I’ve heard lots of talk about “adrenaline” in connection with cheerleading competitions – especially at Nationals.  People say things like, “Once the adrenaline kicks in, I’ll be fine.”  Well, there is such a thing as too much adrenaline.  We’re really talking about the physiological activation of your body and like other things, it’s good to find just the right level of activation for you. 

In psychology, we refer to this as the Zone of Optimal Functioning or ZOOF.  This means that an athlete must find the right level of activation or arousal for the activity he or she is engaged in.  Too much and performance suffers.  Too little and performance suffers.  Different people have different needs in this regard.  Some like to get revved up and indeed perform better when they are revved up.  Others need to calm down a bit. 

One cheerleader I met realized she performs better when she is clicking on all cylinders.  So her pre-performance routine includes running in place to get her juices flowing.  Another cheerleader performs better when she is calm and centered so her pre-performance routine involves a brief meditation. 

I refer to this as the Goldilocks theory of optimal performance functioning.  For those of you who remember the childhood story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Goldilocks discovered the Bears’ empty cabin and went inside.  She saw 3 chairs and sat in each.  One was too big, one was too small and one was just right.  The same thing happened with the beds (too hard, too soft and just right), the porridge (too hot, too cold and just right), and so forth. 

So – just like Goldilocks, the bottom line is: you need to determine what the right level of physical arousal or activation is for you that allows you to perform at an optimal level.  You’ll be learning techniques that will help you regulate this.