I Need Help With My Cheerleading, Mentally (it Is A Long Story)

[Emerson_Cheer]

Hi all,
I am in serious trouble and i need help but first you need to understand my story.
So i joined my club at the beginning of the year and was in a level 1 team that trained twice a week.It didn't take long until i fell in love with the sport! i loved my team and even more importantly i loved learning new skills. After three solid weeks in August i had already learned my handspring and was just flying with my tumbles. So now i can tell you the problem. A few weeks ago before tryouts and after our last competition when i injured my wrist and ankle that i lost the drive to learn new tumbles! Previously i remember spending all night working on my kick-overs and handstands and didn't care about the injuries and stuff but now i don't bother to do anything like that. I just completely lost the urge to tumble. and it kills me because i LOVE cheerleading! even worse is that i have a friend that was always at the same skill level as me and we basically learned new skills together when i think about it but now ive stopped tumbling, shes over passed me and is working on harder stunts and tumbles and it just makes me extremely sad and jealous. But this was nothing until today when i got home from optional holiday training and felt so depressed and down (i'm usually screaming at my mum with excitement telling her everything that had happened at practice) and i realized how everything had changed and i just wanted to cry. I want everything to go back to the way it was before. To when i had super high goals that i loved to strive to achieve.
So now you know my problem does anyone know how i can get my love of cheerleading back? The urge to tumble and to get rid of my jealousy?
Please help me because it is eating me up from inside
Cheers xx
(by the way i'm an Australian cheerleader)

 

[Matt Faherty]

When did you injure yourself? Does the injury still hurt when you tumble?


I have had two similar past experiences. Once after spraining and ankle, the other after injuring my neck working standing fulls. Both of which I have fully recovered my ability to tumble, as well as continued to progress. But before I share my stories, answer my questions above. =)

 

[Emerson_Cheer]

I have to have a brace on my wrist otherwise its absolutely not possible for me to tumble or i can only do standing tucks and sometimes i need to wear an ankle brace because when i land things like round-off tucks the pain basically sends me to the ground and not being able to walk properly for a while. and i've had this problem since the beginning of November i think? or end of October? Matt Faherty

 

[ilikebigbows]

The want to tumble is a choice. Do you want it? Then do it. If you truly want something, go get it! Everything sucks a little bit until it's completed. I've been stuck on a plateau like that before - content with what I had. You will basically have to force yourself to try new things. Bribe yourself if that's what it takes. Sitting around doing nothing won't help you learn skills. There is nothing more satisfying than doing a new skill for the first time. Find that feeling and fight for it. I guarantee that once you master something new, your love for tumbling will return!

 

[justpeachy]

I think rule #1 to success is never compete with anyone but yourself. I never ends well. Very rarely there can be healthy friendly competition where both parties cause each other to work harder and improve. But most often, someone ends up left behind.

You have to set your mind to being YOUR personal best. Be better tomorrow than you were today. Every time. Your desire to grow needs to be internal, not external. Does that make sense?

It's just my opinion. Others may disagree, but I think this is important.

 

[Mamarazzi]

I know I've struggled with self-motivation! But I agree whole-heartedly with Matt - you want it? Take it.
As far as the jealousy and sadness, it definitely puts your own insecurities under a microscope when your friend surpasses you. So the only thing you can do is support her. Yell for her, encourage her, cheer for her, boost her up. It may feel awkward and go against everything you want to say or do, but it will put you on a positive path, rather than the negative one you're on now.
Good luck, pumpkin!

 

[Matt Faherty]

First, and foremost, you need to look at what is causing the pain in you ankles and wrists. Pain can be a huge limiter when it comes to motivation.

If you have sprained your ankles in the past, you need to rehabilitate them so that you can tumble pain free. A brace should be a temporary fix. Much like a band-aid. The permanent solution is to strengthen the muscles and tissues that control the ankle to regain the stability and proprioception (balance... for simplicities sake).

Wrist pain is generally a sign that your body is not conditioned properly to bear weight on your hands. After all, our bodies have evolved hundreds-of-thousands of years to walk on our feet not our hands... so it takes a little bit of conditioning to prepare your body to do so.

Once you can tumble uninhibited by pain, I am willing to bet you will see much more progress.

 

[Emerson_Cheer]

Thankyou All xoxox