It was a Monday practice, my competitive cheer team and I had been sweating the entire two hours and were ready to go home. My coaches, Gianna, otherwise known as G, and Shawn told us that there was something important that we needed to talk about before we could leave. They had huge smiles plastered across their faces, so we assumed it was good news. The tone of Coach G’s voice was even more upbeat than usual, and she was normally a very happy person. Shawn started talking about the conference he went to over the weekend. We were all waiting for the point of his story and the excitement in the room continued to grow. He announced that there would be a new division this year that was eligible for the world championship. This division would be geared towards small gyms, like ours, and would help them to be more successful. This new division sounded great to me and all my teammates. We were really excited at the prospect of winning worlds. Then reality hit. Shawn announced the new division would be extra small, meaning there could only be 14 members to compete. This meant four of us would be alternates. At that moment my heart sank. I was devastated, I had finally reached my goal of making level five and it was slipping through my fingers. It was my senior year and I was so excited to compete but alternates never even get to step foot on the mat. I felt like giving up, I lacked many of the skills my teammates had. Stunting was the reason I got put on the team. There was an extra …show more content…
I completely changed my mindset. I needed to prove to my coaches that I deserved a spot on the mat. My plan was to attend as many tumbling classes as would fit into my schedule. I began tackling one skill at a time improving my chances every day. I gave 100% at every practice to show my coaches that I was willing to work for it. This goal consumed my life by taking every opportunity I could to spend at the gym. The blue mats became a more familiar sight than my own house. Coach G began making jokes that I was there more than she was. As I continued to work, I began to see improvement in my tumbling. Slowly, I was starting to get more skills and my coaches were noticing. One skill I had been struggling on for what seemed like an eternity, was my standing back tuck. For level five, I not only needed that skill but also needed to be able to connect it with a toe touch. This skill haunted me for years, becoming more of a mental obstacle than a physical one. I knew this was the skill that would skyrocket my chances. The day my standing back tuck clicked, my self-esteem blossomed and all my other skills started falling into place. My outlook suddenly changed, and I began seeing my spot on the team became a realistic possibility. My whole mindset was different, I finally believed in