How are we all doing?

What a week it’s been at worlds, with so many UK teams not only competing, but hitting zero, achieving GLOBES and really showing the world how we SHOW UP.

Have you been inspired by Unity Allstar’s persistence and determination that resulted in then being WORLD CHAMPIONS?

Are you inspired by EMCA C-Lebraties for attending their first worlds and coming home as SILVER CHAMPIONS?

Are you inspired by one of the many programmes or athletes that each experience their own hardships, that have showcased their talent on the worlds stage? No one simply appeared at worlds, it took hard work, commitment and determination to get to that point. Nothing worth having ever comes easy.

Whether you’re inspired to create your own journey to worlds, or to simply be the best athlete you can be, keep reading! Today I’m going to be sharing with you some things to think about along the way that can help you be the best version of your cheer self. Some of them may seem obvious, but they are all evidence based and science backed.

Numero uno, you’ve got to put in the work.

Have you ever searched YouTube or the internet for tips and tricks of having clear skin, and you just keep hearing that you need to drink water and wear sun cream. I don’t want to drink water, I just want a magic solution that will give me the skin of a newborn infant! Sound familiar? It’s the same concept in sport. You have to set the foundations, and you have to be consistent. Ideally you’d be training 5-6 times a week including you team’s training, tumble, flexibility, strength and conditioning etc. But if you’re currently training once a week, it might be unrealistic to say, ok from now on I’m going to train Monday-Saturday. Try adding one session a week of something you require. There are so many great exercise based resources on YouTube for whatever your heart desires. One extra session may not feel like much, but if you did 30mins extra a week of flexibility, that’s about 26 hours over a year – think of how those scales will look (and feel)!

And the best way to stay consistent is with accountability. Get a friend or two to join in, post it on social media, take before and after pictures or videos for things like flexibility and tumbling technique. We all have those days where we wonder why we’re doing it and if there’s a point, cue number two.

–Two, motivation.

So, you’ve arranged to increase your training habits, but the motivation is running low. It’s unlikely that you will be ecstatic about every training session, but those times when you really can’t be bothered, they’re the ones that count the most. As well as creating that accountability mentioned above, vision boards are a great activity that you can do with friends or alone. Vision boards are very popular around the new year, but I think this point on the season is great for cheerleaders. It’s a visual way of setting your goals, manifesting them, and if you put it somewhere you see everyday, you’re reminded of your goals and more likely to work towards them.

Start off by choosing what time frames you want to focus on. Perhaps by the end of the season, by Christmas, by the end of next season or in 5 years time. Decide what goals you want to achieve by then. Do you want to improve your stretches, do you want to improve you tumble technique or gain a new skill, do you want to make a specific team, do you want to hit zero. Find an image that is associated with that goal (e.g., a cheerleader you look up to doing that skill, a photo of a “hit zero” badge) and stick it to your vision board. Outside of cheer, common things people put on their vision boards are the car they want to get in by the end of the year, what holiday they want to go on, how much money they want to save in a certain timeframe or a picture of a house if they’re looking at owning their first/new property.

Bringing it back to cheer, we want to make sure our goals are realistic. If you’re currently at forward roll level, you’re unlikely to get a full by Christmas. That can be the direction, but what goals can you achieve on the way? If you want a needle, we need to work on splits, bridges, shoulder flexibility, balance and core strength – so attach some goals to those.

-You can either print images out and stick them on a physical vision board, you can make the whole thing in word and use it as your lock screen, or print it out and stick in the front of your diary. It’s about setting those goals but also making it as visually appealing as you can – so that you want to look at it everyday, you want to be ticking off those goals as you achieve them.

Three, teamwork.

Teams are like family. You don’t get to pick your teammates, but through thick and thin you’ll end up loving each person in their own different ways. Cheerleading relies on teamwork, communication and cohesion. If you lack any of the above, it can result in falls, bobbles or injury. The very core of cheerleading is that team identity. So make sure you spend the time to get to know your teammates, organise socials, come up with your own chants and handshakes. It may seem like these little things don’t make a difference to what you put on the floor, but teams who are better able to communicate and work together, are the teams you see achieving their dreams. Team work really does make the dream work.

It sounds obvious that teamwork is key to a sport like cheerleading. But take it from someone (me) who has just endured a gruelling 12 weeks of my recent Group Dynamics and Leadership module; when we experience that cohesion with our teammates, captains and coaches, we’re more likely to experience a higher level of satisfaction from training. The more you enjoy something, the more you want to do it. This also increases your intrinsic motivations – that means, you’re more likely to want to do it, rather than feeling like you need to do it. I.e., I’m going to get to training early so I can make sure I’m eager and ready to get started, over, I’ll try not to be late so I don’t get burpees.

Four, coaching.

If you’re not already a coach, do you have the opportunity to coach another team or assist their coach? Stay with me here.

I recently had the experience of doing a skill I’ve never coached before – it’s just not something that’s come up whilst I’ve been coaching. I think it might have been as simple as a dive roll. The person going after me asked when, during the skill, I put my hands down. I literally replied and said “I have no idea”. It’s a skill I learned as a child and now, as an adult reluctantly nearing my late twenties, it’s a skill I perform using muscle memory. I don’t know how I do it, I just do it. You’ve likely had similar experiences with skills yourself. Most commonly we think of riding a bike or driving a car. They are skills that once we know what we’re doing, we don’t think about it, we just do it.

When you coach, you have to think about how you do these skills, every little movement, where your hands go, the timing of the skill, which muscles you’re using – because you need to be telling the people you’re coaching exactly how to do the skill. You can show them how to do it, but you also need to communicate exactly how they’d replicate that skill. That’s why some of the greatest athletes in the world do not make great coaches – because they can’t explain how they do it, they just do it. If you’re looking for a way of improving your own skillset, learn to coach. You’ll be more present in your skills and have more time to think about your technique. Plus, you’ll learn more about the different positions and if you’re a base, you’ll likely become more appreciative of the movements your flyer or back makes during the stunt, and vice versa.

If you don’t have the opportunity to coach within your programme or elsewhere, try and teach a non-cheerleading friend or family member. I remember being told in school that once you’re able to teach it to someone else, that’s when you fully understand it. Although, theories, techniques and rules are always changing, so we never “fully” understand, but that’s a topic for another day!

Five, manifestation.

Now I’m not telling you to get your cards read or to build up a crystal collection (although if that’s your vibe, go for it!). Bare with me here. What I mean by manifestation, is believing in your abilities. You’ve set those goals, you have to believe that you’re going to achieve them. Vision yourself achieving those skills, imagine hearing your team’s name called out in first place, or whatever your goal may be. Think about what you can see around you, what can you hear, and overall, how do you feel in that very moment? Living out these experiences in our mind allow us to replicate what that might feel like, and it gives us that boost of motivation to get going. Try it out next time you’re struggling for motivation before a session. Ultimately, it helps with your confidence and self-belief. If you can’t believe in yourself, how are your team going to? I believe in you, but you have to believe in yourself first.

To recap

1. Structure in extra training sessions. They don’t have to be official sessions in the gym, they could be 30min bursts in your room following a flexibility or conditioning video.
2. Create a vision board either independently, with some friends or your team. Have a look on Pinterest and YouTube for some ideas.
3. Work towards that unbreakable bond with your team, take the time to get to know everyone, organise a social, get a mascot and create that team identity.
4. Coaching is not for everyone, but it may help you understand the skills you’re learning.
5. Manifest your goals into existence!

That’s all for this month. If you have any topics you’d like us to cover, get in touch! If you find yourself creating a vision board, be sure to tag us.

Happy goal setting!

Ta’ra for now,

Rach x

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