Expert: Pamela Enders - 8/25/2009

Question
hi, i'm a flyer on my high school's varsity cheer team. i did competitive gymnastics for 8 years before i quit due to a fear of falling (after id gotten injured from a fall). i started cheering my freshman year, and i'm now a junior. my biggest fear is heights, and i also harbor the fear of falling. my coach wants me to try a twist down, but i'm really afraid. i've been dropped by my bases before, and i'm really dreading when i have to do this stunt. can you give me some tips?

Answer
Dear Monica,

First, please accept my apology for my delay in responding to you. We had a family medical emergency which distracted me from my work.  Things are fine now. Whew!

Here are my thoughts on your question:

First, it’s not uncommon to have the fears that you are experiencing. The fact that you did actually fall and injure yourself makes it even more common.  You might have what’s called a “post traumatic stress” reaction.  People who are in accidents of all kinds often experience this.  For example, people who have been in a car accident might find it hard to drive again or they do so with great anxiety.

It’s as if the brain keeps re-playing the incident over and over and can’t let go of it. Eventually, the fear can take over and undermine functioning.

Let’s take a look at what happened when you fell.  Do you remember?  I take it from what you wrote that this happened while you were a gymnast, not a cheerleader. Most falls are avoidable which is why it’s good to review the details.  If you know what went wrong you can take the necessary precautions to prevent it from happening again.

As you probably know, there are many things that can go wrong including: trying to execute a move before you are ready; lacking the body strength to do the move; poor coaching; being distracted and not focused on the task at hand.  In cheerleading you can add other things like your bases being unprepared or distracted or poorly trained

If you can determine what went wrong then you can work on fixing that.  For example, maybe you were anxious and distracted.  If so, working on some focusing strategies will help.

If you don’t trust your bases, it will be hard for you to move forward.  How can you be expected to try a twist down when you are worrying they may drop you?  I suggest you set up a meeting with your coach and your bases about this dilemma. Be prepared to provide details to support your claim that your bases aren’t doing their job.  The tone you use is important.  You don’t want to blame the bases; rather, you want to express your concern that they sometimes are distracted (if that’s the case) and this lack of focus affects their providing a secure base. Emphasize that you are all in this together and so the solution is for you all to work together to fix it.

One way is to all work on focusing your attention on the task at hand. If you knew your bases were completely focused on what they need to do, your anxiety would decrease.

Here’s one way:  During practice, right before you all begin a stunt, take a moment (all of you!) to exhale slowly 2 – 3 times.  As you do so, say to yourselves, “With each out breath I am getting more and more focused.”  With your mind’s eye, “see” what you are about to do and when you feel ready, begin the count and execute the stunt.

So, to review what I’ve said so far, it’s important to address the lack of trust you have in your bases with them and with your coach.  You can suggest that you all work together on getting focused by using the technique described above.  If you have faith in your bases undivided attention (assuming they are also skilled and strong!) that will go a long way in reducing your anxiety.

Now let’s move on to other good stuff.

I suspect you are tense, right?  (Fear, of course, makes us tense,)  The quickest way to relax is by focusing on your breath, specifically, your out-breath.  So….find a quiet place and close your eyes and exhale as slowly as you can.  Repeat this at least 3 – 5 times.  It’s important that you do this slowly and expel as much air as possible through your mouth.  Then inhale through your nose.  You will discover that you are able to take in a nice deep breath.  You can try doing this before practice to calm yourself down and get prepared.

Here is another way to retrain your brain. It’s a special kind of visualization that can be helpful.

1.   Find a nice quiet place and while sitting up, close your eyes.
2.   Exhale as slowly as you can 3 – 4 times.
3.   Say to yourself, “With each out-breath, I am relaxing more and more.”
4.   Once relaxed, see yourself, with your mind’s eye, in a safe place, a place you feel ultra comfortable, secure and happy.
5.   Really enjoy being in your special safe place as you continue to focus on your out-breath.
6.   Now, shift your focus and “see” yourself in your cheerleading practice spot, beginning to do a simple stunt -one you can do easily.
7.   If you feel more than a little anxiety, stop visualizing this move and return to your safe place.
8.   Stay in your safe place until you feel calm and secure.
9.   Now, once again, see yourself in your practice spot beginning to execute a simple stunt.
10.   If your anxiety level is manageable, stay with this scene, focusing on your exhale to keep calm and focused.
11.   See yourself executing the move with grace and ease and “feel” yourself enjoying it; enjoy your success.
12.   Now assign a power label or cue word for this successful execution. It can be anything.  For example, you could simply call it “success” or “good move.”
13.  Once you have your power label, visualize and feel the whole successful routine again only this time say your cue word to yourself.
14. Repeat over and over.  Each time you do this, you will be creating brain and muscle memory.  
15. If at any time your anxiety level increases too much, go back to your safe place and repeat the above steps
16. When you can “see” yourself doing a simple stunt without too much anxiety, move the scene to doing a more difficult stunt that requires flying.
17.  Just like before, if too much anxiety pops up, go back to the previous easier stunt (in your mind’s eye) or go back to your favorite place to calm down.
18. Repeat this process, each time gradually visualizing yourself executing the more difficult stunt with your bases, step by step, pairing the exhale and relaxation with “seeing” yourself doing it.
19. Be sure to use your cue word or positive trigger with each step you take.
20. Repeat as necessary. Keep repeating this process and add more and more difficult stunts including the twist down, until the anxiety associated with visualizing doing it is manageable.
21. The anxiety may not disappear completely, the goal is MANAGEABLE ANXIETY.

This visualization accomplishes several things.  It helps you ease into the idea of doing a twist down while minimizing your anxiety and it also engraves the successful execution of the move in your brain.  You will be training your brain to feel and think in the way you want.  You will also be learning how to control your thoughts and feelings rather than have them control you!

Now, one last thing; when you next begin to do any stunt, take a moment to focus, exhale slowly, say your power label to yourself and see yourself executing the move successfully. Then go ahead!

I know this has been a long response but I wanted to be thorough.  Change takes time and effort but the effort is worth it!

You might want to share this with your coach so he or she can see what you are trying to accomplish.

Also, check out my blog where you will find lots of info and tips on the mental game of  cheerleading. – http://www.confidentcheerleadingblog.com

And let me know how you’re doing!

Cheers!

Dr. Pam – the mental game coach
http://www.confidentcheerleadingblog.com
http://www.confidentcheerleading.com