Superstition Or Super Lame

Though Paly athletes come from a wide range of sports and backgrounds, many are bound by a common ritual: superstitions. Some are as strange as Paly alum Kevin Cullen, who refused to wear deodorant on game day, while others are as simple as starting quarterback Danny Peter’s habit to always wear an arm sleeve. 

Superstitions can calm athletes before an intense game. They can also motivate the teams that practice them, as they bring the team together and give the athletes a sense of tradition. 

The origins of these idiosyncrasies are as varied as the superstitions themselves. Some adopt them from their idols while others randomly create them and make them a habit over time. Let’s take a look at some of our own superstitions from different Paly athletes!

Danny Peters:  “I wear an arm sleeve during every single game that I’m playing. At first it was because of a comfort thing, but ever since the first time I wore it when we won by over 30 points, I knew I had to wear it every game. If I were to stop doing it, I feel like I wouldn’t be as confident in myself as much as it makes me feel calm and controlled when I play.”

Diana Narancic: “If I serve a ball and don’t make it, then I can’t use that same ball for the next attempt. I feel like that ball I messed up on has bad luck on it and I need to have a different ball. I started doing this when I was a sophomore on varsity, and my tennis game was getting serious. Why risk the ball with bad luck on it.”

Blake Chase: “I wear a pink towel every football game I play. I started wearing one in the beginning of my sophomore season and it stuck. I wear it in honor of my mom who fought breast cancer. Since the first time I wore it, I felt it was an obligation to myself and her to wear it every game. Wearing it gives me a sense of security.”

Riley Herron: “My whole team does a shake out before every performance. Our team started doing it my freshman year on the team and we’ve done it for every halftime, competition, and performance since. Lots of dance teams do these on dance shows and at competitions we go to, so we got inspired by other dancers. It is a fun way to hype up the team and bring everyone together.”

Audrey Teo: “Every time I swim the 200 Breaststroke I have a pre-race routine. I always listen to Copacabana by Barry Manilow before I get in the pool and do my warmup. I have always loved that song and it has the perfect tempo and energy. It helps me mentally prepare for races, it is definitely a routine.”

Xavier Esquer: “I like to touch certain laces on my glove a set number of times as I stomp my feet a certain amount of times. I believe I am somewhat responsible for the pitcher to throw strikes. I started when I was like 9 or 10 in Manteca or Vacaville whenever I played shortstop.”

Putting Them To The Test!

Sebastian Chancellor and Ryan Lykken saw an improvement when they did their signature free throw routines. Chancellor went 10/10 with his routine and 8/10 without it. Lykken shot 9/10 while performing his routine and 7/10 without it. 

We took Xavier Esquer out onto the diamond and shot ground balls his way at shortstop. While no errors occurred in either test, he mentioned he felt a lot more comfortable after performing his superstition. 

Overall, we can see superstitions have the possibility to help athletes in all sports genres. However, we can see that their main purpose is that they are able to create a sense of confidence, and security inside the minds of these athletes that help them perform in their games week after week.