I went to cheerleader competition this weekend in Myrtle Beach, SC. I was able to identify several of the techniques that we have learned in this class. My niece is 12 years old and participates in competition cheerleading. She has a love of the sport, and a mental toughness that I found special for someone her age. She participated on two teams based on her skill level. The event was two days. After the first day of competition, both her teams were in fourth place. She is very dramatic, and normally this would have been upsetting to her. She always expects to win first place. On the second day, she said to me, it is okay, we know that we did not do our best, and it is on us as a team to correct our mistakes and we will. I recognized this as an optimistic explanatory style. She displayed some of the techniques I recognize as using self talk. She said to me when she first hits the stage, she looked for us and she saw me with the camera. After identifying where we were, she said she zones out, and is able to talk herself through the routine. She is truly an amazing and positive young lady.