We’ve all crossed our fingers as the ball leaves the point guard’s hands, or as the kicker’s cleat meets the pigskin. We’ve watched as baseball greats – and their fans – grow “playoff beards” and flip on their rally caps. Some of us have probably been unlucky enough to be in smelling range of a hockey goalie’s lucky socks.
Whether it’s to gain some control or out of simple superstition, athletes will do interesting things for a little extra luck, and UConn Huskies are no exception. Read on to learn about what some UConn student-athletes do to get their heads in the game.
Baseball
Third baseman Willy Yahn ’18 (ACES) wears a long-sleeved undershirt to every game, regardless of temperature, because he has been doing it since he was 11 years old. He says it’s his good-luck charm. “I haven’t practiced or played a game without long sleeves in about nine years.”
Other than that, though, you’d be hard-pressed to get a Husky baseball player to admit to any talisman, says Coach Jim Penders. Baseball players are the kings and queens of ritual and superstition, which is underscored by the bit of baseball lore that claims revealing any superstition is sure to jinx it!
Field Hockey
Roisin Upton ’16 (CLAS), a team captain from Limerick, Ireland, likes to wear something that reminds her of home every time she plays: an Ireland wristband. But she says her most important good-karma ritual is something Coach Nancy Stevens encouraged her to do. “At the start of each season, I write the initials of who I play for on my stick,” she says.
The initials of her mom, dad, and two brothers, who always cheered her on back home, are most important.
“It is important for me to have them on my stick,” says Upton, “to remember how lucky I am to have their support and to do my best to make them proud while I am here on this amazing adventure.”
Swimming & Diving
To get the crowd fired up at UConn home meets, the team has used the same tried-and-true routine for years: They enter single file to the sounds of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train,” and do a cheer at the middle of the pool. Then one of the swimmers, such as Greg Baliko ’16 (CLAS) leads a “U-C-O-N-N, UConn! UConn! UConn!” shout-out from the 3-meter diving board. Insanity ensues.
Softball
This squad’s infield and outfield groups have pre-game traditions they say are more for fun than superstition.
The infield players stack their gloves on the foul line before every game and, after the team huddle breaks up, the third baseman or shortstop tosses the gloves to each player as they take their positions. Meanwhile, the outfield players have a secret handshake that ends with them shouting a pump-up word or phrase, such as “Together!” or “Dog House!” Each new team adds its own twist.
“We do all of it to create a sense of unity and to add a little bit of extra fun to our warm-ups,” says Heather Fyfe ’16 (CLAS). “When you come off the field from warm-ups feeling loose, there is a pretty good chance you are going to take it into the game.”
Cross Country/Track
For these student-athletes, accessories are about more than looking good for a meet – these women believe the right studs could make or break their performance.
Megan Chapman ’16 (CLAS), who throws the discus and hammer for outdoor track and the weight for indoor, must be ready from head to toe. She always wears mismatched Disney socks and braids her hair into a bun set to one side of her head for luck.
Odrine Belot ’16 (CLAS), a conference champion jumper, claims she has to wear pink laces on the shoe of her dominant jump leg (the right one). She also says she “won’t feel comfortable” unless she eats Welch’s fruit snacks and fruit belts before she jumps – she believes they fend off her nervousness and keep her alert.
Alana Pearl ’18 (CLAS), a distance runner, buys a new pair of socks each year and then wears them to every race. Nope, she doesn’t wash them – ever.
Men’s Ice Hockey
Goalie Rob Nichols ’17 (BUS) has a few lucky things he does before he plays – taping his stick up, as most goalies do; eating a meal of steak and pasta the night before home games; drinking a coffee before taking the ice. But it’s playing with a racquetball that sets his head straight.
“I bounce it around, dribble it, throw it off the wall,” he says. “I’d feel pretty different if I didn’t do that. It gets my mind in the right place. It helps me get comfortable.”
Women’s Ice Hockey
Annie Belanger ’18 (BUS) has a few good-luck habits – she only re-tapes her hockey stick if she loses, and has separate sticks for practice and play. But it’s her pre-game ritual that takes things to the extreme. She swears she follows this exact routine each and every game day:
10 a.m.: Wake up. Put on track suit. Get breakfast with the team.
After breakfast: Sleep for 45 minutes.
Wake up.
Put headphones on; listen to pre-game playlist #1 while walking in circles dribbling a tennis ball.
“If anyone tries to talk to me at that point, I probably won’t even notice,” says Belanger. “I do that until I’m in a good mindset to play. It usually takes 40 to 50 minutes.”
Get dressed.
Go to the rink.
Change into warm-up clothes. Wear a hat, only when away from the net.
Head into an empty locker room and listen to pre-game playlist #2, while dribbling the tennis ball until 1:23 p.m.
1:25 p.m.: Team meeting. Team warm-up. Play soccer to de-stress and have fun.
Get dressed in official gear. Everything goes on the left first – skate, knee pad – then the right. Before the helmet, put on the purple bathing cap. [That cap is the same one she’s worn for every game since she began playing at 9 years old.]
Game time.
Watch these athletes and their teammates get game-ready.
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