Fall sports programs just wrapped up another season filled with wins, personal records, and region championship trophies.
From a special breakfast in the morning to an energy drink at lunch to a quick prayer before games, most athletes at all levels have unique routines and superstitions to help them perform their best. We wanted to know more about our Golden Lion student-athletes, so we asked them: What do you fuel yourself with before a game or meet?
Junior cross country athlete Luke Lorenzo said, “Every night before a meet, I always have a huge bowl of ice cream. Coach McClay swears that dairy before a race is bad for you, but somehow every race where I don’t have ice cream the night before, I do bad that day.”
Unconventional? Maybe, but he uses the sugar to fuel his best performance, the same way sophomore volleyball player Eveliina Campbell uses a kick of energy before her game.
“I love a good Kodiak bar, especially the s’mores flavor paired with a cold Alani about 30 minutes before the game.”
While sugary sweet is the way to go for some athletes, sophomore football player Tyler Eichenberg sticks to a more peculiar way to obtain his energy, admitting, “I like to dry scoop [senior] Lands Kelley’s protein powder, but don’t tell him that.”
Don’t worry, Tyler, your secret is safe with all 1,000 of us!
Food isn’t the only thing that fuels the Golden Lions; music also plays a huge role in getting them pumped before a game.
“I love to listen to the ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’ soundtrack before I run,” sophomore cross country runner Caitlin Flowers said.
She uses the pop style of this music to hype herself up, much like sophomore softball players Lily Fortner and Loraley Messick, who listen to “Confident” by Justin Bieber.
“It makes me feel confident, you know?” Fortner said. “Gets me excited.” But others steer away from hype music, like Eichenberg.
“I like to listen to a lot of eighties music, or like Chris Stapleton, but I do really like Fleetwood Mac,” he said. “Every song they put out is a bar.”
Sophomore cross country runner Henry Germann spends his pre-race time listening to the ticking back and forth of a metronome,
“It helps me imagine my pace, and get in a running mindset,” he said.
In addition to individual habits, teams also develop routines as they progress through the season.
For example, Fortner and Messick said the softball team has a special mid-game tradition.
“When we get to the third inning, we all go crazy and have party decorations and music in the dugout,” Fortner said.
Sophomore Michelle Duncan said the flag football team gets hyped when they circle up and pray together before a game.
What about superstitions? Do any of our student-athletes have to tie their shoes three times or wear their hair a certain way? Sophomore football player Andrew Biggers does.
“I always have to have my headband on. If I don’t, it’s going to be a bad game,” he explained.
From prayers to pre-game songs, it’s obvious that rituals play a role in how student-athletes get ready for a game. So let’s show up for them with our own traditions, too. Whether it’s a white-out or USA theme, the Jungle is always ready to support our teams from the sidelines with Golden Lion pride.
