The athletes at HHS have an interesting view on pre game rituals. Some of these students find it necessary to complete these rituals before every game however some of the students have used this pre game ritual to the point where it is muscle memory.

These students truly believe that their performance is tremendously increased when they complete their ritual.

One student with a pre game ritual of their own is Sophomore Alexa Maletis. When asked what her pre game rituals was Maletis said “Right when I get on the field in my position, i crack my ankles and shake out my legs and jump up and down a couple times”.

Maletis completes this action at every game that she participates in, it relaxes her and helps her get focused.

When asked what she thinks makes her ritual special she said “ It’s really random, I really didn’t plan it out it just came naturally”. Instead of having a set idea on what she will do, Maletis has it come naturally.

Even though the creation of her ritual was created long ago, she has it memorized to the point where it is muscle memory. Maletis said “It’s really random, I really didn’t plan it out it just came naturally”.

Another person with a very interesting pre game ritual is Senior Lindsey Haynes. Haynes is varsity girls basketball player who is an important piece to the team’s starting lineup. Haynes and her other teammate Trinity complete a group ritual before every game.

When asked what her team does pre game Haynes said “Every game after warmups, my team runs into the huddle, but my teammate Trinity and I stay on the court while she rebounds for me making one 3 pointer. I always have to make my last shot, because I’m superstitious and believe that it will help me play better in the game. She rebounds the ball, we high five, and then run into the huddle together to meet the rest of our team”.

Hayes is very superstitious and cannot recall a time in which she did not perform this ritual. When asked if she plays better by performing the ritual Haynes said “I’ve never skipped this ritual, so I’m not entirely sure. But because I’m superstitious, I would probably not play as well”.

These Homestead athletes have their own unique pre game rituals that lead to big performances in their respective games.