We all like to feel good about ourselves and cheerleaders are no exception.  Cheerleading coaches and cheer parents can play a role in enhancing self esteem but not in the ways you might think!

Somewhere along the line, people got the notion that praising children (of all ages) would increase self esteem.  (I have addressed this somewhat in previous posts.) As I mentioned before, praising for effort is far better than praising for ability.

Ultimately, children are in charge of their own self-esteem.  The best thing parents and cheerleading coaches can do is to teach cheerleaders to love challenges, enjoy mastering new skills, and to learn how to cope with and capitalize on setbacks and mistakes.

These are skills that will help them boost their self-esteem for the rest of their lives

Cheerleaders or those who want to be cheerleaders might overlook one of the most important qualities cheerleading coaches look for during tryouts and that is – are you coachable? 

What does it mean to be coachable?  Well, think about this for a moment.  If you were the coach, what kind of person do you think would be a pleasure to coach?  Here’s my list: 

1. Eager to learn
2. Open to learning
3. Willing to try new things
4. Actively looks for feedback
5. Takes in and uses feedback to improve
6. Accepts critiques graciously
7. Is always on time
8. Rarely complains
9. Never whines
10. Views mistakes as opportunities to learn
11. Pleasant to be with
12. A real team player
13. Supportive of others 

What would you add to this list?  Do you have the qualities on this list?  A coach will likely choose someone with these qualities who also has the potential to learn over someone who is highly skilled but who does not have these qualities. Something to think about! 

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 It’s no secret that some cheerleaders experience injuries during cheerleading practices or performances.  

One such cheerleader recently wrote to me after she fell on her head, asking me to help her cope with the stress of doing the stunt that led to her injury.  This cheerleader fell on her head doing a 360 elevator/extension. 

What follows is my response to this cheerleader: 

How awful that you fell on your head!  No wonder you are afraid! 

First – I assume you got immediate medical attention, right?  Any injury is serious business but a head injury in particular requires immediate and thorough evaluation.  There is no way you should resume physical activity until you are cleared by a physician.

Second – has your coach been certified by an organization such as the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators (AACCA)? All cheer coaches and cheerleading squads should go through a safety course. Safety is fundamental and the most important thing.

Third – ask your coach and squad to review what happened in detail in order to determine what went wrong.  Someone wasn’t doing what he or she should have been doing, right?  A careful analysis sets the stage for a plan to remedy the problem to ensure it doesn’t happen again.  This process will contribute to your feeling a bit more secure about future attempts at doing a 360 elevator/extension.

Fourth – once all of these steps are taken, you can begin the psychological recuperation. 

You have experienced a physical and a psychological trauma and the reality of that needs to be acknowledged and honored.  Of course you are frightened…that is natural. You will need to rebuild your trust in yourself and in your team-mates and perhaps in your coach, too.  This is a process and will take some time.  Ultimately, only you can decide if you wish to return to cheerleading or not.  Do not allow anyone to force you into doing something that you do not want to do. It is your decision. 

If you want to stay in the game, here are some things to consider: After a serious injury, we tend to get stuck on replaying the incident.  This prolongs the fear and it also engraves the incident in our brains. The body does what the brain thinks so you will definitely want to stop this process. To do this, you can try some visualization. (Many pro athletes use this to help them recover from injuries.) 

Here’s how to do it: 

1. Find a nice quiet place and while sitting up, close your eyes.
2. Exhale as slowly as you can 3 – 4 times.
3. Say to yourself, “With each out-breath, I am relaxing more and more.”
4. Once relaxed, see yourself, with your mind’s eye, in a safe place, a place you feel ultra comfortable, secure and happy.
5. Really enjoy being in your special safe place as you continue to focus on your out-breath.
6. Now, shift your focus and see yourself in your cheerleading practice spot, beginning an easy cheerleading stunt, something you learned a long time ago that is simple for you to do.
7. See yourself executing the move with grace and ease and “feel” yourself enjoying it; enjoy your success.
8. If you feel any anxiety during this phase, stop visualizing the stunt and return to your favorite safe place.
9. Stay in your safe place until you feel relaxed.
10. Once relaxed, return again to seeing yourself executing a simple cheer stunt.
11. Repeat until you have seen yourself successfully execute the simple stunt.
12. Now, see yourself begin a slightly more difficult stunt, something that requires more skill and competence.
13. Again, if you feel anxious, return to your safe place and focus on your out-breath.
14. Once relaxed, return to doing your stunt until you can do so with ease and confidence.
15. Keep building up the level of difficulty of the stunt until you are able to “see” yourself and “feel” yourself executing the stunt that resulted in your injury.
16. Remember, if you feel anxious, return to your safe place.
17. Once you can, in your mind’s eye, execute the 360 elevator/extension with success, repeat over and over. 

This visualization accomplishes several things.  It helps you ease back into the idea of cheerleading while minimizing your anxiety and it also engraves successful execution of stunts in your brain.  You will be training your brain to feel and think in the way you want.  You will also be learning how to control your thoughts and feelings rather than have them control you! 

Good luck with this.  I’m so glad you wrote to me about this.  Please keep me posted.

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