#TheCheerMom Motivational Monday

                        Staying positive is key...                            Every Monday I will be posting motivational quotes to get us through the week on a positive note.... 

Tara

#TheCheerMom, CheerLEADER Advocate

What's On Your iPod?

Music has become more and more of a staple for athletes in today’s society, and rightfully so. Music has the ability to effect our mood, attitude and can positively or negatively impact our performance. The selection of music an athlete chooses to listen to before a big competition can either delay the feelings of fatigue or push us to increase work capacity. Here are a few tips on what kind of music to select to listen to before walking out on the mat this competition season.

Heart of a Champion

You hear it from your coaches, choreographers, and your teammates but do you really have the heart of a true champion? “Heart” is a quality that you either have or you don’t, there is no in-between. So how do you define “heart”? I like to think of it being directly connected to your motivation. Because motivation is really at the center of everything in athletics.

Motivation is the drive that we have to achieve our goals and it has two different forms, intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is motivation that you have from within you. It is your drive and desire to succeed and perform well. Extrinsic motivation is motivation that you get from an outside source. These outside sources could be tangible rewards (medal, trophy, money) or intangible rewards (praise or recognition by a coach, parent, or organization).

While extrinsic motivation is a nice drive your intrinsic motivation is where your true heart shines. When you enjoy and find satisfaction in playing your sport you focus more on your improvement and growth. Athletes who are intrinsically motivated have better focus, have less ups and downs in their motivation, they are less stressed when things do not go exactly how they had planned, they are less distracted, and they have greater satisfaction when they achieve their goals.

Take a close look at what motivates you, are you more intrinsically or extrinsically motivated? Do you think you have the heart of a champion?

Kristen Perri is Cheer360’s Co-Founder and Director of Mental Fitness.  She holds a masters degree in Sport Psychology, is a certified Mental Game Coach, Sport Hypnotist and Personal Trainer.  With over 8 years of cheer coaching experience, Kristen has coached all skill levels including middle school and junior varsity. Currently, Kristen is the Head Varsity Coach of a major Long Island Cheerleading Program. 

The Value in a Training Diary

For most athletes the hours, days and months seem to fly by when you are in season. Before you know it you are at your last game or competition and can’t really remember everything you did to get to this point. Whether the outcome of that game or competition is what you had expected or not wouldn’t it be great to look back and be able to analyze the path that got to you to that point?

One of my biggest suggestions for any athlete who is looking to improve their performance is to keep a training diary. Keeping a training diary is probably one of the most useful, yet overlooked secrets in sport! This can be done in so many ways, you just need to find which one works best for you. Get a notebook and keep it in your sport bag to write in immediately following a practice or competition, create a virtual notebook on your computer to write in when you get home, or download a training diary app from your smart phone to have wherever you go!

Coach Kristen has developed a training diary template that can be found and printed out by clicking HERE! Take the time after each practice game or competition to answer these questions and add anything else you feel is important. Make sure to look back periodically and evaluate your training either alone or share your diary with your coach and ask for his or her suggestions. Because remember…you cant figure out where you are going without knowing where you have been first!

Kristen Perri is Cheer360’s Co-Founder and Director of Mental Fitness.  She holds a masters degree in Sport Psychology, is a certified Mental Game Coach, Sport Hypnotist and Personal Trainer.  With over 8 years of cheer coaching experience, Kristen has coached all skill levels including middle school and junior varsity. Currently, Kristen is the Head Varsity Coach of a major Long Island Cheerleading Program. 

Do I Need Mental Game Coaching? (Assessment Included!)

The truth is every athlete from beginner to professional can benefit from working on their mental game. If an athlete wants to be the best they can possibly be they must not only train their physical game but their mental game as well.

Mental Game Assessment

Here is a list of statements, put a check next to all that apply to you.

~You do not have well-defined goals or goal specificity. You lack direction.

~You perform better in practice than during competition.

~You are so self-conscious; you worry about what others think about your game.

~You maintain many self-doubts about your sport before or during competitions.

~You worry about letting others down by not performing up to others expectations.

~You are too self-conscious and worried about how others may perceive you.

~You suffer from anxiety, worry, or excess tension when in competition.

~Pre-game jitters do not go away after the first few minutes into the competition.

~You are motivated by fear of failure and it affects your performance in competition.

~You have a fear of success and sabotage yourself when you are winning.

~You are not sure why you play your sport or let others be your source of motivation.

~You are motivated by external rewards, recognition, or praise.

~You attach your self-worth to how well you perform in sports.

~You lose focus or have mental lapses during critical times of the game.

~You go through the motions physically without mental focus or intensity.

~You are not excited enough or are too excited to perform your best in competition.

~You are distracted by things that go on around you in your environment.

~You have doubts or negative thoughts before, during, or after competition.

~Post-injury you cannot perform the way you did pre-injury even when 100% physically. When performing well you may sabotage your performance with a comfort zone (protect your lead) or expectations that limit your ability to press forward.

~You become easily frustrated because of high expectations.

~You cannot perform with freedom or trust in times of adversity or pressure.

~You focus too much on your mechanics or technique when competing.

~You do not concentrate in the here and now or focus only on execution.

~You think of too much about consequences of your performance, good or bad.

~You over analyze mistakes (technique) and thus think too much about technique.

~You suffer from low self-confidence or self-esteem.

~You limit your performance with negative self-labels such as “I am a choker” or “I can’t do this skill.”

~You have trouble forgetting or letting go of bad past performances.

~Your anger or frustration gets in the way of peak performance.

~You are frequently disappointed with your performance and wish it was better.

~You have a burning desire to be the best ever at your sport or just want to know how to improve your mental game.

If you have checked off 3 or more of the boxes above you are a good candidate for Mental Game Coaching.

Just like your physical skills take the time to acknowledge the mental skills that you are weak in and create a plan with your Mental Game Coach to help take your performance to the next level. 

*Are you interested in working on your mental game one-on-one? Did you know Cheer360 offers individual mental game coaching which can be done at the Cheer360 facility OR by Skype in the comfort of your own home! Contact us for more information.*

Kristen Perri is Cheer360’s Co-Founder and Director of Mental Fitness.  She holds a masters degree in Sport Psychology, is a certified Mental Game Coach, Sport Hypnotist and Personal Trainer.  With over 8 years of cheer coaching experience, Kristen has coached all skill levels including middle school and junior varsity. Currently, Kristen is the Head Varsity Coach of a major Long Island Cheerleading Program. 

Why "can't" is a curse word!

As athletes we all experience self doubt at times but have you ever counted up how many times you say “can’t” at a practice?  Chances are it’s more than you think and this one small word could be hurting your performance!

Self-talk is the dialogue that we have with ourselves all the time.  Whether we choose to be positive or negative our self-talk will impact us either way by directly affecting our attitude which will than directly affect our behaviors.  Saying words like “can’t” negatively affect us which is why we should become aware of how much we say this word and take steps to replace it with a more positive word or statement. 

While this may seem easy to do its harder than you may think!  The next time you are at practice be consciously aware of how many times you say “can’t’ or a negative word/statement, write that number down.  Then spend time developing positive words and statement to replace the negative ones.  Every time you practice and you think or say “can’t” correct yourself by using a positive word or statement. 

Over time your self-talk will lean more towards positive than negative, which will change your attitude and ultimately change your behavior.  Take the time to work on your self-talk to give yourself the optimal environment to succeed.

Kristen Perri is Cheer360’s Co-Founder and Director of Mental Fitness.  She holds a masters degree in Sport Psychology, is a certified Mental Game Coach, Sport Hypnotist and Personal Trainer.  With over 8 years of cheer coaching experience, Kristen has coached all skill levels including middle school and junior varsity. Currently, Kristen is the Head Varsity Coach of a major Long Island Cheerleading Program. 

Are you making the most of your off-season? Don't forget to Train Your Brain!

Did you know that the off-season is the most crucial and important time in making you the athlete you want to be?  You will have the most physical and mental growth during this time if you create a training regimen and stick to it!  Here are two important tips on how to keep your mind strong and become prepared for the challenges the new season will bring. 

Set off-season goals:

When the season comes to an end your head starts to spin full of big ideas and dreams for next season.  Use that excitement as the fuel to kick start your off-season training and to set personal goals.  Take the time to sit down and evaluate your performance from last season and decide on 2-3 skills that you want to improve on.  Your goals should be specific and realistic. 

Sit down and take the time to choose goals that are meaningful and important to you.  When you have selected your off-season goals write them down and post them somewhere that you can see them everyday.  Writing your goals down and then shoving them in a notebook or desk drawer creates the “out of sight, out of mind” issue….and we don’t want that!  Post them on your mirror in your room or in the bathroom, places that you look everyday.  Having a visual cue of your goals will keep your mind focused on what you want to accomplish.

Visualization:

Now that you have set your off-season goals its time to go out there and work on them everyday!  While your immediate thoughts on how to improve your skills will probably be to physically practice them (which is no doubt very important and the first step) do not forget the most under-trained muscle in your body that can help you, your brain! 

Visualization is when you create a mental image or scenario of what you want to happen or feel.  Your visualization should include all of your senses to make it as realistic as possible.  What do you see, hear, smell, and taste when you perform this skill.  Once you have visually set the stage, perform the skill perfectly that you want to improve.  Focus on all the components that you need to improve on.

Once you have created a visualization routine take 5 minutes everyday to go though it.  Find somewhere quiet, take a few deep breathes in and let them out slowly and then go though your visualization routine 3-5 times.  By working on your skills mentally a few minutes everyday you are building experience and confidence in your abilities.

Kristen Perri is Cheer360’s Co-Founder and Director of Mental Fitness.  She holds a masters degree in Sport Psychology, is a certified Mental Game Coach, Sport Hypnotist and Personal Trainer.  With over 8 years of cheer coaching experience, Kristen has coached all skill levels including middle school and junior varsity. Currently, Kristen is the Head Varsity Coach of a major Long Island Cheerleading Program. 

CONFIDENCE IS KEY!

You hear your coach screaming from across the room “Be Confident” and you look at him/her and think, well I’m smiling… am I not being confident? Confidence is a hard skill to master and being able to show your confidence when you perform can be even harder.  I’m here to help teach you how you can become a more confident cheerleader with the 3 R’s to self-confidence.

Lets first get a good understanding of what self-confidence really is.  Confidence is the relationship you have between what you think and what you do.  Your confidence in yourself will impact your performance 100% so its important to understand what your self-confidence is made up of.  You need to practice hard and feel prepared to compete.  The person who practices hard will no doubt be more prepared.  Also, you need to believe and trust in your abilities and all the practicing and preparing you have done up until this point. 

When working at practice to improving your confidence it is best to follow the 3 R’s.

1. REPEAT- Start by picking a few of your personal cheerleading strengths and repeat them to yourself a few times in a row.
2. RATIONALIZE- Many thoughts run through our heads, some positive and some negative.  Any thoughts that you have will need to be rationalized.  For example, if you start to think “my jumps are awful” you need to breakdown why you are thinking this (rationalize your thought). Maybe you do not think your jumps are the best because you could stretch more at home or you need to focus on pointing your toes.  Instead of losing confidence in yourself because of your jumps you now have concrete skills to work on to make your jumps better.
3. REPLACE- Replace any negative thought or statement with a positive one.  Just because a situation you are in is not ideal does not mean that it is negative.  Every situation that presents itself as harder then what you expected is a challenge for you to work on and overcome.  Always look for the positive in a negative. 

Building up your confidence can be difficult but just like any other skill, you need to work on it daily and you will slowly have and show more confidence.  Start working on the 3 R’s now in the off-season to help make yourself  a more confident cheerleader by the time tryouts are upon you!  Show the judges and your coach that you believe in yourself and your skills.

Kristen Perri is Cheer360’s Co-Founder and Director of Mental Fitness.  She holds a masters degree in Sport Psychology, is a certified Mental Game Coach, Sport Hypnotist and Personal Trainer.  With over 8 years of cheer coaching experience, Kristen has coached all skill levels including middle school and junior varsity. Currently, Kristen is the Head Varsity Coach of a major Long Island Cheerleading Program. 

www.Cheer-360.com

Progress NOT Perfection

“Perfect” is an unrealistic word used commonly by athletes when explaining what they want.  The word “Perfect” is as much of a curse word in sports as “I Can’t!”  Stop searching for perfection and start moving towards personal progress. 

Close your eyes and imagine this scenario, I’m sure it has happened to at least a few of you out there reading. 

You have been working all season on the stunts in your routine but every competition this season you have gotten scared and the stunt has fallen.  The last competition of the season is approaching in 2 weeks and all you can think of and say to yourself is “I have to hit all my stunts perfectly!” The pressure is on to make your last performance perfect so you can prove to yourself, your team, your coach and the judges that you are an outstanding athlete.  You feel that if you do not perform perfectly at this last competition you will be a failure. 

Searching for this illusive perfect performance is only setting you up for a let down. When we will only accept perfection anything else is going to be unacceptable and disappointing.  Searching for the perfect performance is the one thing the athlete should not be focusing on. 

Now you must be wondering to yourself “well, what should I be focusing on if it’s not to be perfect?”  That answer is simple, PROGRESS! Going back to the scenario above it would be best to treat this last competition as a chance to improve from your past performances.  Always focus on having a better performance from your last, this is called progress.  When you open up your mindset from being perfect to being better you allow for a more accurate description of how you performed.  When you focus solely on being perfect you can only judge yourself as either perfect or imperfect.  But when you search for progress and strive to become better than before you open up your outcomes and will be a better athlete because of it. 

Progress not Perfection is a true champions mindset!

For more information on Mental Game Coaching visit www.cheer-360.com

Mental Game Coaching- What is it and why do I need it?

I would like to kick off the “Mental Monday” blog series by introducing myself, my name is Coach Kristen and I am a Mental Game Coach.  Usually when I tell people this I get the response “That sounds cool, but what do you do?” So lets clear this up!

All athletes play two games, a physical game and a mental game.  The physical game is what athletes train for every day at practice.  You practice the physical skills to be a better cheerleader; your stunts, tumbling, jumps and motion technique.  But what about your competition mind set?  When the pressure is on and you step on the mat are you 100% confident or do you start to doubt yourself and become nervous?  A Mental Game Coach trains your mind so you are a better athlete.

As a cheerleading coach I come across so many outstanding and talented cheerleaders who choke and crack under the pressure of performing on the competition floor.  They can perform elite skills 10 out of 10 times at practice but somehow when they put on the uniform, the lights turn up and the judges are there with pen in hand they lose their confidence.  If you are sitting there reading this and shaking your head yes, you already know why the mental game is as important, if not more then your physical game. 

A Mental Game Coach can teach you how to develop mental toughness, how to build focus and block out external and internal distractions, help to create calmness when under pressure, help to shake off mistakes and help to reduce mental errors.  As this blog progresses, I will cover many topics within the field of Sports Psychology and Mental Game Coaching. Topics will range from mental exercises, tips and much more. 

Cheer360