Ask an elite athlete in any sport how they achieved success and they’ll tell you they had high expectations for their success and got where they are today by setting goals and working hard. Cheer Sport Shark athletes develop a set of goals as a team and individually, guided every step of the way by our coaching staff. What can you do to prepare to meet those goals?
Reach for your goals with a Positive Attitude. Do it for your love of the sport. Aim to be the best cheerleader that you can be, rather than the most decorated: winning feels good at the time, but it’s not everything. The greatest reward an athlete can have is self-confidence in a job well done. When you focus on being ready and able for yourself and for your team, you’ll have the best time ever no matter the score!
Design a Realistic Schedule to meet your goals. You know your mind and body better than anyone, and you have to listen to them. Setting the goal to conquer a back flip in a week could put too much stress on your body and lead to injury. Many Cheer Sport Shark athletes are in school full time, and have family commitments, on top of regular practices, which is why setting a schedule based on a healthy balance of activities is important to meeting your athletic goals.
Set Mini-Goals and celebrate them as you go! For example: This week you will hold that wobbly pose just a few seconds longer, because your main goal is to hold the pose for the whole time by the end of the month. Or, this month you will pay close attention to how your body feels after practice because you want to take some extra tumbling classes but you aren’t sure if you are ready to add that to your schedule. Recognizing small steps forward as success instead of not enough is a real confidence booster. Those small successes are wonderful because they demonstrate progress.
Know where to go to Ask For Help. There are many resources available to help you meet your goals safely, realistically, and strongly so that you can maintain your new skills and build on them for years to come. Take feedback from your coaches with that positive mind we first talked about, and let them know right away if you don’t understand some of their corrections. Be sure to tell them if you’re feeling pain, or if a movement doesn’t feel right so that they can help you adjust safely. Talk to them about videos to watch or other athletes at the gym to observe to see how others execute a move or what kind of exercises they do to prepare. And don’t forget that your teammates are there for you! You’ve got a lot of support excited to help you, just ask!
Parents and guardians, are you unsure how you can best support your Cheer Sport Shark athlete? That positive attitude we talked about here and an open ear are highly beneficial. Talk to your child’s coach, or call us at; 1-888-252-4337 (1-888-25-CHEER) for more information.
