Expert: Chris - 8/19/2011

Question
Ok so we have a performance next week and one of my bases moved away last week. So I was given a new base (im a flyer btw). And we have just been working on our routine over and over again everyday this entire week and my stunt group has never hit all of the stunts in the whole thing but we have individually. Wednesday is when we perform and it's in front of the entire school and I have been super super stressed out about it. I used to be the best flyer on the team and now I don't know why nothing is hitting. I'm just really scared that all of my stunts will fall and I will be super embarrassed. What should I do? Our stunts are Teddy bear to a lib, a lib reload to an arabesque, and in the end stunt i just do a lib hitch. I'm not worried about the last one but I am about the other two. What should I do?  And how should I relieve my stress over it?

Answer
If you've hit the stunts individually it means you all have the physical ability to do them. Make sure when you're in the routine you don't rush your counts. When you get to each specific stunt take a deep breath and refocus your attention on the task at hand. Don't be worrying about anything other than what you're doing. Only focus on the stunt you are doing. Don't get ahead of yourself in the routine. Also, don't worry about what your bases and backspot are doing. Only worry about your job.

Another thing to remember is the other kids in your school don't know much of anything about cheerleading. They won't know if you bobble and probably won't really remember if you fall. People that don't know anything about cheerleading have trouble keeping it all straight and can't remember who stayed up in what stunt. Also, they don't know what it's supposed to look like so they won't know if something went wrong. This can be hard for those of us who know about cheerleading to understand because it's so obvious to us when things go wrong, but trust me, other people can't tell the difference. For example, say you know nothing about basketball. If they don't make a shot you know it's not the ideal situation, but you don't know what the problem was. The coach could have given them bad advice, the other team may have played great defense, the shot could have been blocked, the shooter may have just messed up once, etc. The point is, there are SO many things that could have been the reason for the mistake that people that aren't involved with the team don't realize what really happened. People understand this and accept that they don't know everything. Because of that, they don't care much. They'll be polite and watch, but they won't get bent out of shape if something goes wrong.

Keep that in mind and it should be less stressful for you. Don't worry about what other students will think because they won't really know the difference. Only worry about what YOU personally have to do. Concentrate on each stunt when you get to it and trust yours and your bases/back's physical ability to perform the stunts.