Author: Andre

Forbes published Business Leaders Can Rebound From Failure By Borrowing Psychological Skills From Elite Athletes, discussing how to recover from poor performances. The way you think about past failures greatly influences your future performances. Nobody understands this better than elite athletes. When they fall down, strike out, or miss the game winning shot, they have…

Entrepreneur published 9 Ways to Manage Underperforming Employees, giving advice regarding employees that aren’t pulling their weight. Astute business managers recognize that employee behavior is not the sole responsibility of the individual staffer, but rather something that both parties need to work on together.

Cheerleaders and dancers encouraged to lead communities in service projects MEMPHIS, Tenn., September 18, 2014 – Last week, Varsity Spirit kicked off National School Spirit Day, a day created in 2009 to recognize the great efforts of cheerleaders and dancers throughout the country on behalf of their schools and communities. Cheer and dance teams nationwide…

New Initiative Aims to Pay for One Day’s Operational Costs of the Hospital – $2 Million MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Sept. 16, 2014) – Beginning this October, Varsity All Star will be joining the Team Up for St. Jude campaign to help raise enough money to run St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® for a day – $2…

The Daily Athenaeum published Competitive Cheerleading Club Offers Exercise, Friends, discussing the club team at West Virginia University. Despite the intensity, cheerleading is rewarding, according to the team. The performances they put on are finely choreographed, and the applause from the judges and adoration of the crowd is enough to drive these girls to strive…

CBC News published Pro Cheerleading ‘Should be Abolished’, making a case for ending professional cheerleading. It’s a sound argument. Many women’s pro-sports teams still struggle for recognition. Meanwhile, men’s leagues take centre stage, where women’s main job is to look good and entertain the crowd.

Forbes published How To Mentally Prepare Yourself To Give The Performance Of Your Life, discussing how to mentally prepare for a major performance. So instead of imaging negative outcomes, Turner recommends using imagery (or visualization) in a positive manner. He suggests recreating past performances or rehearsing future performances in your head. The imagery should be…

Entrepreneur published What Makes a Great Boss?, talking about 5 things that great bosses do. Tough love is always the hardest thing to do but great bosses do what has to be done to help their people grow. More than anything that includes wasting no time telling them what’s holding them back.

Business Week published What Are NFL Cheerleaders Worth? Inside Their Fight for Minimum Wage, taking a look at the NFL cheerleader disputes from a financial perspective. As the plaintiffs pile on, fans are learning that the most powerful sports league in the U.S., with $9.7 billion in annual revenue, pays its sideline performers worse than…

Cheer Professional published Spotlight: Debbie Love, profiling the amazing tumbling expert. “I’m more concerned with athletes doing things right,” she says. “I don’t ever talk about winning. We talk about doing things right [and] hitting our routine, because eventually winning will take care of itself.”

The Wall Street Journal published Cheerleaders vs. NFL Teams: A Fair-Wage Fight, discussing the ongoing wage disputes with NFL cheerleaders. There is no professional organization for NFL cheerleaders, and they aren’t members of unions. Pay varies widely across the league. The Jets’ “Flight Crew” earned $150 a game last year, according to court papers. The…

Cheer Live published a promo video listing the event producer they’ll be working with during the 2014-15 season. You can also check their Schedule for the list of showcases they’ll be broadcasting this season, starting with Cheer Athletics, California, and Cheer Extreme in October. http://vimeo.com/105894312

UCA is celebrating 40 years and released a highlight video:

Forbes published Why Successful People Don’t Crumble Under Pressure, discussing the responses of people under pressure. What separates good athletes from extraordinary athletes is often their ability to perform in high pressure situations. The best skills in the world aren’t valuable if athletes can’t perform in when it matters most – in competition. Two people…

Entrepreneur published Fight Overthinking, That Destroyer of Decision Making, discussing why we overthink and how it impacts us. When making decisions under pressure, many professionals are plagued with a fear of making the wrong choice, selecting an option that could lead to business failure. This fear of failure, in itself, is not a bad thing.

CBS News published Will the Raiders’ $1.25M Settlement Fix Cheerleading?, discussing the Raiders settling one of the ongoing lawsuits with NFL cheerleaders. While the settlement is a victory for the Raiderettes, it may not fix the profession’s widespread problems, which include degrading treatment and what some may view as shockingly low pay, especially given that…

I’m one of the people that can reply to cheer rules questions sent to the USASF rules email address. I haven’t done much of that this summer, until recently probably spending less time in the account since Worlds than I do in a typically month during competition season. I recently returned to the account and…