Mental Blocks in Cheerleading – Part III
Cheerleading is a complex sport requiring physical dexterity, athletic competence, and superb mental skills. It isn’t unusual for a cheerleader to experience a mental block about a particular stunt or routine.
This is Part III in my response to a cheerleader’s plea for help in eliminating a mental block.
You are right in calling your problem a “mental block.” Your biggest problem is the way you are thinking about your routine. You’ve got it in your head that you cannot do something and your body is complying.
I’ve said it before and I will repeat it many times on this blog site: Your body does what your mind thinks. So, let’s change the way you think!
First, write down the story you are creating about the situation. In your case, it may be – “I’ll never be able to throw a full except when I do it alone.”
Is this thought helpful or harmful to you? Is it positive or negative? We can see it doesn’t help you and it’s negative.
And now ask where your time focus is. Well, it is in the future since you are predicting what will happen. Your job then is to first change that negative thought to a neutral or a positive one and then to move your time focus to the present – to the here and now.
You can do this by challenging the veracity of your thoughts. Is it true that you will NEVER be able to throw a full except when you are alone? How can you be so sure? Are you always right in predicting the future? Become like a detective, searching for the truth.
To revise your thinking, you might say, “Well, it is true that I am having a hard time throwing a full NOW when I’m with others but that doesn’t mean that will always be true.”
What do you think needs to happen for you to be able to throw a full during the group routine? We know you are capable of executing the move under some conditions. This mode of thinking shifts your perspective from that of a helpless victim to a problem solver.
What might be contributing to this problem? List all possible causes. My guess is it’s a focus problem. Your focus is on what others are doing or you are afraid you will bump into someone but whatever it is, your focus is not where it should be – if it were, you would be able to execute your move!
So, where should your focus be? Exactly where it is when you do it alone!
So what do you need to do to improve your focus? First thing is to calm down. As I’ve said before, anxiety leads to fuzzy focus. And what’s a quick way to calm down? Exhale slowly several times. Then say, “focus” to yourself. The only thing you need to focus on is executing your move cleanly.
So, by identifying how and what you are thinking, you can uncover any distortions in your thinking. You can challenge your thinking and become detective-like in figuring out what the problem is and then you can generate some solutions.
For you (as it usually is) the issue is focus! Please re-read these 3 posts and take a peek at past ones for other helpful hints.
Good luck to you!
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Tags: cheerleader, cheerleaders, Cheerleading, confidence, focus, mental blocks, mental game