Expert: Chris - 6/10/2010

Question
Hey, I have this TERRIBLE mental block. I never have been a strong tumbler, and the best I could do (on a good day) would be roundoff-two-backhandsprings. Then, I started regressing. I ignored it and used excuses like "I'm tired" "My ankle is killing me"(I have bad ankles)or "I'm sick". After cheering for 7 years, and tumbling for 3, I really don't know why I can't even to a backhandspring on the tramp without a spot. I have had no injuries from tumbling, and all my other cheer skills are awesome. I JUST CAN'T TUMBLE. And my coaches are getting annoyed, and so are my team mates and parents. Any tips to over come this, or make my backhandspring better in any way? Thanks, Mallory.

Answer
First of all, are you living my life? That's exactly what happened to me! I used to have a round-off two back handsprings too, but only on a good day. I had to stop tumbling because I had wrist problems that were completely unrelated to tumbling. I had surgery on my wrist about a year ago and I SHOULD be able to tumble now. Should is the key word in that sentence. While I was still tumbling I did the same thing you did and would say, "My wrist hurts," or "I don't feel good." My mental block was more of a problem with my flying skills because I was only on Pop Warner and we'd never had a lot of tumbling so I didn't really need it. Every time I would twist down I would get too scared and just straight cradle. Physically I could do anything and within two years of learning to twist I learned a double down so I know it has nothing to do with my physical ability. First I thought I was afraid my glasses would fall off, but then I got contacts. Then when I started doing singles (because doubles were illegal in my division that year), I was afraid I'd over rotate any time I did a single. So trust me I understand how mental blocks can be frustrating and you get to that point where you just don't know what to do with yourself.

I don't know anything about how old you are or what level you're cheering at, but if you've recently gone through a growth spurt that could change things too. That has also happened to me, so if that's the case let me know and I'll add a little bit to this response.

I really like that you said your other cheer skills are awesome. That means your mental block hasn't reached any other aspects of your cheerleading besides tumbling which is REALLY great. By the time I was in high school my mental block discouraged me so much that my jumps got worse, my dancing got worse, and everything I tried to do was worse. My toe touches went from being hyper-extended to barely level in less than a year. My point is, the fact that you're still confident in your abilities in every other aspect of cheerleading is important and no matter what happens with your tumbling, always remember that whether or not you can do a back handspring has nothing to do with your other skills.

I know it's hard, but try not to worry about your coaches, teammates, or parents. And then if you figure out how to do that please let me know because I still try to please them. I can pretty much guarantee you that you want your tumbling back more than your coaches, teammates, and parents put together because I know I sure did (do). I was never a good tumbler and even when I did back handsprings they weren't very good (They weren't that bad either though). Kids would make fun of me (I was a freshman on Varsity and got picked on all the time by seniors that couldn't even do a back handspring) and I got really down on myself. I never wanted to tumble because I got made fun of so I used the "My wrist hurts" excuse for over three years. I would throw my tumbling less than once a week. Then my wrist started to "hurt" so much I quit tumbling all together. My wrist was hurt, but like I said it's been healed for a year now and I'm just getting my tumbling back now.

I'm too scared to do back handsprings on the tramp because it's too bouncy and I feel like I can't control myself. When I started tumbling again I just started on the tumble trak. My sister and I were on the same team so she was with  me at practice while I was trying to do it. I learned my back handspring about ten years ago and I did it all the time. Until high school. This past season I was a senior in  high school on an open level all-star team so I really needed my back handspring. The coaches wanted the full team doing back handsprings at the very least. I figured that wouldn't be a problem so I hopped up on the tumble trak. I stood up there ready to throw my back handspring for over 15 minutes. I went to do it about a hundred times but I was always too scared. I knew I wouldn't get hurt, but for some reason I still couldn't make myself do it. My sister would get frustrated, my teammates thought I was a really bad cheerleader because of it, and my coaches only tolerated me because they didn't have enough people on the squad.

That made me feel like crap. I was getting frustrated and I was trying not to cry which only made things worse. I tried to throw my BHS for over an hour before i finally left the practice and locked myself in the bathroom for the next 15 minutes. I didn't want to be made fun of like I was at my high school and I was so frustrated I couldn't stand to live with myself. If any of this sounds familiar I'm sorry because I know it sucks.

It took quite a few weeks, but I did get my BHS on the tumble trak and I've gotten much better about my twist down habits. The way I did it was visualization. I'd heard that a million times and I thought it was stupid, but finally I gave up and tried it. There's some scientific reason that this works and it has something to do with the fact that your brain can't tell the difference between visualizing and actually doing the skill. If you visualize yourself doing it correctly, your brain thinks you've done it correctly.

I'd also give myself limits. I'd say, "Okay I'm going to stay on the tumble trak for ten minutes and if I don't throw my BHS I'll get off and do something else. If you like jumping,(although I don't know why anyone would) work on your jumps. I like pulling body positions on the ground so I'd stand there pulling bow and arrows or scorpions to make myself feel better. You have to find what works to help relax you. You also need to accept the fact that you're not going to walk into practice and be able to tumble like you used to. It will take some time, but if you use this visualization technique I do think it will help. I'm still recovering from my own mental block, but over the past cheer season I made tremendous progress and that was how I did it. I still have a ways to go, but I feel better that I'm moving in the right direction.

Also, make sure you never think to yourself "I'm not going to do this," or "Next time I go to practice this is going to happen all over again and I'll get up on the tramp and not throw it." Again, there's some scientific reason that this messes up your brain. Your brain takes those negative thoughts as literal instructions. Even though you do know that they're just your negative thoughts, the chemicals in your brain can't understand that. So if you think "I'm going to be too scared," your brain will think it's supposed to be scared.

I hope this made sense to you and I hope it helps with your tumbling. If nothing else, know you're not alone and stay confident in all your other cheerleading skills. Remind your brain that you physically have all the abilities you need to be able to tumble. Give your brain positive "instructions" and do your best. Don't hesitate to send me a follow up if you want more of an explanation or just to keep me updated. I'd love to know if this advice helps people besides myself, especially because I'm a coach and I deal with this at almost every practice. Good luck!