By Kristin Funston / American Cheerleader Magazine

We know that cheerleading competitions bring excitement, but they also bring pressure. Everyone can feel it – coaches, parents and especially cheerleaders.
We’ve all been there: the flutters in our stomachs; the tightening in our chests; the weakness in our legs. No matter how much we try to extinguish them, sometimes they just won’t go away.

Adrenaline, which gives your body energy to perform, can be a great thing when it comes time to hit the mat. However, if you let it consume you, you can lose control and make mistakes. Having the right frame of mind and practicing certain techniques can help direct your nerves and adrenaline in a way that benefits your performance.

Before the Competition

DO:

• Remember, you are not alone. Almost all of the competitors—including the best teams—are nervous too.
• Stage a mental dress rehearsal. Close your eyes and mentally press play. As you run through the routine in your head, visualize positive outcomes. See yourself hit every stunt, land every tumbling pass and so on.
• Take your mind off the competition. As the lead-up to competition intensifies, so do our minds. Whether it’s reading a book, listening to music or watching your favorite YouTube videos, try doing something that will distract you for a while.

DON’T:

• Think about the “uncontrollables.” You cannot control other teams’ performances. You cannot control if your music skips. You cannot control the lighting on the performance floor. Worrying about these things is a waste of time and distracts from what you do need to be thinking about. When you find your mind wondering, make a conscious effort to refocus your thoughts on what you can control.

During the Competition

DO:

• Play YOUR game. So what if another team hit their elite stunts or had a more difficult tumbling section? Apply all of your energy, mental and physical, into your routine and your routine only.
• Focus on the NOW. During your opening stunt sequence, the pyramid that’s four eight-counts away is irrelevant. And in the middle of the dance, the tumbling pass you already performed is not important. Think about what you’re doing in the present time and stay in the moment.
• Know when to take a breath. In practices prior to competition, look for instants during your routine where you can take a breather. Whether it’s the eight-count before your jump sequence or as you transition to the dance, practice taking a second to breathe and then actually utilize these moments during competition.
• Trust your training. Chances are you’ve practiced your routine until you could, almost literally, do it in your sleep. Rely on muscle memory and trust that your body will correctly execute the skills you have performed so many times.
• Have fun! You don’t want to walk away from the mat not having enjoyed yourself. Release any feelings of anxiety you might have and embrace your time on the competition floor.

DON’T:

• Hold back. Don’t allow your nerves to get in the way and lead to mistakes. Perform your skills exactly as you practiced.

What If Something Goes Wrong?

You’ve probably heard it before, but if a mistake happens, keep going! When you focus on what went wrong, it becomes all too easy for one mistake to lead to another. You can’t go back in time and change it, so move on from the error and concentrate on doing your best at the present moment.

Inside Tips from Top Competitors:

My team used to act everything out prior to stepping on the mat. At our own gym, we’d time our warm-up and then walk from the ‘warm-up area’ to the ‘competition floor.’ We’d even get on a bus and drive to and from our ‘hotel’ and the ‘arena.’ This was all prior to competition day, so we knew everything to expect leading up to our performance.

-Molly Sanford, four-time National Champion, University of West Georgia

Right before our warm-up time, my team would lie on the ground to focus and prepare our minds. Our music would play and we’d visualize every motion, jump and skill in our routine. By that time in the season, we could depend on muscle memory to execute each element, so positive visualization was our final step.

-Ashlee Wagoner, Marketing Director, Varsity All Star

Give your attention to what you can control (your routine) instead of worrying about everybody else. A lot of times, by the end of a competition, I can’t even tell people what other teams looked like or who was even there.

-Scott Natrass, CEO, Elite Cheerleading Services