Finding ways to address sports anxiety is a crucial aspect of being a Division I athlete, with many turning towards superstitions to alleviate discomfort prior to performance.
Junior cross country and track distance runner Harvest Gil grew up in Easton and has family close to campus. For home meets, Gil developed a habit of returning home the night before.
“I have to sleep at my house and eat food that my parents make me,” Gil said.
For away meets, Gil keeps up the same superstition, preparing food in advance to take with her.
Gil remembers one specific meet where she was unable to do her usual routine the night before.
“The next day I had the worst meet of my life,” Gil said. “It was so bad.”
The stress of maintaining the superstition is something Gil is trying to get over.
“I don’t like having bad habits, and I feel like this is one of them that’s kind of a good habit because I’m eating good food and getting really good sleep, but also I [have] to be comfortable wherever I am,” Gil said.
Gil is also looking to maintain her superstition of writing positive affirmations the night before a meet, which is something other members of the track team do as well.
“No matter how this week goes, you’re still going to be a runner,” Gil said. “You’re still going to be a Division I athlete … [we write] stuff like that before all of our meets.”
Freshman fencing epee Makenna McCall has her own superstition — wearing a necklace in the shape of a Celtic knot as a good luck charm during her meets.
“It was a gift from my childhood best friend back home, and she has a matching tattoo of it,” McCall said. “It makes me happy because it reminds me of home and my friends back home. So I use it as a way to ground myself and for good luck on meet days.”
McCall began the superstition the night before the fencing team’s first meet, as her teammates had suggested she prepare with some sort of nerve-calming ritual. Rather than adding more anxiety with a rigorous routine, McCall elected for a more symbolic approach.
“I don’t like having negative superstitions because then you’re adding more stress to the entire thing,” McCall said. “So this is purely positive.”
Freshman men’s soccer midfielder Beaux Lizewski has a superstition of eating Mike and Ikes before soccer games.
“It kind of gets me ready for the game and it gets me locked in,” Lizewski said. “Basically the combination of trying to get some energy before the game with some sugar, and also just the fact that Mike and Ikes are my favorite candy.”
Lizewski began eating candy in general before soccer games in his senior year of high school, before adopting the Mike and Ike superstition this season. Although the habit is something Lizewski tries to do before each game, he prefaced that his superstition is not too serious.
“It kind of comforts me a bit but it definitely isn’t a mandatory thing,” Lizewski said.
