Stay tuned for an exciting new development!  In the very near future, I will be launching a new product – an information-filled CD (maybe 2!) and workbook on the mental game of cheerleading competition preparation. 

Many elite athletes work with sports psychologists to improve their performances, so why not cheerleaders?  Many pro athletes in most sports, including baseball, football, basketball, and soccer either work directly with sports psychologists or have coaches who are well versed in sports psychology strategies.  And virtually all Olympic teams have a sports psychologist on board. 

Seems to me it’s time cheerleaders reap the benefits of what sports psychology has to offer! 

In high level sports it is estimated that 50 – 90% of success can be attributed to mental factors such as confidence, composure, and concentration, to name a few.  These are known collectively as mental toughness.   Mental toughness skills can be strengthened and taught in order to ensure consistently and excellence in performance.  That’s what I do. 

I will be offering excerpts from the CD in future posts so be sure to check in regularly and please feel free to ask questions!

You know what it’s like: you zero in on one cheer routine or one stunt and do it over and over until you get it right.  But sometimes it seems the harder you try, the worse you do! 

Well, there’s a reason for that and it has to do with the science of concentration.  I won’t go into all the technical details here except to say that when you engage in narrow-focus attention for too long (like when you rehearse a cheer move over and over), it literally affects your brain!  

Yep – you see the brain is the master control panel for your mind and body and if you are stuck in narrow focus, this will induce changes in your muscle tension, breathing, and even the flow of neurotransmitters and hormones. 

You see, everything is influenced by how you pay attention. 

Now narrow focus serves a purpose.  It allows you to see and deal with urgent or important situations and so it can be helpful in the short run but if you stick with narrow focus, you’ll be revving up your brain in ways that aren’t healthy, leading to chronic stress problems. 

So, what can you do? You can take mini-vacations or “focus breaks” periodically throughout your cheer practice to offset the negative impact of too much time spent in narrow-objective focus. 

For example, make it a habit to occasionally pause during cheer practice and allow your eyes to gaze at some open space.  The open space can be a big blank wall or a ceiling.  Just take in the largeness of the space. The trick is not to zero in on any one object but to soften your gaze as you take in a sense of background or space. Exhale slowly three times while doing this.  This should not take too much time away from your practice and – you will return to it feeling more relaxed and refreshed. 

When you gently direct your gaze to and imagine feeling space, your brain will respond by changing its electrical activity.  In other words, you will be able to induce alpha waves which are associated with feelings of well-being. 

So, take a mini-break, gaze out a window, at a wall, at a ceiling, or close your eyes and visualize the vast expanse of sky or the ocean.  You’ll feel better and then you’ll be able to return to your cheer practice with the ability to perform at an optimal level. 

What does it take to be the best? 

What are the factors that contribute to excellence? 

Think you know?  Sports psychologists say that anywhere from 50 – 90% of success in high level sports can be attributed to mental factors known collectively as Mental Toughness. 

Mental Toughness doesn’t mean being aggressive or, well, tough in a rough-tough-mean way. I like to think of Mental Toughness as the ability to perform at an optimal level no matter what the circumstances. 

Interested in seeing how you rate on the 8 Mental Toughness factors?  Great! Go ahead and rate yourself on all the dimensions below. 

And stay tuned for lots more about this topic including some tips on how to improve your scores! 

Mental Toughness Checklist 

Evaluate your own Mental Toughness capacities by rating each factor on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being low, 5 being average, and 10 being very high. 

1. Championship mind-set

(Open to feedback about your performance.) 

0________________________________10 

2. Concentration

(Ability to stay focused on task and not get distracted.) 

0________________________________10 

3. Composure

(Poised and self-assured in high stakes situations.) 

0________________________________10 

4. Come-back from mistakes

(Ability to bounce back quickly and let go of set-backs/mistakes.) 

0________________________________10 

5. Clarity about motivation

(Knowing what you want and why you want it.) 

0________________________________10 

6. Commitment

(Dedicating yourself to a course of action.) 

0________________________________10 

7. Confidence

(Belief in your ability to perform well.) 

0________________________________10 

8. Courage

(Quality of spirit that enables you to take on challenges.) 

0________________________________10