By Cooper Pierce
“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.”
Those are the words that varsity football senior captain Cooper Bratton recites as he leads the team in prayer every week before their game. Prayer is just one type of routine athletes follow to prepare for games.
But prayer is especially important to Bratton and plays a major part in getting in the right mindset before big games.
Since his diagnosis with Crohn’s disease, which is a chronic disease that causes inflammation in your digestive tract, Bratton has grown his faith in God. To give himself confidence before the game and remind himself that God is always with him, he wears a bracelet every day with the message, “With God, all things are possible.”
Bratton’s routine includes more than just a pregame prayer. Since he’s started competing at a high level in basketball and football, he’s realized that how he treats his body has a big effect on how he plays.
To make sure he’s constantly at the top of his game, he begins his preparation a week prior by hydrating a week early. On game day he drinks about four Gatorades throughout the day and eats a Jimmy John’s sandwich like he has every game day since sixth grade.
Eating a good meal with stretching and hydrating turns out to be a widespread routine among athletes now.
Sophomore varsity soccer player Senad Selimovic tries to perform a routine that is as close as possible to a professional’s.
He starts his day by waking up early and taking a 15-minute walk around his neighborhood before heading home and eating a good breakfast with plenty of carbs and proteins.
Similar to Bratton, Selimovic eats a light meal, usually a tuna sandwich, to keep him feeling fresh. While he waits, Selimovic stretches as much as he can before praying to play at the top of his game.
“If you prepare good, you’re gonna play good,“ Selimovic said. “It helps me be in the right mindset.”
But as the game grows closer his mindset switches. He begins to focus on the game and visualizes the film that the team watched together.
Another popular routine among student-athletes is preparing their minds by visualizing their game and what they need to do.
This is exactly what senior Brylie Tuttle does with the volleyball team.
After the first set of the JV game, the varsity players begin to head into the locker room where they listen to music, have a team talk, and pray together before they head out to the court to start their warmups. She believes that this simple routine with the team is the reason that the team always starts their games focused and energetic.
But Brylie’s routine goes beyond everything she does with the team. Leading up to the first serve, she said she makes sure that she clears her head to make sure she can focus on the game and get her mind ready.
During the game, she said her mindset switches to a more positive attitude. Brylie is constantly encouraging herself and her team with constructive feedback while also reminding herself to stay calm.
Brylie also has her own superstitions to make sure she gets as much help as possible. She believes that wearing the exact same pair of elbow pads, until they are completely ruined, will bring her luck.
“I wear the holiest elbow pads on the team,” Brylie said. “I think they’ll help me each game until they’re ruined.
Another athlete with superstitions of her own is junior Ruth Sherck, a captain of the varsity girls’ soccer team.
Right before kickoff and right after the team’s pregame huddle, Ruth runs out to her spot in front of the goal. As she gets set, Ruth jumps to touch the crossbar three times, draws an “M” in the grass, and points up to the sky. The “M” stands for Malachi, her brother who passed away last December.
“Ever since I lost my brother last year I have wanted to do anything I can to bring honor to doing things for him and the glory of God,” Ruth said. “I always remind myself that I’m doing this for something greater and that’s really important to me.”
As one of the team’s captains, it is Ruth’s responsibility to make sure that the team sticks to this year’s slogan, “As One.” Since their freshman year, Ruth and her co-captain Jordan Bunch have come together to think of ways to bring their team closer together.
One of the things they came up with was partner handshakes. In pairs, the players will do their own unique handshakes together as the team surrounds them cheering.
The team’s routine doesn’t end at their walkout. They carry it on into their team huddle, where they talk through their game plan and last week’s film.
To give the team confidence, Jordan leads the team through prayer, reminding them that they’re there to play for something greater than themselves.
“We always talk about that we are not playing for anyone around us but for the audience of one,” Ruth said.
