With the officially finished football season, most of the world will not think of the gridiron as long as the leaves start to turn around. But there is a group of people who accelerate for weeks of competition with their eyes on the line of 50 yards: the hopes of nfl joy.
Each year, the NFL Cheer teams have open auditions for new members during the winter and early spring months. Current cheerlers realize, familiar faces return in the hope of doing a team after years of testing, and new candidates recruited on the lawn for the first time.
Dance spirit spoke to four current and ancient cheerlers of the NFL what it takes to do the team.
Choose a team
When it comes to choosing a team, you should consider things like location, dance style and culture. If you know that you cannot manage harsh winters, it should take into account your decision -making. Use social media to your advantage by looking at images not only dance routines, but also behind the scenes of the cheerlers. Discover the team initiatives – are they align with the causes that matter to you?
For Maclaine Funsch, an Indianapolis Colts cheerlead on three times, the choice of a team was obvious. She remembers one of her friends showing a video on Instagram that has aroused her interest. “These are the cheerlers (colts) on the ground, dressed in big inflatable costumes, making a dance for Halloween. This is really my sense of humor. These tend to be the types of people I surround myself with. ” She looked further in the cheerlers of the colts and found that they had a strong emphasis on the plea in mental health, a cause which has always been important to her. “I thought they are good people. Let me try, ”explains Funsch. “And the rest is history.”
Nicole DESANTIS, a cheerleader Falcons five times, attended Pro Action Dance while being a member of the Carolina dance team during the University of the University of South Carolina. There, she saw the Atlanta Falcons cheerlers for the first time. She immediately loved the versatility of the team's dance style as well as coaches who focus on being a well -balanced person outside joy (they call it to be a man or a woman wow). “They support us a lot outside of cheerleading. (…) They always say that (being a cheerleader), it is the icing on our cake – it is not the complete cake. ”
Physical preparation
The hearing process obliges dancers to play in several cutting cycles and to practice by themselves to perfect the choreography. And it is in addition to any other dance and teaching commitment that they already have. This great physical activity in such a short time weighs on the body and may require more intentional training routines and eating habits.
The former Washington commanders order the cheerleader and the nutritional therapy practitioner Ally Miller made his goal of making success during the hearing process by helping them to feed their bodies as athletes. She highlights the realistic deadlines for the hearing season. According to her, if you are trying to improve your overall physical form or change the composition of your body, you should start the months of processes before presenting yourself before the panel of judges, not weeks. “Body composition changes take time. People also want to improve their energy level and endurance – it also takes time, and you have to train in some way for that. ”
Miller shares a useful change of mind with Dance spirit For the dancers who train at the gymnasium: “Many dancers have the mentality that we are going to the gymnasium to burn calories. It is not motivating. You should go to the gymnasium to be a better dancer and train for dance.”
The Patriots Pom-Pom three times Taylor Yeley loves weight transformation. It makes her feel strong and powerful, she says, and helps her feeling both mentally and physically prepared for hearings. She does it with stretch lessons, pilates, yoga and daily dance. Yeley uses dance lessons not only to train physically but to keep her brain clean and ready to take a new choreography.
Take a moment for mental health
The hearing experience for a team from Cheer NFL can be as stressful as it is exciting. How can beginners keep their anxiety in check?
According to Funsch, the mental side of hearings is the most important and the most individual. She says that it is not because a state of mind or a routine works for a dancer that it is universal. “You have to find what works for you.” She uses what she calls “Blinders hearing”. This means that she applauds her hopes colleagues but does not look too far, watch their videos or generally compare herself to them. Funsch also returns, meditates and reaffirms his own confidence daily.
Speaking of claims, Yeley helped go through years of hearings. She likes to recite them in her car before high pressure situations. They serve as a technique of significant land in an industry where disappointment can be common. “Just to remind you that whatever happens, you are always a great person and all these incredible things.” His favorite statements?: “I'm strong.” “I'm beautiful.” “I have courage.” “I am without limits.”
The decline is 20/20
Looking back on her very first hearing, Desantis wants her to be able to tell her young person not to worry about the others. Its essential advice is to understand your unique contribution to a team rather than modeling yourself after the current team members. “We already have a cheerleader from the Falcons of Atlanta Nicole. Who knows? We may want a cheerle of Falcons from Atlanta Brianna. ”
Miller's biggest advice that she would share with her young person is to delete pressure as much as possible. “We put so much pressure on ourselves, and this pressure will not be part of the team. You must put yourself in a mental state where you can dance your best and have fun, and it will manifest. ”
Higher advice
Nicole Desantis: Dance big! “When you dance, act as if you were on a football field with 80,000 people in the crowd. (…) If you think you dance big, dance 20 times bigger.”
Ally Miller: “I often see people confusing nutrition with the diets and the culture of the diet. Nutrition is so wide and so individualized. Do not believe all the modes you see on the internet – do your homework and do your own research. ” She also suggests investing time and money with a professional to guide you, if possible.
Maclaine Funsch: Even when you don't play, you are observed. The judges want to know that you can hear yourself with a large group of people and be a member of a united team. “You must make sure that you are talking to people and that you encourage them and show this side of your personality.” This can also make the process more fun, says Funsch and eliminate pressure.
Taylor Yeley: Yeley uses a mental tip to deal with her nerves. Knowing that the same part of the brain activates during fear and excitement, she tells herself that she is excited until she feels real. “If you say that you are excited, then you are excited. It's the same physical reaction.”
