Pre-Game Rituals

Pre-game Rituals

This is always a funny topic to ask athletes. Some are quite eccentric while others are simple and not as noticeable. My pre-game rituals were odd, I will admit and I’m sure you’ll get in a light chuckle. I’d love to hear what you’re pre-game rituals & what makes you unique as an athlete.

Here are mine:

1. I would have to shave down like a swimmer the night before, why? The only logical reason was I always secretly wanted to be a swimmer and maybe subconsciously thought my arm would glide through the air quicker. #michaelphelpsmindset
2. I had to eat the same food before every game which was a turkey sandwich & a cookie (or a carmello candy bar when my parents would show up to the game, holla!)
3. I would get a 5 min arm massage from my trainer and talk to her aka crack lots of jokes… Trainers are almost as beneficial as therapists. We were lucky because we had great ones!
4. I would do some deep breathing exercises then jog for 10 mins (this started in pro ball)
5. I HAD to have the ball in the wrapper because I would open it and put the plastic in my back right pocket. During college it was Kristen Miller's job to take the wrapper. 100% weird.

Being a lefty automatically makes me the unique one on the team, and I would say I definitely lived up to it. Many calling me "wild thing" and possessed many characteristics to Charlie Sheen's character Rick Vaughn from "Major League."

So what are your pre-game rituals and what makes you stand out?

Don't be like Barbie... BREATHE!

As corny as this sounds think about how many athletes you see holding their breathe or grunting as they pitch or hitting a ball. Most of us aren’t taught to properly breathe. It took me half my career to be told my Sophomore year at ASU that I didn’t breathe properly. First I laughed, then realized Karl Keuhl was serious, and he was right. It took me 2 full days of practice to learn how to breathe, because I had to find my timing with the pitches because everything was out of whack. Needless to say I got pretty frustrated in those practices, however it made the difference of me going the distance rather than being gassed in the 4th inning. 

How to Breathe:

1. Standing: Take your hands and place them on your diaphragm, then take 3 deep breathes in & 6 breathes out. This can be useful in high pressure situations in games and in the dug-out in-between innings. Also, a great tool for life situations.
2. Pitching: Think of a weightlifter, they breathe in on the way down during a squat and out during the push. Same thing for pitching, you breathe in before and release on the decent. The breath should be drawn out till the ball pops into the mitt (example: I typically would breathe before I pitch (also while I talked to myself), again on the mound, and then released the valve sounding like a leaky tire.)
3. Hitting: During the exertion of hitting the pitch, also before stepping into the box.
4. Fielding: Breathe in as you field and out when you throw

Why should we breathe so much?

1. It helps to release oxygen into our blood stream which then helps us to relax & clears our mind
2. It elongates our muscles so we get more extension and power behind our movements
3. It makes the difference of feeling tired, to instead having more energy for longer periods

If you can remember to take long drawn out breaths and get over sounding “silly” you will see the difference too. Not to mention when you breathe loud enough, it sounds like the ball is spinning at 100 MPH, so it’s deceiving to the batter as well as the crowd. Take the time for the little things and you will gain more in the long term. KEEP CALM AND BREATHE ON!

Getting Over the YIPS!

This is a tough one. I can’t count on two hands how many times I’ve seen athletes get the yips and never bring themselves out of it. For instance, Myself. I  had a heck of a time throwing to first base. It became a mental block because I had failed at it so many times, but once I got over the yips, I stopped focusing on not making a good through and focused on hitting the glove. Sometimes that meant my second baseman had to dig out the ball, she was a stud (thanks Mindy Cowles!).

Ways to fight the yips:

1. Breathe… Sound familiar? Breathing is a common thread in sports and many times looked past. 
2. Practice… If you are having a hard time at something, practice till you get the fear out of your system and practice success. Repetition breeds consistency.
3. Self-Talk… There is nothing worse than telling yourself you can’t do something. Start practicing not only repetitions of doing it correctly, but of talking to yourself with compassion and encouragement.
4. Watch Video… Commonly we have a habit we picked up and it needs a little tweak. Visual learning stimulates the brain and helps register when you’re kinesthetically performing the movement.
5. Trust… Even when you may doubt yourself trust it! Trust goes a long way.
6. Accountability Partner… Tell one of your teammates to talk to you throughout the game and keep encouraging you even if you make a mistake. Sometimes you will have to be that person for someone else even on the bad days. 
7. Perseverance… Be the train and repeat “I think I can, I think I can, till it becomes I know I can, and by golly I did it!” 

Now that we got this one off our chest, its time to get back at it and start practicing. You will only go as far as you believe you can go. So every day try raising the bar and say “asta la vista, baby” to those yips!