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.

Cheerleading tryouts can give anyone the jitters and in my last posting about this topic (March 17^th)  I started writing about Doubts (those little negative conversations that you have with yourself).  There are many things that can feed your doubts and there are also steps you can take to minimize the negative impact of doubts. 

Listening to and Reacting to Others. Do you allow yourself to get caught up in the chatter about tryouts from friends and other people who are going to try out? What I’m talking about here is drama and gossip. The talk could be related to who the judges are or who is going to stay on the team or who is getting thrown off the squad or…well; you know what I’m talking about. 

This kind of talk is different from the sharing of accurate information – which is good and may be helpful.  This kind of talk is based on rumor and misinformation and the problem with this kind of talk is that it usually only serves to raise your anxiety.  

The solution, of course, is to beware of such talk and keep your distance.   You don’t have to be rude when people come up to you and have the latest hot tips or information about the tryouts. You can listen politely, nod your head, and just say. “Okay, well thanks for telling me.” 

Don’t yield to the temptation to accept as fact what is actually rumor and gossip. This will only heighten your anxiety. So what I advise is that you be polite and don’t engage and seek accurate information from reliable resources. 

Are you on Facebook?  If so, please be my friend and join my Facebook Group – Confident Cheerleading.

In my last posting, I wrote about developing a championship mindset. I emphasized how important it is to be objective in your self-assessment. Below is a handy self-assessment tool, which you can you use either after a practice session or a performance. 

It may be useful for you to see this as an invitation to get to know yourself better. Remember the best performers are eager to learn as much about themselves as possible. 

If you use this self-assessment sheet on a regular basis, you’ll be able to keep track of how you feel, how you perform and how you improve! 

In the future, I will write more about how to manage your anxiety in high stress situations. 

If you would like a pdf of this self-assessment sheet write me an e-mail and I’ll be happy to send one your way. 

AFTER-PERFORMANCE SELF-ASSESSMENT SHEET 

Event: ___________________________________ Date: _________________ 

1. How anxious were you before today’s performance? 

0____    5_____      10____

low      not bad     high 

2. What were the things that caused you stress? 

3. When did you feel most stress…before, during, after? 

4. How did you experience the stress?  In thoughts, feelings, actions? 

5. How did you manage your anxiety?  How effective were you in controlling it using these techniques? 

6. Describe in detail your self-talk.  Remember key words and phrases you used. 

7.  What, if anything, have you learned from this performance that will help you plan for the next one?