Cheerleading has been a part of my life for years. It started as something I did just for fun and turned into my biggest passion and inspiration. "Non-cheerleaders" see athletes in crop tops and big, teased ponytails, but it's so much more than that. My gym became the place I wanted to go to when I was having a bad day, or needed a break from reality, and my team became my second family. It slowly developed into more than a sport -- more than uniforms, bows, and glitter. I have learned numerous lessons through the countless hours of practicing and competing that have made me the person I am today.
1. Always work hard.
Cheerleading has taught me how to become a hard working, self-motivated athlete and person. You’re not going to be able to finish your routine without conditioning. A new stunt is not going to hit perfectly 10 out of 10 times. You won’t land every tumbling pass easily. You might try a new skill 100 times, but when you finally hit it that 101st, that feeling is unlike any other. No matter what you do in life, work hard at it. The process of hard work is not always pleasant, but when that work leads to success it is 100 percent worth it.
2. How to deal with failure.
But what happens when that hard work doesn’t lead to success? Most of us have a hard time dealing with failures, but when you put all of your time and effort into practices and working out, failing becomes even harder to deal with. Losing competitions, dropping stunts, busting tumbling passes are some of the worst feelings in cheerleading, but I have learned how to move on from that. You start to learn how to move on and become better the next time. You also have to realize that losing doesn’t always mean you failed. There’s more to the sport than winning every competition. As cliche as it sounds, as long as you do your absolute best, you succeeded at some level. You’re going to lose, and you’re going to fail. How you move on from that is what’s important.
3. Learning to trust others.
When you’re a part of a team, you have to learn how to trust each other. You learn how to work together to make a routine be the best it possibly can be. You have to trust that every athlete will do their part, fight for stunts, and land their tumbling passes. You have to put trust in your coaches and know that they will do what is best for the team every time. When one of us fails, we all fail; however, when one succeeds, we all succeed together.
4. Confidence is the key to accomplishment.
Whatever you’re doing in cheerleading, you have to be confident in. If you’re doubting a certain skill, you probably won’t land it. Every single thing you do, you need to go into knowing you can do it. No questions, no doubts. But you can’t always do that alone. You need to have confidence in yourself, but also in others. When a teammate is doubtful about something, do everything you can to instill confidence in them. We all struggle with certainty, and sometimes we just need an extra “you got this,” to realize that we definitely do. It’s easy to struggle with confidence, but cheerleading has helped me learn how to be more confident with myself and others.
I am forever grateful for a sport that I have gained so much from. These have been lessons I have learned in the gym, but they have also been used outside of that in everyday life. I think we all struggle with these problems, but I am thankful to cheerleading for giving me more than just uniforms and bows. It has given me memories and lessons that will last a lifetime.
