“Did she have a shower before her first match?” Coach Dad asks.  

“Thursday night before the Friday match?” I reply.  Um…no. She had one on Wednesday. Why?” 

 “Don’t do it tonight, keep everything the same,” he continued.

 “Are you kidding me?  You’re superstitious?”   He smiles and shrugs.

I know a thing or two about superstition. I’ve worked in or around professional sports for most of my career. In F1, IndyCar and NASCAR I’ve watched superstars get ready in exactly, down to the tiniest of tiny details, the same way week after week. No variation allowed.  Clear the way if even what would seem the most insignificant detail to you and I, be out of place. The latest sponsor patch was sewn on with black thread rather than gray?  The right glove was handed to him before the left?  Oops, that is sooo not good and probably the reason he didn’t end up winning the race this week.

After the discussion with Coach Dad, I started thinking about whether Lauren was exhibiting any superstitious-like behaviour. She like to wear the pink top with the white shorts for her first match. Is that superstition, or because she finds it most comfortable?  She prefers orange Gatorade to green, is a that taste preference or something more, well planned?  She packs her bag holding her i-Pod, phone and other personal items in exactly the same way everytime. Routine or…?

I just read a paper An Exploratory Investigation of Superstition, Personal Control, Optimism and Pessimism in NCAA Division I Intercollegiate Student-Athletes  that talks about how “Superstition in sport has been defined as “actions which are repetitive, formal, sequential, distinct from technical performance and which the athletes believe to be powerful in controlling luck or other external factors” (Bleak & Frederick, 1998, p.2). 

It’s an interesting read and it got me thinking about just when it is that tennis players start to become superstitious. Is it in the juniors? Is it because of something mom and dad once suggested to them after a particularly brilliant win? Is there something I am doing to foster superstitions in my daughter?

 I once wrote a story-starter for the media about one well-known driver who liked to climb into an empty bathtub in his hotel room the night before a race so that he could simulate the feeling of being in the tight cockpit of his single-seater. Once in there, he’d mentally drive the track, leaning into the sides of the tub to simulate the g-forces he’d be subjected to under race conditions.

I thought it was a pretty interesting story and I framed it to show how important rituals are for athletes. In much of the sports psychology literature I’ve read, performance rituals play an important role in mental preparation and actually have a calming effect on the athlete.

Essentially, a ritual is something that helps keep or bring an athlete back into the moment. It helps get breathing back under control, slows the heart rate and sharpens mental focus. And it’s very different from a superstition which is doing something in an attempt to control the uncontrollable. 

Bounce the ball three times before you serve? Ritual.  Shadow swing your return of serve? Ritual. Take your Justin Bieber SillyBandz off, kiss it and put it back on before you serve. I’m no expert, but I’m going with superstition on this one!

There’s an article on the WTA website called Mind Power by Dr. Jim Loehr, the noted sports psychologist who has done extensive research with tennis players. Among other things, Dr. Loehr shares that rituals between points help reduce the pressure of play.

So when my daughter likes to wait to take her Gatorade and water bottle out until the changeover after the first game, I’m pretty convinced it’s part of her on-court ritual and a way of calming herself down.  But I wonder.. how much influence as parents do we have over the development of our children’s superstitions?  Personally, I think I’m going to try and be a bit more aware of what I say and do that might be construed as superstitious about her tennis.

In the meantime, you might find this article about superstitions and the men’s and women’s tours, a fun read.

Oh, and by the way… she didn’t have the shower.  Hey…who am I to fiddle with a good thing?

What’s your story?

Hope all our American readers had a very Happy Thanksgiving!