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Practice Makes Perfect

When I first joined cheerleading I never realized how much it would affect my life or even become such a big part of my life. When I started in 7th grade I was 100 percent positive I wouldn't stunt or tumble because I was too scared. I had low self esteem being bullied so I never thought I could be successful in stunting or tumbling. In 10th grade I finally gave both a shot, but I failed horribly the first 500 times. My arms hurt because I had a hard time holding the flyer up and my arms didn't lock out in a backhand spring. After 3 months of trying, I was strongly deciding on quitting my favorite sport because I didn't improve and the nasty remarks from my teammates just made me feel depressed. The nasty remarks pushed me to work harder. I started practicing tumbling 3 times a week, 3 hours total. Five months later I had a backhand spring with my arms locking out. 6 months after that I had a straight, solid, clean,long, perfect and very high backhand spring. I came a long way to get a perfect backhand spring and I improved so much. I used to be scared of everything and getting my backhand spring made me fearless. After my arms locked out, I assumed if I never thought my arms would lock out then that means I can get the very high, straight, solid, clean,long and perfect backhand spring I always wanted. So after my arms locked, I worked very hard everyday doing conditioning drills like jumping up and down, push ups, crunches, handstands and running. I listened to my coach and did all the drills she gave me. I just started flying and I went straight up without falling my first attempt and I know that's because I had the body strength from a back handspring and I was 100 confident that I would succeed. A lot of people don't go up perfectly in the air on the first attempt so I truly believe it was the body strength drills I did for tumbling. I used to collapse on the mat because I didn't have the strength for a handstand and since then I have come a long way. I put my heart and soul into working hard at practice and the goals I achieved in the sport has made me a stronger and confident person. One day our team will make it to the WORLDS competition on ESPN and I will write about our success in two years. I can't wait for that time to come.

Submitted by Cara