Your piece of the puzzle

Last year I had my team participate in a team bonding project. When I first started I though it was going to be just fun and it turned out being one of the most powerful projects of the season.

As a team we were a little disjointed, we were senior heavy and many of them had caught the senioritis bug and were not working to their potential.  The underclassmen were struggling to carry the team and motivate the senior girls that should have been motivating them.  It resulted in weak practices, some very poor performances and the team missing opportunities that could have been amazing.  I had seen the project on Pinterest and figured that it wouldn’t hurt to try.

Find a jigsaw puzzle that has at least as many pieces as you do team members.  Each teammate gets a puzzle piece.  If you have extra, you can take one or give the extras to the captains and managers.

The directions are to decorate the blank side any way they want.  They can color, paint, glitter, add stickers, feathers, etc.  The only rule is that they have to leave the puzzle piece in tact so that we can assemble the puzzle.  Make sure that all decorations are firmly attached.

I handed out the pieces to the puzzle, gave them the directions, and two days to decorate the puzzle.  At practice, I had them get their puzzle pieces and assemble the puzzle with the original image facing up on a board.  Once they had all the pieces collected and assembled, they flipped the puzzle over to reveal the team puzzle.  There were a few girls that did not bring their puzzle piece, so the puzzle was not complete. 

It was interesting that the girls that were the least invested in the team were the ones that did not participate.  The message sent to the team was that you have to do the work to be part of the puzzle and no team is complete without all of its team members.  The team members that did participate were able to see themselves as a part of the bigger picture and it actually motivated them to work harder at the remaining practices that season.  They even started pushing the girls that were slacking off more.  They saw the potential they had and knew that in order to complete the puzzle every piece was important.

Cheers!!

*\o/*

CW3

Uplifting Exercise

A few days ago, I was reading a book of motivational games I picked up from a yard sale.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but it is for cooperate companies, not for sports.  There are a ton of great ideas that you can adapt for sports programs and cheerleading in general.  It really focuses on goal setting.  The book is called: The Big Book of Motivation Games.  By Robert Epstein, Ph.D.

I saw an exercise in it that I used every year for my cheerleaders before a big performance.

The exercise is called “All That You Can Be” in the book. 

In a Nutshell:

“In a partially-guided imagery exercise, participants visualize themselves working at their peak performance.”

What It’s For:

Use this game if you want to: perform at your peak; boost yur energy when its low; envision and achieve your personal goals; motivate your staff members (Cheerleaders) to perform at their peak; etc.

I use it to help the team visualize themselves performing the routine perfectly in their mind so that when they get on the floor or field they have already ‘done’ it.  It requires no special materials or handouts and only takes about 10 minutes.  It boosts confidence in each athlete quite a bit! 

What To Do:

Advise participants to sit in a relaxed position, close their eyes and breathe easy.  Then recite the following text in a soothing voice:

What I Do:

Have the participants lay on the floor, not touching each other, eyes closed.  I slowly start talking them through the moments before the routine and all the way through until the performance is done. It is important that they think of their answers and stay quiet. 

Here is what we would do if we were preparing for competition:

*Imagine sitting in the bleachers waiting your turn.  What do you see?  Hear?
*Your in the practice room.  Imagine the mat, the other teams stretching and warming up. 
*Next your on deck, standing in the tunnel.  Look around at your teammates.  Imagine how excited they will be when you perform your best. 
*Now, take the floor.  Imagine running onto the mat.  Do you see the crowd?  Do you see the judges?

At this point I start playing their competition music and have them mentally run through the routine. After the music is over we go back.

You've hit your ending stunt and dismount to the floor.  As you rally off, do you see your friends and family?  Do you see your team mates?  Do you see your coach?  How does it feel to be done?

When we are done with the mental run-through, I ask them about how they felt.  Were they proud? Did everything hit in their mind? 

If they had problems in a certain area in their mind, those are the areas we focus on at practice.  It is important to discuss the exercise at the end.  It helps the kids understand why we are doing it and it gives them the opportunity to SEE themselves performing correctly.  We do this every time before we compete and they all like it. 

Give it a try for your team, see how it works!

Cheers!

*\o/*

CW3

No Cheerleader Left Behind

Supporting each other in more than just stunts.

Cheerleaders are responsible for so many things around the school and community.  Many times they have issues happening in their own lives that make things harder on them.  Some kids have a ton of support at home for the activities that they want to participate in and some kids struggle with parents and priorities.  We all want our kids to grow up to be contributing members of society but there is a fine line between to strict and too lenient.  While we cannot control our squad’s home lives, we can try to make their cheer lives positive. 

In our practices we have a very strict ‘leave it at the door policy.’  Regardless of what has happened during the day, we are to come to practice ready to work and give 100%.  As a coach, it is my job to read my team and see what direction practice needs to go.  There are just some days when we need to sit down and have a team bonding chat and some days when we need to plow through our material and go home. 

The biggest thing I expect of my squads is that at the end of the day they are a family.  Families don’t always like each other and don’t always get along, but at the end of the day we have each others back.  We accomplish this by learning about each other.  We learn what makes our teammates happy and sad, we learn to read when they are excited and when they need a hug. 

Here is a wonderful poem written about cheerleaders that does a good job of expressing what cheerleading is like:

Cheerleading is a way of life, shared by a chosen few.

It is working as a unit in everything you do.

Cheerleading is rivalry, the competition makes you strong.

It is sharing secrets and tears, learning to get along.

Cheerleading is that ongoing drive to be the very best.

It is patience, perseverance, and very little rest.

Cheerleading is having poise and charm with every word you say.

It is total dedication twenty-four hours a day.

It is always being ready with encouragement or a smile,

Cheerleading is your chance to express your individual style.

Cheerleading is reaching out to comfort a sister who is sad.

It is defending each other in the good times and the bad.

Cheerleaders are always there whenever someone asks,

They treasure the present moment and let go of the past.

Cheerleading is a talent to be able to shine on cue,

It is hiding the pain and anguish that if only people knew.

Cheerleaders after all, are real people that sometimes get down,

But when they’re in the spotlight, they must never put on a frown.

Cheerleaders are actresses, always ready to go,

That is why it is important for all the world to know;

Not every girl can be a cheerleader, it takes a special kind.

Cheerleaders are full of like and a little bit out of their minds!

-Unknown

CHEERS!

*\o/*

CW3

L-O-V-E We Love Our JV

Supporting the developmental programs at your school and in your community to ensure the future successes of your program.

Very rarely in coaching, does a team come along with so much natural talent that as coaches we can just sit back and let them shine.  More often than not our talent comes from hard working kids that learned by being on the freshman or JV teams.  In some communities, these kids may have learned their skills on a youth team that fed into the high school program.  When kids play sports or participate in activities, they want to be on the best team or the highest team.  Some kids are lucky and get to start there, but mostly we have to start on the developmental team and work them up to being on Varsity. 

It can be discouraging for some kids to have to participate on JV.  As coaches, we need to treat the JV team with just as much respect and adoration that we do our Varsity.  These kids are the future of our program.  If we keep them motivated and excited about being a part of the ‘family’ then they will continue to work hard to make the program better.  Unfortunately, some coaches treat their JV or Freshman teams as lesser athletes and they lose them before they get to move up.

Here are a few ways you can keep them feeling good about them selves:

Team Bonding

Have the JV and Varsity teams bond together.  Have them work together on a project or assign ‘sisters.’ This will allow the varsity to remember what it was like to be on the JV team and they will help keep those kids excited.  Keeping JV on the same level emotionally with also help them with self-esteem and pride in their accomplishments.

Encouragement

Have your Varsity take time throughout the season to support the JV cheerleaders.  Have them attend games as fans to cheer on the cheerleaders.  Have them send notes and letters to keep them feeling motivated throughout the year.

Involvement

Have your JV participate in some of the events that are usually only Varsity.  School assemblies or performances, halftimes or pre-game for Varsity games are other ways to keep them involved.  They will feel accomplished for being involved in the bigger events and it will make your cheerleader as a whole stand out more to have double the amount of cheerleaders on the floor.

JV-Only Events

Allow your JV cheerleaders to participate in a few functions that are just for them.  They could attend a competition with a JV category or perform at a community event that the Varsity is not attending.  Our JV Cheerleaders got participate in a parade and school carnival last year that the varsity could not go to because of an away game.  The JV cheerleaders had a great time and the varsity was able to watch the parade from the sidelines and support them before getting on the bus.

If you are lucky enough to have a youth program in your area that feeds into your school, work with those coaches.  Let them know what is expected of the cheerleaders and what you would like to see.  You could even go as far as having them attend some of your practices.  Your cheerleaders could teach the youth some of the traditional cheers and chants from your school and even the fight song.  It will make both programs better.

The most important thing is to remember that these kids are all really the same.  School Spirit should be equal regardless of what squad you are on.  Varsity gets more benefits because they have the better skills, but they are not better people. 

Cheers,

*\o/*

CW3