Superstitions and rituals are a part of sports, whether that be at the high school level, or professional level. Superstitions can also help relieve people of stress. An article done by Scientific American talked about a study done by the University of Singapore in 2018 that found that people experience less stress and perform better when they believe they have supernatural help in their corner. Athletes in particular have so many superstitions and rituals to help keep the stress of the game at bay. Many McCallum athletes, coaches and teams have superstitions.
Firstly, two McCallum athletes have their individual superstitions. Senior Tallulah McColgin, a varsity softball player, has her own lucky charm that she never plays without.
“I always have a lucky hat that I wear to games,” McColgin said. “I even try to get a new hat every year.”
It doesn’t matter if the hat is lucky or not; you won’t find her at a game without it.
Superstitions aren’t just for the field. Sophomore varsity swimmer Julep Ulack finds luck in her music and her suit before swim meets.
“Listening to a specific song before I race is sort of like a superstition,” Ulack said. “But also not washing my suit.”
For some people, not washing their uniforms is good luck, but for McCallum’s athletic director and head football coach Thomas Gammerdinger, it’s just gross.
“We make the kids wash their stuff pretty regularly because it would smell pretty bad,” said Gammerdinger.
He isn’t opposed to superstitions, though, and even has one of his own.
“I have the same marker for making corrections on the board and the same towel that I’ve used my entire career as a defensive coordinator,” said Gammerdinger.
Another McCallum coach with superstitions is junior varsity baseball coach Colton Collins. When he’s coaching, certain things need to be in order.
“I like the dugout to be very orderly and clean throughout the game,” said Collins. “Keeping things orderly is a way to reduce the chaos and stress of the game, which is what a superstition is supposed to do.”
When Collins plays baseball instead of coaching, his superstitions and routines are a little different.
“As a player, the biggest one for me was to never ever ever step on the white foul lines,” Collins said. “It is an unwritten rule of baseball.”
Superstitions like these stick with some athletes for the rest of their careers. Pre-game rituals and routines aren’t any different.
“I also had a routine when I stepped in the box,” said Collins. His routine is a detailed series of movements he does before he bats. It’s something he still uses today. “I did this every single time I ever played in high school, and still do when I play adult league baseball.”
Players can have a lot of personal superstitions, but entire teams can participate in rituals, routines, and superstitions. Before swim meets, the McCallum swim team will get together and prepare.
“We usually have a party and we carb load cause it is supposed to be good for you,” said Ulack.
Doing this before meets is a routine that doesn’t have supernatural beginnings, but has the same effect – the team thinks they’ll swim better if they carb load before meets. The McCallum softball and baseball teams have a shared ritual before games to help improve performance.
“We pray before every game,” said McColgin, a softball player.
“They have a ritual of a prayer before we begin the game,” said Collins.
Praying before games is something many teams do to get ready for games, but that doesn’t make it less impactful. The softball team also has routines they do on the bus ride to their games.
McColgin for instance, listens to music on the bus.
“I think a bus ride in silence would be so nerve-racking,” McColgin said.
For her, having a routine on the bus takes some of the stress away before the game even starts.
Professional athletes also have to deal with the stress of the game, so there is also a lot of incentive to have superstitions. One of these superstitious players is Kevin Rhomberg, a former MLB player for the Cleveland Indians who refused to turn right. While it might seem a little random, Rhomberg told author Russell Schneider that he avoided turning right because there were no right turns in baseball.
If you don’t play a sport, there’s no need to feel left out because some people even have rituals when they’re watching a sport and not playing it.
“I will sometimes try to speak things into existence, such as asking for a blocked field goal, bad snap, or a wild pitch or pitch in the dirt,” Collins said. “Occasionally, it has actually worked. So inherently, I continue to do it.”
His tactic might not work all the time, but it works enough for him to continue doing it. However, since superstitions and rituals don’t always work, you can’t solely rely on them.
“My philosophy is I just try to prepare as much as I can,” Gammerdinger said. While superstitions and rituals are a part of sports, they can’t replace the hard work and preparation athletes and coaches like Gammerdinger put into their performances.