At a recent cheerleading coaches event, I posed the following question: What percentage of athletic success do you think can be attributed to physical/technical attributes and how much to mental/emotional factors?  (more…)

Here’s a thought provoking quote for you: “If you demand perfection of yourself you’ll seldom achieve it.  Fear of making a mistake is the biggest cause of making one.  Instead of pushing for perfection, relax and pursue excellence.”   (more…)

It’s not unusual for some cheerleaders to wrestle with negative thoughts that can undermine performance.  This is a topic I’ve written about many times before.  Here is another way to manage and transform negative thinking. 

Tip # 1 – Change a thought into a feeling.  This is the reverse of what is usually suggested.  Like many psychologists, I have told you that the way you feel is dependent on the way you think so if you don’t like what you are feeling change the thought! 

This is still true but here I am suggesting that when you are thinking something negative such as, “I am no good at tumbling,” change it to: “I feel like I am no good at tumbling.” By doing this you can give yourself room to step back and see that this does not necessarily represent the truth…it is a feeling, not a fact. 

So, try to get into the habit of identifying your negative thoughts and changing them from “I think” or “I am” into “I feel that…” 

Tip #2 – Add a “but” to your feeling statement.  When you say the word “but” as in, “I really like cheerleading but it’s a lot of work,” the “but” negates what came before it; it calls into question the truth of the first part of the sentence. 

You can use this to your advantage.  For example, you can say, “I feel like I’m no good at tumbling but I am working hard each day to get better.”  The “but” in this case weakens the first part of the statement. 

These may seem like small things but language can exert a powerful influence on how our brains and bodies work.  Try it and let me know how it works for you! 

By the way – it’s competition season!  Are you interested in gaining a competitive edge?  Check out my training program – The Mental Game of Cheerleading: Training for Competitions.  I will give a free consultation to anyone who purchases a program. Get yours now!

Part of any mental game approach is the ability to reframe obstacles into opportunities.  Instead of dwelling on what’s wrong, a mentally tough person will determine what the solution is to the problem and then take action to resolve it. 

This was true for Lawrence “Herkie” Herkimer, known as the father of modern cheerleading.  Herkie had a stuttering problem when he was young.  Now some kids who stutter hide in embarrassment.  Not Herkie!  Instead of focusing on a weakness, he discovered and nurtured his strengths.  

Herkie decided to master acrobatic skills which led him to his high school’s cheerleading squad where he discovered that he didn’t stutter when he spoke in rhymes. 

Of course, Herkie didn’t stop there!  He went on to cheer at Southern Methodist University (SMU) and eventually founded the National Cheerleading Association (NCA). 

It’s interesting to think what might have happened (or – what might not have happened!) if Lawrence Herkimer had allowed his stuttering to silence him. 

How about you?  What kinds of challenges might you be allowing to stop you?  Take your inspiration from Herkie – find your strengths and talents and build on them!

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! 

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

It seems like cheerleading competitions are happening everywhere!  But then, this is the big season. 

My new training program – The Mental Game of Cheerleading: Training for Competitions will be available very soon but until then, here’s a visualization that can be very powerful to do just prior to your performance. 

Follow these steps: 

• If possible, find a quiet spot where you can sit upright with your eyes closed.  If this is impossible, simply close your eyes to block out all the distractions around you.
• With your eyes closed, exhale slowly three times.
• Repeat and say to yourself, with each out-breath I am relaxing more and more.
• Now, with your mind’s eye, see yourself sitting alone in the audience, looking at the empty stage or performance space.
• As you look at the empty performance space, you see someone you admire, someone who has been very important to your development as a cheerleader, come on the stage. This person stands on the stage.
• Now someone else who has been important to you, a person who has been supportive of your desire to be a fantastic cheerleader, also comes on the stage and stands next to the first person.
• And now a third person, also someone who you know cares about you and is rooting for your success, enters the performance area and stands next to the other people.
• If there are more people you can think of who have helped you or whom you admire and respect for their competence and expertise (even if you don’t know them), visualize them coming on the stage, too.
• Once everyone is on the stage, see them smiling with encouragement at you.
• Now you come onto the performance space and embrace everyone there, taking in their good wishes and support.
• After you have done this, the people leave the stage and leave you there alone but you know you are really not alone since you have taken in their support, their wisdom, and their expertise; you have soaked it up and you feel great!
• You see yourself standing tall on the stage, confident, poised, and eager to perform. 

I hope you will give this a try.  And if you do, please let me know how it works. 

Are you on Facebook?  Please look me up and “friend”me.  Also, please join my group –  Confident Cheerleading – http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=33441578364

Thousands of people have seen this video. It’s a stunning display of athletic expertise but it’s also more than that.

Notice several things: First, safety is considered (they are on a nice large mat and there are two spotters). Second, there is implicit trust between the young woman (Katie?) and the young man – the base.  They communicate silently and seamlessly but we know it didn’t just happen over night.  They undoubtedly worked hard to develop that trust which can only happen with honest open communication over time.

She knows at this point that his focus is totally on her and that he will not falter in his handling of her.  He knows that she is strong and steady (and graceful) and courageous so he doesn’t have to worry about taking care of her in that regard.

They have obviously gone through this routine often but that is the only way you can succeed – by dedicating yourself to achieving excellence by committing yourself to hard work which includes repetition of drills. The mental work is key, too.  They are focused on each other and aren’t distracted by other things going on around them.

These videos can be instructive in so many ways and being a sports psychology coach, my focus will be on the mental game of cheerleading.

It will be happening soon! 

My new CD and workbook will be released very soon and I’m very excited.  The Mental Game of Cheerleading: Training for Competitions will be a 2-CD set accompanied by a nice thick workbook filled with tips, techniques, work-sheets, and questionnaires – all designed to help you get ready for competitions.

As you know, if you’ve been following this blog, sports psychologists have helped many athletes improve their performances and I think cheerleading deserves to learn what other athletes have learned and used.

So…stay tuned!

This video demonstrates how to do a back handspring. Viewing it has been helpful to some cheerleaders. Here’s a technique from sports psychology to make it even more helpful! (But please…if you’ve never done this before, be safe and work with a coach and a spotter!)

Step 1: As you watch the video, observe the cheerleader intensely and begin to imagine how her body feels as she moves through the routine. Also, imagine how she feels emotionally and how focused she is. Notice every detail. Repeat this several times.

Step 2: View the video again and this time, as you observe the cheerleader carefully, imagine that you are feeling what the cheerleader is feeling (body and mind). Repeat several times.

Step 3: Now, with your mind’s eye, see yourself and feel yourself performing the back handspring. Really feel every detail.

Step 4: Making sure you are using a mat, get in position to begin the back handspring. Take a moment, exhale slowly to get focused and with your mind’s eye, see yourself performing the back handspring perfectly. Now you’re ready to do it!

By doing the above you will have enhanced the learning process by creating connections in your brain. Yep, that’s right. Your brain doesn’t know the difference between visualizing a routine and actually performing it! To your brain, it is one and the same therefore; you can begin to build those important brain maps just by visualizing whatever new stunt or routine you want to learn!

The better you get at changing your thinking from negative to neutral or positive, (which is part of the mental game of cheerleading), the better you will perform at Nationals. 

When you are at the competition itself, you may get caught up in the excitement and the intensity of it all. You will be hyper aware, hyper alert and you will notice the brilliance of some of the other teams.  Watch out for your reactions! 

For example, let’s say you happen to see another team’s performance that is superb. What do you think? Many cheerleaders might think “Gee, they’re so good…we will never be as good as they are. They’ll probably win and we won’t come in first.”   

Are these thoughts good for you or bad for you?  Of course they are bad for you and if you hold on to them, they will adversely affect your performance.  But if you have practiced how to identify and change your thinking  and you can change your time focus, you will not be affected by this!  You will be able to quickly change your thinking and refocus on your own performance in the present. 

See why mental prep is so important?  When you go on stage you have to have a clear head and a positive outlook.