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.

A parents guide to tryouts and what to do if your child doesn't make the team.

If your child has not already went through the tryout process for this years team I am sure it is quickly approaching. With this impending loom of “will I” or “won’t I” make this team there are some important guidelines to follow as the parent of an aspiring athlete.

When your child decides he or she wants to tryout for a team the biggest thing to remember is that ENCOURAGEMENT is key! You want your athlete to know that you support them in whatever they choose to do. Support them by being their biggest fan, not a second coach. The last thing your athlete wants or needs is someone to tell them that they are doing things wrong. Don’t be a PUSHER- a pusher parent makes their child feel like that have to tryout for a particular sport because the parent loves it or played it at some point in their life. Just because you loved participating in a sport does not mean that your child will as well.

So now your child going into tryouts confident and eager to please the coach. They put in 100% of their energy and effort, give it all that they have got and they don’t make the team. What now? What do you do as a parent in this situation? The way that you react is crucial so be sure to remember the following.

1. Let your child EXPERIENCE THEIR FEELINGS- While I know you want to take the pain and hurt away from your child at that exact moment that they tell you, let them have their feelings. In order to grow from this experience they must work through how they are feeling to move past it.
2. LISTEN DON’T SPEAK when your child wants to talk about what happened- Let your child explain how they are feelings and how tryouts went from their perspective. You do not want to put words in their mouth by letting your feelings about tryouts overshadow theirs.
3. BE EMPATHETIC- Telling your child that you are sorry that they are feeling sad and disappointed and that you are there for them if they want to talk is the best thing to do. This is not the time to give advice on what they should have or could have done.
4. TURN A NEGATIVE INTO A POSITIVE- While your child may not have received the news that they wanted to hear, it is your job to help them understand that not making a team does not make him or her a failure. Everyone fails, it is a large part of the learning process. Use this negative experience to form a positive one. When your child is ready find out what skills they need to work on to improve their chances of making the team next year, or maybe this allows an opportunity to explore a different sport that they may have never tried.

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. 

Self-Calming Exercise

The 29^th annual Home Run Derby will take place tonight at Citi Field, and will feature two prominent hitting New York players,  New York Yankee Robinson Cano and New York Met David Wright. As captains of each leagues home run hitting team they will face many challenges, more than just picking players and hitting the ball out of the park. The level of stress these players will feel before they step into the box can be directly compared to the stress a cheerleader may feel when they are moments away from stepping foot on the mat.

Follow these simple steps for an on the spot self-calming exercise to reduce stress and regain your focus.

•            Close your eyes and begin with a long, slow exhale

•            Repeat three times

•            Place your hand on your chest.

•            Notice the soothing warmth of your hand, calming you.

•            With each out breath, relax more and more

•            Gently move your breath down from your chest to your abdomen.

•            Think low and slow.

•            Exhale slowly...as slowly as possible.

This exercise is designed to help you relax - either in preparation for a high stakes performance like a competition or as a general way to reduce the negative impact of stress. I encourage you to focus on your exhale because when you are tense or anxious, it is difficult to inhale deeply. If you exhale slowly a few times, you will relax more quickly. Try it!

The hand on your chest can serve as a positive physical trigger for you to use right before you perform. You can tap your hand on your chest in order to reconnect with the feelings of calm confidence and say your focus word to yourself. This is all about training your mind and your body to do what you want, when you want.

In preparing for a competition, I would suggest you practice this technique at every practice. Remember, you are training your mind and body to respond in the way you want and this takes some time and effort on your part. At the time of the event, exhale slowly a few times and use the physical trigger or cue (hand on chest) as you are getting ready to go on the mat. The exhale and the physical cue will get you in the performance state you want.

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. 

Visualization: If You Can See It You Can Do It!

Did you know that your brain cannot tell the difference between an imagined and a real action? That’s right! With this being said, as an athlete visualization is a very important and useful skill.  They say practice makes perfect so when your body is tired from physically practicing a skill use some visualization to continue working on your game!

Follow these tips when working on visualization:

1. Practice, Practice, Practice!- spend 10-15 minutes each day working on your visualization.  I suggest using the time right before you go to sleep to focus on your mental training.  Make sure its quiet and you have little to no distractions.  Also, do not get discouraged if you loose focus or become distracted.  Visualization just like anything you do takes time and practice.

2.  Use All of Your Senses- The best visualization is very detailed and feels as if it is really happening.  Take the time to set the stage for the skill you are visualizing.  What do you see?, what sounds do you hear?, how do you feel?, are there any distinct smells? 

3. Change Your Perspective- Visualization can be done in two different ways (associated and disassociated).  Associated is when you are looking out from your body, this is the most common way to visualize.  Disassociated is when you are watching yourself complete a skill.  By watching yourself you can see how a movement should be broken down.  This can be helpful if you are struggling with a particular skill.  To get the full benefit from your visualization be sure to use both associated and disassociated.

Start a visualization routine today to optimize your performance!

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. 

Fun Friday: Putting Cheer360 Core Values to Use!

For their entire lives, the owners of Cheer360 have used their collective set of core values as their moral compass for their everyday decision making. These core values are what make each of us ourselves, and Cheer360 the premier strength, nutrition and mental coaching program for cheerleaders. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Cheer360 core values, I am going to utilize this as an opportunity to showcase through our actions, how we roll up our sleeves, influence and empower our athletes, and lead by example.

Excellence: in all we do directs our Cheer360 team to develop a sustained passion for continuous improvement and innovation that will propel Cheer360 athletes into a long term, upward spiral of accomplishment and performance.

• Cheer360 has not only worked hard to achieve success, but we hold ourselves accountable in doing so. It is often said that hard work and achieving excellence in all that we do, will not go unnoticed. This was the case this past week as one of the top division I NCAA Cheer programs, The University of Central Florida, recognized our work by "liking" our motivational images and commenting back on our Cheer360 Instagram as seen here. This was a big boost of motivation to not only our team but our athletes as well. 

Persistence: We require that the Cheer360 team possesses the inner drive necessary to position oneself to overachieve daily. The majority of successes happen just after overcoming the most difficult. This is where the personal development comes in. Remember, just keep going!

• Cheer360 helps our athletes map out nutritional, mental and physical plans. This balanced approach will lead to an overall improved healthy lifestyle that will last a lifetime. Who knew that boxes were not just meant to be jumped on? 

Respect and Humility: We value the strengths, experiences and perspectives of others, and we recognize our own limitations. Cheer360 places value in those around us as they are not only a source, but a beneficiary of our success. 

• One of our smallest, yet hardest working athletes, Crista embodies the famous Mark Twain quote, "It is not the size of the dog in the fight, it is the size of the fight in the dog." Crista's hard work, has been an inspiration to us all, as seen by her quick rise to Instagram fame, notice the comments of support! 

Team: We value and care about each other, operate with a generosity of spirit, and have fun in the process of working together. To maximize our collective impact, we inspire, challenge and support each other to be our best and sustain our efforts. 

• Cheer360 has the benefit of seeing our hard work blossom into greatness right before our eyes. To ensure our success continues, we as a team work really hard to challenge one another to put forth creative, challenging and fun ideas. This is most evident in a recent team push up session!

Community:  We are committed to the cultivation of positive relationships between, and common experiences among, athletes, parents and staff. We instill a strong sense of self recognition and purpose with our athletes. These skills empower our athletes to serve as leaders in their communities. 

• Cheer360 has begun establishing the framework for a Cheerleader mentoring program. This mentoring program model will be implemented in communities that have youth cheer teams/leagues. Cheer360 will mentor current Cheer360 athletes to become coaches and mentors themselves for youth cheer programs. This program will develop future leaders and be a tremendous investment in the communities overall future.

I hope you enjoyed seeing how we practice what we preach. With being open for just under a month, Cheer360 has been to able to inspire and put smiles on the faces of many. We are thrilled and excited about all the support we have received and look forward to the bright future ahead. Remember, it is more than just cheerleading for us, it is a balanced healthy lifestyle that will last a lifetime. 

As a Cheer360 Co-Founder, Arthur's young, energetic and ambitious career has prepared him for his exciting role as the Director of Operations and Business Development. Here he manages business operations and establishes strategic partnerships that will bring the latest equipment, guest speakers, food and nutrition and educational programming directly to the athletes, families and communities served by Cheer360. For more information visit: www.cheer-360.com

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

A Dream Becomes a Reality: The CHEER 360 Story

On March 1st, with a newly furnished key (a zebra printed one for the record), CHEER 360 opened the doors to more than just a 2,200 square foot training facility. CHEER 360 opened the doors to a future of endless and limitless possibilities.

For the preceding 8 months that led up to March 1st, CHEER 360 was just a dream. At a beach gathering among family and friends, the eventual founders of CHEER 360 were having an in depth conversation regarding what their passions were and what they most desired. Kristen Perri and Shari Tarburton, lifelong cheerleaders and current varsity coaches, with big smiles and excitement, spoke at great length how they would love to work with young athletes by providing them with a strong foundation of strength, mental and nutritional coaching. Three key elements that are needed to not only be a successful cheerleader, but to live a well-balanced, healthy and successful life. 

This idea quickly gathered momentum as research was gathered, support was well received and the energy never lost. Co-Founders, Kristen and Shari working with their respective husbands Artie (a business development specialist) and Kent (a certified personal trainer and one time cheerleader himself) found that no such program existed for Cheerleaders on Long Island--nor throughout the entire country. 

Knowing no such program existed, Kristen and Shari suddenly felt more empowered than ever to create a program that addresses the true needs of cheerleaders. When accounting for sports related injuries, including concussions, Cheerleading ranks among the highest. Not only is this population prone to sport related injuries, but additionally, the demographics of the sport are of high risk to having eating disorders. Combining these issues with the social pressures of being a young athlete, it was clear, that a solution is needed to meet the demands of these pressing issues.

CHEER 360 is no longer just a dream, it is a reality. With teams already signing up to participate in the sport's only strength, mental and nutritional coaching program, CHEER 360 recognizes the vital role it plays in shaping the lives of the athletes but the future of the sport of Cheerleading as well.

Since the zebra printed key opened the door to the facility, paperwork has been signed, specialized programming has been planned and equipment ordered and assembled. Much time has been spent preparing CHEER 360 to meet the demands and needs of its athletes. More so, a lifetime has passed as its founders have long been ready to share their dream with the world.

CHEER 360 is officially ready to continue this exciting journey with each and every one of you. Stay tuned and follow the CHEER 360 blog as it will regularly be updated with content specific to health and wellness, proper nutrition, strength and conditioning training tips and mental exercises. 

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