Expert: Pamela Enders - 12/14/2009

Question
I made the elite senior team at my gym back in April and I almost had my backhandspring. In June at one of the open gyms, I went to throw my round off backhand spring and landed it by myself. It was ugly but I made it all the way up to the rebound. My coach didn't tell me he wasn't going to spot me though, and afterwards I asked him to spot me and he kept saying he would and making the spot lighter and lighter as my roundoff backhand springs got worse and worse. Since that day I feel like I have back tracked and it's now been almost six months since I have thrown a roundoff backhandspring without pausing in between the roundoff and the backhandspring. My coach (not the one who spotted me in June) tries to push me and sometimes he does push me; to the point of tears. I am sixteen and I have been cheering six years consecutively. I am the only person on my team who cannot throw a roundoff backhandspring and it's embarrasing for me. It is especially embarrasing because my younger sister Mary, who is 14, is on a higher level than me and is throwing double fulls; and my younger-younger sister Sara, who is 13 is working on her full. I really need help getting over my mental block, and I really hope you can help me.

Answer
Dear Jenn,

Thanks for writing!  Mental blocks are much more common than you think. Still, they are frustrating and painful to experience.  You CAN get over this if you are willing to do the work and I will be happy to work with you on this if you like.

Please send me an email at info@pamelaenders.com so I can give you more info about how I might help you.  In the meantime, please check out my blog - http://www.confidentcheerleadingblog.com where you will find lots of tips and info on all aspects of the mental game of cheerleading.

Hope to connect soon!

Warm regards,

Dr. Pam
The Mental Game Coach
http://www.confidentcheerleadingblog.com
http://www.confidentcheerleading.com