Central Hardin’s Athletic Superstitions

Central Hardins Athletic Superstitions

From doing my warm-up in the exact same order to tucking in my jersey a specific way, track and field superstitions run deep. However, I know I’m not alone in my –what some would call– delusion. Humans are creatures of habit, which leads athletes of every level and sport to fall into a routine they believe puts them at an advantage.

Former Dallas Mavericks NBA player Jason Terry went as far as owning a pair of shorts for every single team in the NBA. On nights prior to game days, Terry would grab the particular colors of his upcoming opponents and sleep in them.

When it comes to Central Hardin athletics, the superstitions are almost just as crazy and date back decades.

If one thing is for sure, baseball has shown itself to be the most superstitious sport. Bookkeeper Amy Wheeler, whose sons (Blake and Kevin) played for many years, embraces the iconic “baseball mom” lifestyle and has the superstitions down to a tee.

“Never discuss stats during a baseball game. Don’t comment out loud that anyone hasn’t struck out yet or that a ball hasn’t gotten through the infield in a game. More importantly, if there is a perfect game going on, you can not under any circumstances leave your seat,” Wheeler said. “They might have to eat the same meal before each game. Sit in the same seat on the bus for all away games. During one postseason, I had to make sure the same pair of ‘lucky’ underwear was clean for every game.”

With a season as good as the one Central Hardin football had this year, football coach Tyler Jackson had some promising prophecies of his own to help the boys along during their streak.

“I shave my head week one of the each football season. If we win on Friday night, I let it keep growing. If we lose, I will shave it again,” Jackson said. “My superstitions start on Thursday night after practice, before a game. I will go out to eat and order the same thing every time as long as we are winning. If we lose, then next week I will go to a new restaurant.”

Senior football player Gage Bryant explains some of the superstitions the players held throughout their careers.

“We had to take a lot of pre-workout, goat pills, and temporary tattoos before football games to win. Me, Andrew Hobbs, Brandon Barnes, and Tucker Walters all would wear the same colored sock on our left foot,” Bryant added.

The superstitions continue on into the world of cheerleading. Junior cheerleader Avery Prater shared some of her competition week rituals.

“I have to do a full self-care routine two nights before comp. I must tie my right cheer shoe and left cheer shoe differently before a comp or we will drop stunts. I have to listen to the same playlist on the way to every comp,” Prater said. “The last song I have to listen to right before I go to warm-ups is ‘Lose Yourself’ by Eminem.”

According to junior Hannah Wise, Bruin pride runs deep within the Central Hardin lacrosse team and is used to pump up the winning spirits.

“If we sing the fight song as a team before/during lax games we are more likely to win,” Wise said.

As successful as the Central Hardin volleyball team was, Coach Bill Rineker had to plan out his outfits in advance to keep it that way.

“If [Coach] Bill ever wears pants it just throws us off our game. He always wears shorts,” sophomore Samantha Nelson said.

These are just a few examples from Central Hardin athletics, and I don’t doubt that there are countless more. In the meantime, don’t feel like you have to buy a pair of shorts for all of the schools in a 100-mile radius, but you can leave any of your unique superstitions in the comments.

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