We’ve all been there. A stunt doesn’t work. A teammate isn’t trying hard enough. You can’t land your back handspring. No matter what you’re trying to accomplish, it just won’t happen. At this point, frustration sets in and that’s where many cheerleaders hit their wall.

Frustration creates a cycle of problems that can lead to a defeated attitude or even quitting. The trick is to be able to recognize the problem and address it. Once you are aware of what is happening, there are a couple of steps you can do to help break the cycle and ultimately emerge successful.

At the first sign of frustration, stop what you’re doing. The best and most immediate action should be to do nothing. Take a break, get some water and go for a quick walk. Remove yourself from the environment causing the frustration, take a few deep breaths and attempt to refocus. Trying to push through the frustration by repeating the same action over and over again simply doesn’t work. If you continue to push forth doing the same thing the same way, why would you think the outcome would be different?

Once you have had a chance to step away from the situation and clear your head, it’s time to figure out what went wrong. Ask your coach or a teammate to watch the skill and see if they can determine what you might be doing wrong. A video camera is also a great tool to utilize. Record what you are doing and then go back to watch yourself perform the skill.

The next step you might think to be obvious: fix what is wrong. But if it was that easy, then the skill would already be hitting. Once you have an idea of what is wrong, take two steps back and try to work a basic or fundamental drill that will eventually lead to the skill in question. For example, if you are having issues locking your arms out in a back handspring, don’t just try to do another back handspring. Instead, work on your bridges and locking your arms out in a bridge position. Then practice your sitting and jumping. After more fundamental work and repetition, your body will start to realize what it must do to correctly perform the skill. With hard work and focus, a couple of practices are all it will take for you to have your skill perfected.

When it comes time to begin working the skill again, be sure to think through the skill as you are practicing it. Focus on one thing at a time and not everything at once. Try not to rush to the end of the skill if you are having trouble at the beginning and be sure to take your time to carefully work through each phase of the skill. With plenty of fundamental preparation, you will surely break through the wall you’ve hit and ultimately perform the skill in question.

Frustration is a nasty little devil and once it takes hold, it can be incredibly hard to break free from. Just remember to give yourself a break, to determine what exactly is going wrong, to then work on a fundamental surrounding the problem and to lastly, begin to work on the skill again. By going through this process and keeping a positive attitude, frustration will never hold you back again.