Humility. It can be godawful and heart wrenching in the moment, but in the long run it can do wonders for the ownership you feel to your sport, your teammates, and yourself. However, the levels of humility vary depending on a few different elements: the situation in which you do something that causes humiliation or similarly, embarrassment, the people who are there to witness the event, and the degree to which your error was made.

If you’re lucky, you’ll mess up during a practice, or maybe a scrimmage. I know that on my cheerleading team, messing up in practice is looked down upon, but it is acceptable, especially if the team is just learning a new skill. However, I have always been told that “how you practice is how you perform”, and I truly believe that. If you don’t pull your tumbling pass or stick your stunt sequence in practice, you’re unlikely to do it at a game or competition. Messing up in practice is bad, but messing up in front of an audience, and especially in a competitive atmosphere is, at least in my eyes, worse. Continue reading “A little humility goes a long way” →