What are you afraid of? Jumping backward into a standing back handspring? Staying tight in that extended liberty?

No matter how great of a cheerleader you are, there is always one skill that makes your palms sweat. For some athletes its tumbling skills, for others it’s stunting—and not just flying either-- there are lots of bases and back spots out there afraid to catch full downs, basket tosses, and other higher level stunts.

Not only can fear keep you from reaching your goals as a cheerleader, it can also increase your chances of being injured. Fear can cause you to panic during a skill. A classic example of this is the flyer that lands face down in a full down cradle because she freaks out and reaches for her back spot as she twists.

If you want to conquer your fear of a particular skill once and for all, check out these 6 tips.

 

Tip #1:                  Talk It Out

Sometimes when you keep something bottled up inside it can grow and take on a life of its own. Your slight apprehension about extensions can build and become a fear which makes you feel sick to your stomach when you are asked to try them.

Don’t let this happen. You should feel safe talking to your coach or team mates. Your coach, in particular, understands fear and he or she is there to support you and help you through it. Tell your coach that you are afraid. A good coach will listen and help you move past your fear. When you are ready to attempt the skill, your coach will be there to support you.

 

Tip #2:                  Be Honest

Be honest with yourself and your coach. Try to get to the heart of why you are afraid. Sometimes when you break your fear down and get to the bottom of it you will find it isn’t as scary as you once thought.

What is it you are actually afraid of? It isn’t the toe touch basket toss. Is it the height? Maybe the thought that you won’t get caught? When you take the fear away from the skill and bring it back to what ‘could happen’ you may find that what you are afraid of isn’t likely to happen. For example, your bases will catch your toe touch basket toss. If you have progress to USASF level 3 tosses that means you have mastered level 2. If they can catch the straight basket toss, they’ll have no trouble with the toe touch toss.

 

Tip #3:                  Trust Yourself

You can achieve anything you set your mind to with practice and support. That said, check you’re your coach before you attempt a new skill to make sure he or she feels you are ready for it. Your coach wouldn’t allow you to attempt skills they didn’t think you were capable. Trust yourself, and while you’re at it—trust your coach!

Practicing will help you feel confident in what you can do and will give you opportunities to master new skills. After all, you can’t learn to do a standing back tuck if you never get on the mat. Trust in your capabilities comes from having confidence in your abilities. In order to be sure that you can master a new skill, you will need to remember that you have made it through all of the steps and come this far.

 

Tip #4                    Honor Progressions

There is a reason progression are so important in cheerleading, each skill builds on another. For example, you need to learn to cradle safely form an extension, or catch an extension cradle, before you progress on to basket tosses which have more height and therefore more force as they come down.

It is important to remember that you must not attempt a new skill until you have mastered the skills leading up to it. Don’t try to rush ahead. Skipping progression will not only make it harder to learn new skills, it could lead to injury.

 

Tip #5:                  Be Patient

Remember that everyone learns at their own pace. It can be frustrating when a new girl comes into your gym and hits her back walkover in her first two weeks even though you have been working on it for months, but stop obsessing about it. Stressing out about someone else’s progress will slow yours down.

The only competition you have is yourself. You are not trying to be better than your team mates by practicing, you are trying to be better than you were yesterday. And each day builds a stronger, more skilled you.

 

Tip #6:                  Let It Go!

Make like everybody’s favorite ice queen and just let go. Let go of the fear. This may sound easier said than done, but when you go back and try all of the tips above, you may find you can free yourself of the fear that is holding you back. After all, to be afraid or not to be afraid, the choice is yours.

When you feel fear putting the brakes on your progress—let it go!