4 Ways to Be a Role Model

A good athlete is successful in her sport, but a good sport makes people around her better as well. Here are four ways you can be a role model for others: Be a winner off the field or outside the gym, too. If you have what it takes to be successful at a sport like cheerleading, you are probably a driven and motivated person who seeks to do your best in everything. This is a great example to set as a leader. You don’t have to be that girl who can never hang out with her friends because she’s studying every second she’s not at practice, but you can strike a balance that works for you so you are doing your best at school and cheer, while still enjoying time with your friends and family. One of the many great things about being a cheerleader is that studying and practicing can overlap with spending time with your friends‚ your friends are at cheer practice too, and they are probably in a lot of your classes. Give back. A good sport recognizes that she works hard, but her success is also due to good coaching, supportive parents, encouraging teammates, etc. Recognize that you’ve been given a lot, and you are in a position to give back to others. You can do this by giving back to your teammates and helping out in the community. Inspire your teammates. A good athlete may try to inspire her teammates by showing them how good she is, but a good sport inspires her teammates by showing them how good they are. Give them a pep talk, fire them up, point out what they’re good at, and celebrate their successes. Don’t shy away from your own accomplishments. Finding the line between confident and arrogant can be difficult. Some people are so afraid of coming across as arrogant that they err on the side of caution, deflecting all compliments and not acknowledging their successes. But there is nothing wrong with being good! You worked hard for it. Own it and enjoy it! A better option when someone compliments you on your skills or performance is to be a gracious winner, saying something like, “Thank you, that’s so nice of you to say. We’ve been working really hard, and it helps having such good teammates and coaching.” How do you set a good example for others? Who is your role model?