Yep, that’s right.  Coaches can play a big role in fostering moral development in their cheerleaders.  How?  Well, it may be easier than you think and you’re probably doing it already! 

Performance excellence in cheerleading requires the consistent control of body, mind, and spirit.  This means developing good habits such as attending practices on time, listening attentively to the coach, attending to the rules, practicing diligently, and being a team player.  (more…)

If you’re a cheerleading coach, you are always giving feedback to your athletes.  Chances are, unless you’ve gotten specialized training, the way you deliver feedback is similar to the way your coach gave you feedback. 

It may seem simple.  A cheerleader attempts to execute a toe touch and fails.  What do you do?   (more…)

Sometimes I hear from cheerleaders who either are frustrated with how things are going on their squad or who have suggestions they’d like to offer to their coaches but – they are reluctant to talk to their coaches about this. Now why would this be the case? (more…)

In my last post, I said that sometimes a cheer coach can unwittingly cause mental blocks.  This can be due to the pressure to win and/or the lack of experience on the part of the coach.

So how can you know if a coach is the right one?  Here are some things to look for. (more…)

Do you want to do a good deed today?  Well you can by going to this site - woodhouse.com, clicking on the “Making a difference together” link and then click on “Vote the for the May winner” and vote for Candidate # 1 – Heidi Frye.   (Steve Wedge, President and CEO of COA Cheer and Dance informed me about this situation.)

Here is her story:  (more…)

As I mentioned in my last post on the perfectionistic cheerleader, those athletes who have more Perfectionistic Concerns also have more fear of failure.  This term is another one that is thrown around a lot and not surprisingly, it is more complicated that you might think! 

 Why should someone have a fear of failure?  Of course no one likes to fail but for some people, the fear of failing is excessive and it can lead to sub-par performances and mental blocks.  They associate failure with aversive consequences – not just feeling bad but with real or imagined negative consequences.  

And what are those consequences?  It seems there are 5: 

1. Fear of experiencing shame and embarrassment
2. Fear of devaluing one’s self-estimate (“I’m not as good as I thought.”)
3. Fear of having an uncertain future (“Will I be able to stay on the team?”)
4. Fear of important others (parents/coaches) losing interest
5. Fear of upsetting important others (parents/coaches) 

Fear of failure can lead to avoidance behavior.  The thinking is something like this: “If I don’t try, I can’t fail.”   The motivation is to avoid failure because of anticipatory shame (of failing). 

Sport psychology research shows that fear of experiencing shame and embarrassmentis central to understanding the relationship between perfectionism and fear of failure. In other words, shame is an emotion at the core of fear of failure and it involves a negative scrutiny of one’s self along with feelings of incompetence.  The experience is a painful one especially because the athlete feels that his or her entire self is a failure.   

But reader – do not despair!  I’ll be telling you what to do about this in my next posting! 

Have you signed up for my Confident Cheerleading Tips?  No? All you have to do is scroll up to the upper right side opt-in box, give me your name and email, and you will get my 10 annotated peak performance tips delivered to you via email. Go ahead…do it now!

Cheerleading coaches must work with a range of personalities.  This is fourth in a series of articles on this topic.  Today we look at the Overachiever – the person who lives at the gym, who hides or works through injuries because s/he does not want to miss practice or working out, and who is a perfectionist. 

This cheerleader type may be looking for approval and love (which may suggest that it is not happening at home). You can encourage the cheerleader to engage in other activities while setting a limit on gym time. 

The best approach is a gentle one; don’t be judgmental or too quick to set strict limits.  A friendly conversation about establishing a training schedule that is reasonable or that gradually decreases the amount of time spent at the gym is best. You can also try writing a “contract” with the Overachiever’s input and asking the cheerleader to sign it (if the training is extreme). 

Hiding or working through injuries is serious, obviously.  Letting the whole team know that doing so is NOT heroic but is, frankly, dangerous and puts the whole team in jeopardy would be a good idea (these are discussions that should happen at the start of the season and periodically throughout the year). 

In terms of perfectionism, I would ask him/her to come up with a list of 10 famous athletes and find out if they never ever made a mistake.  Of course, she/he will discover that the best athletes failed many times but the difference is their attitude about mistakes and set-backs, i.e., that they view them dispassionately and as opportunities to learn and improve their skills.

Cheerleading coaches should be paid well for their hard work and their ability to manage a range of personality types. 

Most cheerleaders are effusively extraverted but occasionally you might come across a cheerleader who is shy, quiet, and who seems to fade into the background. 

I would recommend giving Shy Sally a job to do (taking attendance, over-seeing the equipment, etc.).  Wallflowers are shy and insecure and also may be depressed.  They feel invisible and contribute to this feeling by becoming invisible!  By giving her a task to do, a coach can help build her confidence and her visibility. Shy Sally can also get to know the coach better and perhaps some of the coach’s attention and affection will also boost her sense of self.

Every cheerleading squad has some members who are – well – a bit difficult. They can be a challenge to coach and to manage.  Let’s look at one type today. 

The “Diva” is someone who likes to be in the spotlight.  He (Divo?) or she might be a bit pushy at times.  How to manage such a person? 

It’s useful to remember that the Diva may actually be quite insecure.  Her clamoring for the spotlight reflects her need to be loved and her wish for approval.  Sure it can be annoying but this girl needs reassurance and guidance. A good overall approach is one of frank kindness.   

As a coach I might say something like this to her: “Hey Kathy, you did a great back handspring at practice today.  I want to be sure to acknowledge that.  You are a very important part of the team but at the same time, I’d like to remind you that you are part of the team and sometimes I’ve noticed that you seem to set yourself apart from the rest instead of being a part of the rest.  Do you understand what I’m getting at?  Let’s talk about how we can resolve this.  I worry sometimes that your behavior puts you at risk for being disliked by the other girls.  Let’s figure out how we can avoid that from happening.” 

Another technique is to ask Kathy to help out another cheerleader who might be struggling.  Give Kathy a task that will feed her need to be important while also helping the team.  This will help prevent Kathy from being ostracized for being such a Diva…it gets her more integrated with the team. It also redirects her attention from herself to another. 

How do you handle the Diva?  Please share your secrets!

It happens every day.  You, as a cheerleading coach, are constantly giving feedback to your squad as you observe them in practice. But did you know that the way you offer praise can affect the motivation of your cheerleaders? 

Psychology professor, Carol Dweck, studied what happens when people praise others for ability versus praising for effort and the effect this has on young people’s motivation and performance. 

The results showed that 90% of young people who were praised for effort (“you worked really hard on this;” “your persistence is helping you succeed,”) wanted to perform tasks which were challenging and from which they could learn (and not necessarily immediately succeed). 

Two-thirds of young people praised for ability wanted to carry out a task which ensured further success; they weren’t as interested in being challenged.  

When both groups were given a set of harder problems, the students who were praised for their ability (“you are so smart;”  “you are really good at this”) reported the least enjoyment. They were also the least likely to take problems home to work on.  Also, the students who were praised for their ability (not effort) demonstrated considerable negativity after failure (“I am stupid”) even though they had had a previous string of successes! 

The group that had been praised for ability also showed a significant decline in performance compared to those who had been praised for effort. 

The group that had been praised on effort continued to enjoy the task even when they encountered problems and they were more likely to persist when they confronted challenges. This group (effort) on the whole performed much better than the other group (ability). 

How does this translate to cheerleading?  Well, I would suggest cheer coaches will enjoy more success with their cheerleaders when they praise them for their efforts rather than their abilities.  Why should this be true?  Effort is something we can control.  We either exert effort to learn, to improve, to refine, or we do not.  It’s a matter of choice.  Ability is innate; we either have it or not and thus we cannot control it per se.

So take note of how you give feedback to your cheerleaders.  It’s fine to say, “good job!” or “great focus on that last jump” but be wary of saying, “you’re the best flyer we’ve ever had.”  Even if this is true, add to this: “…your focus and practice time is paying off; you’re really enhancing your natural talent by all your hard work.”