Julia Cunningham explained that the women’s swim team has a different pre-game ritual that she participates in before relays as opposed to individual races. Others have more to do with activities in the training room-heating, getting wrapped/taped-I think these can be as much a ritual as physically beneficial.” Another place habits and rituals come into play during competition is when specific events occur or an athlete needs to perform a specific skill they don’t necessarily perform all the time. “A lot of teammates use hair as a ritual I think. “įor senior field hockey captain and women’s lacrosse player, Enya Cunningham, pre-game rituals can take any form. We all walk out in two uniform lines to the field. We then come together, bang our sticks on the locker to get riled up and then come together for a cheer. When we are all ready our coach comes in to give his pump up speech and show us a motivational video. After our individual pre-games we come together in the locker room and play pump up music on the speakers. “A lot of the players like to do their own thing individually, which usually consists of listening to music. While Shumate explained that she didn’t have her own conscious rituals, her team had pre-game habits that she was a part of and that they replicated before each game. I just do what I think will best prepare myself for the game and what I will be most comfortable in.”Īnother way rituals and habits show up here at Vassar College is within teams as a whole before games. It’s not a conscious decision of mine to wear or do the same things before a game. But many other players like to wear braids. “I just put my hair in a pony tail with a headband. Sophomore field hockey player Lauren Shumate explained in an emailed statement as well that she doesn’t necessarily have pre-game habits or rituals herself. While many individual athletes do have rituals, for others pre-game rituals and habits are not a part of their pre-game preparation. In between warm-up and opening face-off, he’d return to his locker room drink a Diet Coke, glass of ice water, Gatorade and another Diet Coke.
He would always take his first shot during warm-ups to the extreme right of the goal. But many were specific, competition rituals. He refused to ever get his hair cut while on the road because he lost once after doing so. Gretzky, known as ‘The Great One’ for his prolific hockey career, was well known for his own rituals and superstitions. Wayne Gretzky, a Hall of Fame forward who played in the NHL is one such example. Just like Cunningham, many highly successful athletes even at the pro-level, have come to develop strict pregame rituals. For every meet in general, I like to wear the same goggles the entire meet, and, for multiple day events, I never shower. Before my races, to get out of my head, I like to go around and wish everyone in the lanes next to me good luck. If I do well after listening to a specific song on my iPod, I’ll listen to that song again before any race. I try to wear the same clothes throughout the entire meet (even it if its a four day meet…). I usually eat oatmeal every morning before I race. Sophomore swimmer Julia Cunningham (full disclosure Julia Cunningham is the Assistant Features Editor for the Miscellany News), who just competed at the NCAA National Championships over spring break, outlined some of her own personal habits during competition. Throughout their time with their respective sports, these athletes have come to develop their own habits and rituals before competition to help get them in the right mindset to win. They’ve been on many teams and competed at different levels. By the time student athletes at Vassar start their freshman year, they’ve generally been involved with their sport for many years.
An important method for many Vassar College athletes for controlling and boosting their mental game is the development of pre-game habits and rituals. But one of the biggest components that many people often ignore is the impact of mindset or the ‘mental game’ on the athlete. There is perseverance and dedication along with natural talent. There are the countless hours of physical training and hard work. Photo By: Vassar Athleticsįor athletes competing at any level of their sport, many different factors contribute to a victory or a loss. The swim team, like all sports teams, have their own unique set of pre-game rituals, setting their minds at ease. Sophomore Julia Cunningham takes off as teammates watch and prepare for their meets.
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