less on practice; and there may be a lethargy that seeps in to the practice sessions; finally, there may be increased irritability and more complaining and whining. 

What to do?  Get them involved.  You can start off the year with a chart that keeps track of things like motivation, energy level, enthusiasm, focus, etc.  So on a scale of 1 – 10 (with 1 = very low and 10 being wow! Super high) ask each cheerleader to rate herself on these dimensions. Plot it out on a simple graph so they can see when they are slumping. 

If they are involved with monitoring their mood and energy, etc. from the beginning, they will be more attuned to these dimensions and be more likely to be open to discussing what to do about it.  Even very young children can learn how to assess their energy and spirit.  Coaches can engage the team in a frank discussion about what to do about slumping energy.  The team involvement is a key to success.

What do you do to keep your squad motivated?  Please share your secrets!

And I would like to wish all of you a very merry Christmas and if you don’t celebrate this holiday, I hope you can soak up some of the excitement and joy that this season brings.

Warm wishes to you all.

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!

It seems that the University of Connecticut has changed its mind about cheerleading.

As reported in the Hartford Courant, U Conn has decided to replace its traditional cheerleaders with a “spirit squad”  whose job will be to  be “ambassadors”  for the school.  Of course any school-based cheerleader is an ambassador but at U Conn, they will no longer be skilled athletes.  As a matter of fact, no cheerleading or gymnastics experience is required.  At all.

University officials claim this change is a positive one that will allow the spirit team to iengage fans in a more interactive way.

“We wanted to take the program in a slightly different direction,” said John R. Saddlemire, vice president for Student Affairs. “In particular, our desire is to have the cheerleaders place more of their focus on promoting Husky spirit and that the long hours of practicing and performing stunting took away from that focus. By changing the style, and no longer requiring gymnastics experience of those trying out, the university is able to offer the opportunity to participate in UConn cheerleading to a much broader pool of interested students.”

 Some wonder if U Conn’s decision is based on concerns over the liabilities associated with cheerleading however the school has yet to revamp its football team (a sport that is certainly more dangerous).

Well, ideally, you might notice that a cheerleader is in a lot of stress although they can be good at hiding it!  If a cheerleader seems to have a hard time focusing or makes a lot of mistakes or seem preoccupied, those can be signs of stress, too. 

Of course you can simply ask someone if she’s having a rough time.  If the person is forthcoming, then you can decide if it’s a problem that can be alleviated by a brief chat with you or if you need to refer the cheerleader to a counselor.  (This depends on the age of the person; if under-age, you would need to contact the parents.) 

I realize cheer coaches aren’t trained therapists so I don’t expect you to figure this all out and resolve the problems but you might want to have someone you can consult with on these issues. 

Perhaps the best way to manage stress in cheerleaders is to include some simple stress management techniques as part of your overall practice plan.  The first thing to teach is an easy breathing exercise: 

Close your eyes and exhale slowly, as slowly as possible 3 – 5 times.  Expel as much air as possible through the mouth and inhale slowly through the nose.  Repeat this for 5 minutes.  (Always begin with the exhale.)  Say to yourself, with each out-breath, I am relaxing more and more.

 I’d recommend starting each practice session with this – just before you stretch.  It helps people make the transition from school to practice and helps get them focused.

I came across this video of an all boy cheerleading team from Japan.  This has made me wonder if there are any all boy squads in the states (outside of boy schools).  Does anyone know? 

Of course, the earliest cheerleading teams were college men and several of our presidents were cheerleaders including George W. Bush!