Ways to resolve mental blocks in cheerleading
Just as there are many reasons why a cheerleader may develop a mental block, there are many types of solutions. For today I’ll focus on just a few.
Many coaches and tumbling experts suggest that an athlete with a block go back to the basics. In other words, the cheerleader should go back to executing skills that he or she is comfortable with and repeat these over and over again. The goal is mastery. Along with mastery comes confidence which is essential in order to resolve a block.
Once the athlete enjoys that sense of mastery, then and only then should he or she attempt the “problem skill.” Often the boost in confidence and lack of pressure resolves the block.
The other reason for going back to basics is that sometimes athletes really hadn’t mastered these skills and either were pushed or pushed themselves too fast to move to the next level.
Another idea is to simply take a break from tumbling (or whatever is the source of the problem) for a while. This is to reduce the psychological pressure the athlete feels – whether self-induced or applied by coaches, team-mates, or parents.
More to come although it may be a bit slow since I’ll be busy visiting with family this week.
Tags: cheerleader, cheerleaders, Cheerleading, mental blocks, tumbling mental blocks