Attention and recognition – it’s what cheerleaders live for, if you really think about it.

Why else do you think our competition floor is dressed up like a massive concert stage?

Because everyone wants to show the world what they got! And if what you have to show is amazing, creative and inspiring, then attention and recognition should come standard.

Except that they don’t.

You can work your butt off every day, only to hop on Vine to see a thousand other cheerleaders who can fly as well as you, tumble as well as you, stunt as well as you, and even twerk… uhh, I mean dance as well as you.

So, how can you stand out?

Well the answer is, I don’t exactly know. And even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you. Not because I want to be mean, but I believe sometimes it’s more beneficial to know what not to do, than what to do.

So below are a list of things I’ve noticed over the years that are guaranteed to turn anyone into just another generic, self-tanning, bow-wearing cheerleader that no one cares about. See how many you’re guilty of…

1. Attention Seeking

Since when did this sport become a constant measure of how many followers you have on Twitter? Or how many hearts you get on Instagram? Or the number of likes you receive on Facebook?

Everywhere I look, I see desperate cries for validation; “help me get more followers!”, “please follow me!”, “my follower count makes me sad…”

But the question is “Why?”

Why should I, or anyone for that matter, follow you? What value will you bring to my life if I follow you? Will you tweet out inspirational quotes that will make my day? Will you post exciting pictures from competitions? Will you go out of your way to tweet out advice when I need it the most?

If not, the amount of followers you have won’t matter. It’ll just be a number that makes you feel good – temporarily.

Do you know why Gabi Butler has so many followers?

You could say it’s because of the show Cheerleaders, but that’s only half the truth. The real reason is that she inspires cheerleaders all over the world with her stretching videos on YouTube, and she’s also a very supportive and positive person. Basically, she brings massive value and good feelings to everyone’s lives.

So when you talk about Gabi, the question isn’t “Why?” but instead, “Why wouldn’t you follow her?”

See the difference?

Now I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with having lots of followers. But for crying out loud, if you want a large fan base, then do something spectacular and inspiring to make the world of cheerleading a better place. For example, AddictedToTumbling currently has over 1300 followers on Twitter and over 2200 likes on our Facebook page.

Why?

Because we answer questions, tweet funny and useful videos, post drills you can use, articles you may like etc. See it’s not about us, it’s about you. When you follow ATT, you reap the benefits from doing so, not us.

So don’t push people into hitting the like or follow button, attract them. Or as my girls would say, “stop being so thirsty!”

2. Doing The Bare Minimum

You show up to every practice, try your hardest, do what your coaches tell you, and go home when it’s time to go home. You think to yourself that if you keep this up, eventually you’ll become just as good as the world champions, right?

Heh. Wrong.

I can tell you right now that if all you’re doing is training during team practice times, you will be average… at best.

But if you want to be great, you’ve gotta go above and beyond. The best cheerleaders I know, spend time beyond normal practices; they sign up for private lessons, take extra tumbling classes, take advantage of open gyms, push themselves by competing in solos, duos or stunt comps, and take care of their bodies by eating a healthy diet.

Basically, things that any other professional athlete would do.

To give you an example, I make all my top tumblers do solo’s and duos. In fact, I even made two of my girls compete their solos against each other last year. I trained them equally, of course, and simply said “may the best girl win.”

Why?

Because it’s simple – the pressure of competition brings out the best in an athlete… and it did.

See, going “full out” can only replicate 99% of the experience of an actual competition – at best. There’s just nothing that can replace the lights, the loud music, the roar of the crowd and the watchful eye of the judges.

Want to stand out from the crowd? This is how you do it. Remember, the only way to create a diamond is under pressure.

3. Being Un-Coachable

With close to 40,000 hits, my article on the coachability index is definitely one of the most popular ones I’ve written. I don’t say this to impress you, but to impress upon you how beneficial the cheer community thought it was.

In fact, some coaches have made it a mandatory read for all of their athletes (which is the best compliment I could’ve ever gotten – so thank you!)

Basically, if you aren’t coachable then it doesn’t matter how good your facility is, how supportive your friends are, or how deep your pockets go… because nothing will make you a better athlete.

Ignoring advice because it seems “basic”, assuming you know everything, or thinking that you’re the hottest thing around is a good way to guarantee that you’ll become a cheerleader that will go unnoticed – or even hated.

But if you want to be something special, you need to know where your coachability index lies, then you need to learn how to increase it, and keep it there.

“The only way to create a diamond, is under pressure” (tweet this)

Once you do this, almost anything is possible. More details on that right here.

4. Being Dumb

You and I both know that pom-poms and Hollywood movies have given cheerleaders a rep for being dainty, ditsy and clueless. So to be honest, this sport doesn’t need any more athletes that will feed into such a stereotype. It’s quite annoying when people assume my athletes must lack intelligence just because they’re cheerleaders.

The actual fact of the matter is, most allstar cheerleaders are actually pretty well educated, doing well in school, and have aspirations for college or university – just like any other competitive athlete.

But let’s say you want to take it a step further and not only be known as an intelligent athlete, but a sophisticated athlete. You know, someone that has their “stuff” together.

What can you do? Well here are a few things to get you started:

• Read one good book per week (remember, leaders are always readers, and Twilight doesn’t count)
• Know what’s going on in the world. Or hell, just know where stuff is in the world; fire up Google Earth once in a while so that when your friend says they’re going to Singapore, you don’t assume it’s somewhere in South America (yes, that really happened)
• Stop watching idiotic reality shows (Cheerleaders is obviously an exception)
• Stop fangirling over celebrities, or even a cheerlebrities. Focus on your skills and making your own life exciting, then people will be fangirling you one day.

“Leaders are always readers” (tweet this)

• Have some dreams and goals in your life; know what you want, then go after it and don’t stop till you get it.
• Listen twice as much as you talk. And if you talk a lot, you may want to cut down on that so you instantly end up listening more.
• Think before you speak (I cannot stress this one enough).
• Stop writing as if u r txting all da dam time. No one will hire a person that uses “lol’s” and “lmfao’s” in their resume.

5. Disloyalty

I know I refer to the “cheerlebrities” quite a bit in my articles, but they make for such great examples that it’s hard to ignore it. So again, if you think about most of the well known cheerleaders, you’ll notice they aren’t just known for their skills, but the teams they’ve been a part of for a long time.

Angel Rice is a Stingray, not just some cheerleader that’s on Stingrays.

Jamie Andries is a Cheetah.

Kiara Nowlin and Gabi are part of the SMOED family. [Edit: This article was written before Gabi went to GymTyme]

Their loyalty is part of their identity. Now I’m not saying that if you’re on a team, that you should stay with them for the rest of your life. I understand that some clubs offer opportunities that your current one cannot.

However, if you’ve made a commitment to a team and a group of athletes, have the guts to stick to it for the season. No one cares if you can double full when you’re a quitter. And once a quitter, always a quitter.

Don’t be the one that drops out in the middle of a season when your coach has spent hours on choreographing the damn thing with your spot in mind. Rearrangement is a hassle, and you’ll most likely burn the bridge with your coach, along with everyone on that team.

In my opinion, that’s a very unwise decision. Cheer may be growing as a sport, but let’s not forget that the end of the day, all we have is each other.

If you do want to switch teams, have the decency to let your coach and fellow athletes know in advance.

Give enough time to find a replacement, so that the transition is smooth. Not only will you stay in the good books with everyone in the community, but it’ll have a couple other benefits:

• You current coach most likely has connections, and will give you a glowing recommendation so you have a better chance of making the new team.
• When you work a real job, having this skill set can come in very handy when you’re ready to move on to a better job than the one you currently have. Not only will your boss love you for making the transition easy, but could write you a positive referral letter.
• People will know, like and trust you because your reputation will be known as the athlete who actually walks their talk.

To sum it up, loyalty pays. And if you do it right, there will be no hard feelings even when you do have to leave – because let’s face it, nothing lasts forever.

“Cheer may be growing… but let’s not forget that at the end of the day, all we have is each other” (tweet this)

And finally, we have the very last thing that makes you a boring cheerleader no one will care about…

6. Listening To Justin Bieber

Ok you can relax, I’m just kidding.

Mostly.

Plus, I thought he’s now retired? 😉

Now I’d like to hear your thoughts – how many of these things are you guilty of? Be honest and let me know in the comment section below. No one is judging.