Introducing Intern Sabrina Gouldsbury!

THIS IS ME! 

Hey Y’all! I am Sabrina, and I’m super excited to see what this summer has in store for me. I am arising junior at High Point University in North Carolina. I am majoring in exercise science with a concentration in health and wellness. This past April I completed my 15 year cheerleading career with living out my dream of competing with Cheer Extreme. I am very eager to learn everything that cheer360 is going to offer me this summer!

I babysat a younger athlete not long ago and they wanted to know me better so we played a fact game. I will give you guys these facts so you can get to know me too.

1. My favorite sport other then cheerleading is lacrosse.
2. I am very outgoing.
3. I am not good with social media.
4. I got diagnosed with Arthritis at 13 years old.
5. I cheered at four different all-star gyms.
6. I don’t have a favorite competition, but UCA, Cheersport, and Worlds is at the top of my list.
7. My favorite color is pink.
8. I really don’t like Halloween at all!
9. My favorite dessert is frozen yogurt.
10. I am a southern at heart.
11. I love the sun.
12. My natural hair color is light brown, but I would rather be blonde.
13. I am the biggest Disney fan ever!
14. My dream vacation would be to the Greek islands. 
15. I don’t have a favorite movie.
16. My favorite food is Chinese food.
17. I can’t imagine my life without cheerleading. 
18. My favorite t.v. show is either Gossip Girl or Once Upon A Time.
19. I am and always have been a backspot. 
20. I have two brothers. 
21. My favorite part of a routine is the pyramid.  

My flyer from the past two seasons and I being worlds ready!

Injury Prevention Tips!

How many of you have had an injury of any kind? How many of those injuries came at bad times? Well I use to be that athlete that claimed I never got hurt. I have never broken a bone, sprained a joint, or strained a tendon or muscle. But I have been hurt before. I was (and still am) the girl that is afraid to say that I'm hurt, so I never really go to the doctor, I just work through the pain. This is not a good thing. A couple months ago I got hurt and I never stopped practicing and working out. I did not change my life style in anyway, and that caused me to continue to have issues throughout the last couple of months. Injuries are unexpected and never come at a "good" time. But if we don't take care of ourselves those injuries will linger. Injuries happen, but there are ways to treat them and ways to prevent them. 

1. Be proactive: 

Make sure you are conditioning and pushing yourself, but do not over work. Prepare yourself prior to the start of the sports season by working out, stretching and eating right. Everyone needs a day or two completely off to let their body rest, so take a rest day. Stretch before and after exercising. Make sure you do a proper warm up prior to exercising. Fuel your body with nutritionally valuable food. And finally, STAY hydrated!

2. Be aware: 

As soon as you feel like something is not right, tell someone; a coach, a parent, or a doctor. The longer you wait to get the injury looked at, the worse it can get. Do not be afraid to admit that you are hurt. Know your body, if something feels wrong, chances are there something is not right. Know your body, know your limits.

3. Be smart with treatment:

Listen to your doctor or athletic trainer. If they say not to do something, do not do it. Do exactly what they say. Ice is your best friend immediately after certain injuries to control swelling. Swelling can be a cause of pain so if you limit the swelling, you might limit the pain as well. Rest. Just rest. Continue to eat well and stay hydrated.

4. Other tips:

Don't go half on anything. If you aren't going 100% and completely committing, you are putting yourself at risk for injury. Don't do anything you are not ready for. Use technique when you are tired; you do not want to put more stress on your body in a wrong way. If you do get hurt, stay POSITIVE! You will get better.

Injuries stink, but they happen to everyone. These are just a few ways to prevent injuries from getting worse, or happening all together. 

Mental Strength: An Introduction!

Hello to everyone reading this!

First off I’d like to say thank you for taking time out of your day to read these blog posts.  My name is Chris Cannizzaro and I’ll be interning at Cheer360 this summer.  My internship focuses on mental strength. 

For those of you who aren’t familiar with what mental strength is let me give you a quick synopsis.  Mental strength is being able to maintain your focus towards a goal set in front of you.  It allows you to block out distractions, regain your focus if you lost it momentarily, and to overall perform better at any task you do. 

           Throughout my blog posts I’m going to identify and discuss some specific techniques used by professional athletes such as the use of imagery and goal setting to mention a few.

Before we go into any of those the one thing you must have for any of those techniques to work is a positive attitude.  Without a positive attitude you can be handed the world on a silver platter and you still won’t be successful.

            Each of my blogposts are going to have a quote at the bottom, I want everyone to think about the quote and how you can apply it to your everyday life!

“Always do your best.  What you plant now, you will harvest later.” – Og Mandino

Introducing Me! 16 interesting facts about Cheer360 intern Sierra Wilde

Hi everyone! My name is Sierra, and I'm really excited for this summer! I am currently a junior at Hofstra University where I study Athletic Training. I am also a member of the Hofstra cheerleading team. Being able to combine two of the biggest aspects of my life is a dream come true. I'm super excited to be able to explore new aspects of the health and fitness field this summer with Cheer360! 

I figured instead of writing a huge paragraph about me, I'd just list some of the random facts that make me, me! 

1. My favorite color is blue

2. I love iced coffee!

3. I love to learn about various injuries

4. I have been cheering for 8 years

5. I love food but do not have a favorite food

6. I was originally recruited to play field hockey in college

7. I love playing most sports just for fun

8. I play field hockey to clear my mind

9. I tend to be very competitive 

10. I like roller blading... a lot 

11. I don't like having free time, I like to fill it up doing something to keep me busy

12. I have a slight obsession with Nike products

13. I love to play lacrosse with my brothers

14. Running is my favorite stress reliever

15. I would rather wear running clothes than a nice outfit any day

16. 16 and 8 are my lucky numbers

So now that you know a little bit about me, I can't wait share some of my stories, thoughts, and adventures! 

My roommate and I at nationals!

#CheerFaceFriday

Nervous about what face is the "right" face to make while performing on the mat?

Well here are some pictures of me and Lil Jess warming up our cheer faces before competing on the  UCA Nationals mat just a few weeks back! There is no doubt that these cheer faces are what got us through to Finals! 

Just remember  you should always warm up your cheer faces before you perform, you do not want to pull a muscle! And most importantly,  DO NOT be afraid of making a fool out of yourself! 

*DO NOT FORGET TO UPLOAD  PICTURES OF YOU AND YOUR TEAM  MEMBERS MAKING  FUNNY CHEER FACES AND BE SURE TO USE THE HASHTAG CHEERFACEFRIDAY! 

Thanks,

Dani

Senior CLB, Cheer Humor

My Story

I have had personal experience with a Mental Block. It is not an easy thing to live with because you get very upset and stressed out about it. I developed my Mental Block after getting hurt at a practice and little by little I stopped doing tumbling skills until I stopped completely tumbling. What compacted it even more was I had a coach who did not understand what was going on in my head and she would yell at me for it. Almost everyday I would go to a tumble class to help myself get “over it”, to get better. I just ended up getting more frustrated because when I would go my coach would be there and she would make me run around the whole gym every time I did not pull my tumbling. As time went on my parents became concerned for me because I was so upset. My mom and I did a lot of research online and called many experts to see who could help me. I ended up seeing several people to help me with my block, including Kristen Perri who was my mental coach from Cheer360. I have also had sessions with a Sports Hypnotist. Thankfully at this time today I have over come my fear of tumbling and I have become me again. I have gotten my tumbling back and I have also gained more skills with the confidence I have now. It was a hard, frustrating and scary journey and it has made me appreciate my strength as an athlete more than ever. If you or a family member has dealt with an issue like this, we would love to hear from you and maybe share your story in how you have over come your fear!

What’s On Your Team's iPod?

We all know the importance of music considering it is the component that puts together the routine! The type of music and the lyrics you listen to can have a direct effect on how you perform. 

So what’s your tradition? Do you listen to a certain song while getting ready the morning of competition or with your team before you begin practice? Is there one song in your routine that really pumps you up and helps you finish you compete? 

Feel free to share and think about finding your song for next season! Having that team song can really form a bond between you and your teammates and create contagious positive energy!! 

Here’s a link to SWVC’s team song this past season, "It’s My Time"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqlbqIw-v90

Musical Fun Facts: 

*Some studies suggest listening to classical music while studying and doing homework can increase brain activity and intelligence for a short period of time

*Termites work quicker and more efficiently when listening to Heavy Metal/Rock Music

Jessica, CLB