![\"Willy](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Super150918a290-e1458136156384.jpg\")
<\/a>Third baseman Willy Yahn \u201918 (ACES)<\/strong> 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\u2019s his good-luck charm. \u201cI haven\u2019t practiced or played a game without long sleeves in about nine years.\u201d<\/p>\n Other than that, though, you\u2019d 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!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Field Hockey<\/strong><\/p>\n Roisin Upton \u201916 (CLAS)<\/strong>, 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. \u201cAt the start of each season, I write the initials of who I play for on my stick,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n The initials of her mom, dad, and two brothers, who always cheered her on back home, are most important.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is important for me to have them on my stick,\u201d says Upton, \u201cto 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.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Swimming & Diving<\/strong><\/p>\n 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\u2019s \u201cCrazy Train,\u201d and do a cheer at the middle of the pool. Then one of the swimmers, such as Greg Baliko \u201916 (CLAS)<\/strong> leads a \u201cU-C-O-N-N, UConn! UConn! UConn!\u201d shout-out from the 3-meter diving board. Insanity ensues.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Softball<\/strong><\/p>\n This squad\u2019s infield and outfield groups have pre-game traditions they say are more for fun than superstition.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cTogether!\u201d or \u201cDog House!\u201d Each new team adds its own twist.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do all of it to create a sense of unity and to add a little bit of extra fun to our warm-ups,\u201d says Heather Fyfe \u201916 (CLAS)<\/strong>. \u201cWhen 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Cross Country\/Track<\/strong><\/p>\n For these student-athletes, accessories are about more than looking good for a meet\u00a0\u2013 these women believe the right studs could make or break their performance.<\/p>\n Megan Chapman \u201916 (CLAS)<\/strong>, 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.<\/p>\n Odrine Belot \u201916 (CLAS)<\/strong>, 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 \u201cwon\u2019t feel comfortable\u201d unless she eats Welch\u2019s fruit snacks and fruit belts before she jumps \u2013 she believes they fend off her nervousness and keep her alert.<\/p>\n Alana Pearl \u201918 (CLAS)<\/strong>, a distance runner, buys a new pair of socks each year and then wears them to every race. Nope, she doesn\u2019t wash them \u2013 ever.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Men’s Ice Hockey<\/strong><\/p>\n Goalie Rob Nichols \u201917 (BUS)<\/strong> has a few lucky things he does before he plays \u2013 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\u2019s playing with a racquetball that sets his head straight.<\/p>\n \u201cI bounce it around, dribble it, throw it off the wall,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019d feel pretty different if I didn\u2019t do that. It gets my mind in the right place. It helps me get comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Women\u2019s Ice Hockey<\/strong><\/p>\n Annie Belanger \u201918 (BUS)<\/strong> has a few good-luck habits \u2013 she only re-tapes her hockey stick if she loses, and has separate sticks for practice and play. But it\u2019s her pre-game ritual that takes things to the extreme. She swears she follows this exact routine each and every game day: Watch these athletes and their teammates get game-ready.<\/a><\/p>\n For more stories from UConn Magazine, go to the Magazine website<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n
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\n10 a.m.:<\/strong> Wake up. Put on track suit. Get breakfast with the team.
\nAfter breakfast:<\/strong> Sleep for 45 minutes.
\nWake up.
\nPut headphones on; listen to pre-game play\u00ad\u00adlist #1 while walking in circles dribbling a tennis ball.
\n\u201cIf anyone tries to talk to me at that point, I probably won\u2019t even notice,\u201d says Belanger. \u201cI do that until I\u2019m in a good mindset to play. It usually takes 40 to 50 minutes.\u201d
\nGet dressed.
\nGo to the rink.
\nChange into warm-up clothes. Wear a hat, only when away from the net.
\nHead into an empty locker room and listen to pre-game playlist #2, while dribbling the tennis ball until 1:23<\/strong> p.m.
\n1:25 p.m.:<\/strong> Team meeting. Team warm-up. Play soccer to de-stress and have fun.
\nGet dressed in official gear. Everything goes on the left first \u2013 skate, knee pad \u2013 then the right. Before the helmet, put on the purple bathing cap. [That cap is the same one she\u2019s worn for every game since she began playing at 9 years old.]
\nGame time.<\/strong><\/p>\n