Athletes use personal rituals to secure winning ways

By Tom Kennedy
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

When Boston Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciapara prepares for a game, he must go through his daily rituals and traditions to focus on playing baseball. Whether it is his stretching program, warming up his arm, or swinging his bat, everything is done the same way he has done it year in and year out.

"I've been doing the same thing for years, now, that it just happens; I don't realize it, but I know I'm doing it," said Garciapara in a interview with Boston Globe his rookie season.

Like many famous athletes, Norwich University student athletes have pre-game rituals and/or superstitions they feel they must observe before they step on the field, court or ice.

For many of the student athletes, pre-game rituals are performed to a perfect T, whether it is putting on that lucky t-shirt or saying the same prayer, nothing can be missed before they play.

Norwich hockey and soccer player Timmy Kyrkostas, a 22-year-old communications major from Hicksville, N.Y., has many rituals that he observes before and during both his soccer games in the fall and hockey games in the winter.

"Soccer and hockey are two different sports. I prepare differently in both but always have my mind set on winning," Kyrkostas said. "For hockey, I need to have my skates nice and sharpened, my sticks taped a certain way with a certain type of tape just the way I like it."

Not just before games but also throughout the game, there are certain items Kyrkostas must have in order to feel comfortable on the ice.

"I hardly ever break a stick on the ice, and if I do, I feel that I'm doing something wrong. Also, I've been wearing the same skates for 3 years, now. During periods, I take them off for a few minutes, walk around, then lace them back up a certain way, of course, before we get back on the ice," Kyrkostas stated.

Why Kyrkostas does these things baffles him. Since he was young, he has been superstitious and believes if he stops now, disaster will strike.

Superstition as defined in Webster's Dictionary is "a belief that is maintained despite evidence that it is unfounded or irrational." The athletes here at Norwich have their own definition of superstition and abide by it like a religion.

For Jason Schuler, the captain of the men's soccer team, superstition is a vital part of his pre-game warm-ups. Schuler, a 21-year-old business management major from Hopewell Jct., N.Y., has been playing soccer since he was seven, and as far as he can remember has played the same way throughout the years.

"I've always prepared for a game the same way. I just get relaxed and try and be by myself." Schuler said. "During college and high school before a game I get dressed the same way. From putting my shin pads on at a certain time to lacing my cleats up by going around the foot then under my ankle, fitting nice and snug on my feet, is just something that needs to be done before I play."

For Schuler, if his superstitions were broken or his cleats were tied incorrectly, he believes that his "performance wouldn't be the same."

In the fast moving, hard-hitting sport of rugby, spectators watch as the players whack heads, fight for the ball, and sacrifice their bodies for a victory. What they do not see is the mental and physical preparation rugby players go through.

For junior Kyle Kilimonis, a 21-year-old criminal justice major from Middleton, Mass., his superstition helps him survive the hard hits, long practices, and painful season of being a Norwich rugby player. Kilimonis, a 5'9'' 160 pound athlete, feels he is undersized for Division I rugby. So before games his mental preparation excites him to compete.

"Before the games, I just psych myself out. I'm much smaller than these guys, but I tell myself no one can stop me, and when I get out there, I've got no fear to lower my head and run into my opponent," Kilimonis said.

In addition to motivating himself to become fearless on the field, Kilimonis is very superstitious in what and how he handles himself before games. From waking up at the same time and wearing the same jacket and hat to the field, Kilimonis is sure not to lose track of his pre-game habits.

"Before games, I'm careful of what I do, making sure I did everything the same that I did the week before," Kilimonis said.

When playing baseball, C.J. Daley, a 20-year-old history major from Orange, Calif., is similar to Nomar Garciapara in the way he prepares for a game. Daley, who is very quiet and keeps to himself before games, focuses like Garciapara on his duties on the field.

On the field, Garciapara is seen doing several things, such as the fixing his batting gloves before every pitch, as well as running on and off the field a certain way. Like Garciapara, Daley has a ritual he goes through before stepping in the batter's box.

"Before I get in the box every at bat, I'm sure to tap both cleats with my bat, fix my helmet, tap my head, and then step into the box," Daley said "It's just something that happens; I'm definitely not as bad as Nomar (Garciapara), but my teammates have all commented on how I do this game in and game out."

Michelle Rouleau, a forward on the Norwich women's soccer team, has a fortune that reads "winning isn't everything, it's the only thing," and every game she keeps the fortune in her cleats. This, along with her favorite t-shirt she got the same day as the fortune, has been with her since the eighth grade and has been worn at every soccer game since then.

Before games, Rouleau goes to the field ahead of time and warms up by herself. "I can tell by my first shot if I'm going to have a good game or not. If it's right on, then I'll be set, and if it's off, then I can tell I'm going to have a bad day."

After warming up Rouleau heads to the locker room, where her uniform, already set up the way she has to have it, is ready to be put on for the game. After that Rouleau and her teammate gather for a small prayer, then focus on playing soccer.

Then the superstitions carry to the field for Rouleau. "I always chew a piece of gum when I play, and if I don't have one, my coach always has an extra piece for me," Rouleau said.

Not only on the field but also off, Rouleau has daily rituals.

From starting the day by reading her daily horoscope to parking in or close to the same spot daily, she feels if these things do not happen, then it will be an "unlucky day."

As a team, the Norwich football players have a ritual they observe daily. Players make a habit of hitting a sign above the locker room door and touching a stone (which was set in the locker room in remembrance of former players who were involved in a fatal car crash).

One player in particular carries his own superstitions into his game day events. Matt Hill, a 21-year-old business management major from Braintree, Mass., needs to do everything in exact order on game day or he "wouldn't be able to think straight."

"I wake up and eat breakfast the same time every week, sit at the same table when I eat, and walk the same way down to the locker room.

At the locker room, I get taped in order from my right ankle to the left then my right elbow to left and finally right wrist to left wrist," Hill said.

After getting taped, Hill takes a moment of silence and blesses himself with a prayer in a secluded spot of the locker room. After his moment of silence, Hill then proceeds to the team's pre-game schedule, where they head onto the field to take on their opponent.

On the field, Hill has things he must do along with his other rituals. "When we warm up as a team, I am always in the same spot during calisthenics and have the same coach stretch me, as well," Hill stated.

Hill, as well as others, finds himself to be superstitious off the field, as well. From saying the same prayer every night, no matter the circumstances, to having lucky clothing, he feels that off the field he is more of a "creature of habit" than superstitious.

From teams to individual players, ranging from the pro level to youth leagues, athletes are finding more habitual belongings and rituals and transforming them into their own athletic superstitions.

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