Welcome, welcome, welcome to August’s Upside-down-time’s feature! How is it nearly September
already? Who can keep up these days? Any who, let’s get into this month’s blog post:

The only thing we know for certain right now, is that the world is full of uncertainty. My family in Wales have been adhering to different lockdown rules to me here in England. Now Wales has begun
opening up, my area has gone into a second lockdown and honestly, I’m more nervous now than I was back in March. Whether you’re anxious or not, there are still so many things to be unsure about. Working from home, A Level results, gyms are open, but we’re not allowed to stunt, some gyms still aren’t able to open. The world has well and truly turned upside-down.
I’m hearing lots of questions, and I’m asking myself lots of questions.

When will social distancing be a thing of the past, will it ever be a thing of the past? When will I be able to stunt again?

When will my coach be able to spot my tumbles? Will competitions be able to run as normal?

Will international competitions still run?

Will we be able to go to Worlds 2021?

When will my hands get a break from the constant hand sanitising?

What is normal? And will we ever experience normality again?

Let me tell you a story of a lesson I learned a few years ago. Whilst trivial at the time, it’s something I think back to regularly.

I was at the gym, watching another team train when a stunt fell. The coach stopped the team and they started again. Once again, the stunt fell, and the athletes were visibly frustrated with themselves and each other. I thought the coach was going become angry.

Instead she said so casually, “It’s only cheerleading, nobody died”.

At the time I was an All Star cheerleader, as well as the Club Captain, coach and athlete on my university team. At that point, cheerleading was MY LIFE. I didn’t understand how a coach so experienced and established could say “it’s only cheerleading”. I remember thinking how BIZARRE it
was. That memory has stuck with me so much over the years.

She didn’t even say it to me, or my team, and I remember it vividly.
It’s so easy to get caught up in the cheer bubble.

We so desperately want to hit zero, to win nationals, to get a bid, get that new skill under our belt, level up, that we forget about every other aspect that makes cheerleading so important. And that’s what we’ve got to remember in times like these. Yes, we all love stunting and competing, and what is cheerleading without the two? Let me tell you: the friendships, the laughs, the inside jokes, the bonds with teammates and coaches, the teamwork, the memories, the skills and life lessons. Of course, the glory of achieving your goals at a competition is a feeling second-to-none, but cheerleading is so much more than that. In the weeks that passed the incident I mentioned above, I started to realise, of course, it is only cheerleading.

We’re often told that “life is short”, so we have to make the most of every moment. And I think that may be why we try to rush levelling up.

When in reality, we should be enjoying the process and appreciating the sport for as long as we can. Why would you want to rush that? Life is
full of so many uncertainties. You can plan, and plan, and plan, and unfortunately sometimes a spanner can be thrown into the works and it messes up your plans; an injury, a change of job or location, COVID-19. What is going to make the best athlete, is how you respond in the face of
adversity.

Why waste time dwelling over what could have been, or questioning what might be? If you spent 5 minutes dwelling per day for the next 6 months, that equates to at least 15 hours of dwelling. Think of how much stronger (and happier) you could be if you’d have spent those 15 hours conditioning. We can’t change what has happened, and time will only tell what is to come. Focus on what you can control in the now. If the now is that you can’t go back into the gym yet, make sure you’re doing what you can at home. You may not have the space at home to practise tumbles, but you have the
space to practise training those muscles in the form of conditioning and stretching.

At some point we all had to learn the basics of cheerleading, what is a high V, clean, etc. And it’s the basics we need right now, not only to keep our minds occupied and our bodies moving, but to really
cherish this fantastic sport, to go back to the foundations, a bottom up approach, to be the best, strongest, most committed and determined athletes we can be. We’ve already had close to 6 months without cheerleading, we’re hungry. Let’s remain hungry, lets keep that hunger for the next 6 months. Imagine how hungry every team in the UK will be when we compete. If everyone is so hungry, imagine how amazing UK cheerleading will be. Phenomenal.

This month’s wellbeing exercise: Box Breathing.

Dwelling on the past or becoming anxious about the future can be hella stressful!

Especially if you’re noticing other teams go back to training when you’re unable to. When your emotions start running high and you need to bring your focus back to becoming a stronger athlete, give box breathing a try.
Start out by exhaling, releasing all the oxygen you can from your lungs.

Inhale for a count of 4. A SLOW count of 4. Try and fill your lungs with as much air as you possibly
can.
Next, hold your breath for a count of 4. Again, a slow count of 4.
Then exhale for a count of four, again releasing as much air as possible from your lungs. You know
the drill, a slow count of 4.
Finally, hold your breath once more for a SLOW count of 4.
Repeat this up to 4 times. If that doesn’t work, try out last month’s body scanning technique to reduce any tension you’re expressing in your muscles. Or stay tuned for the upcoming months’ tip
which may work better for you.

I’d advise first practising box breathing when you’re not in a heightened emotional state. It can be a little tricky to start with and can sometimes make you dizzy when you’re first starting out. That’s the last thing you need when you’re stressed out in the middle of a training session. If done correctly, evidence suggests that box breathing can provide an almost immediate sense of calm and even lower your blood pressure!

As always, we’d love for you to be involved in our Upside-down-time feature. If you’re reading this on a mobile device, screenshot the article and tag us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter our social media platform link below.. If you want
to be featured next month, post a photo or video of yourself upside-down (e.g. handstands), tagging on above and beyond for their team, charity, etc. This can be yourself, teammates, coaches or cheer-
parents! Message us with any nominations you have!

Ta’ra for now!
Rachel x

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