Many athletes and teams participate in ceremonies or actions that they do before games, known as pregame rituals. Pregame rituals are oftentimes based on superstitions, and to most athletes, they mean more than just a consistent ritual. Pregame rituals can involve almost any activity, whether it is listening to a certain genre of music, eating a particular food or any other imaginable routine that a player or team can do.
Miami Palmetto Senior High sports have a history of success. Dedicated coaches and determined players have created this legacy, forming teams that constantly compete in playoffs. The MPSH varsity football team has a pregame huddle and a long tradition of doing jumping jacks before the game. For the football team, these pregame rituals mean everything.
“I think it’s a chance for the players to get together and motivate each other,” football head coach Michael Manasco said.
Team pregame rituals are typically long-standing traditions, set in place for many years. For Manasco, these traditions mean more to him as a head coach, as he also participated in them when he played for the school.
“[The ceremonies] started before I was here. I played from 1994 to 1997, so they have been a thing for a while,” said Manasco.
Additionally, individual players can have their own routines that resonate just as much. Things that may be considered weird to one player could be routine for another.
“I typically eat a bar with Alani, but the flavor has to always be the kimchi flavor. Also, every time I go into the game, I tap my stick into the grass three times because I wear the number three,” girls varsity lacrosse player Sol Jaure said.
To Jaure, these traditions bring good luck for the game, and while she does not have a particular reason for her ceremonies, her consistency has created its own important meaning to her.
Athletics come with their own pressure, challenges and superstitions. This explains why players get accustomed to pregame rituals; having a pregame ritual is part of the athlete’s identity when it is time to perform, and what happens during pregame lives throughout the athlete in the game.
