By Cam Pettiford
You can see her before the game, tapping the top of the goal post, creating a letter in the dirt with her foot, then placing her hand on her heart. An action most people wouldn’t even notice unless they were looking for her, and something only her family and friends know the reason behind.
Sherck says that she uses her pre-game time to remind herself that she is playing to make her brother proud.
She always tries to remind herself that she’s playing for a larger-than-life purpose and to keep that at the forefront of her mind.
“I wanted to find ways to remind myself that I want to make him proud and that he already is proud of me,” Sherck said. “I have something bigger to be playing for, and I think his passing made me want to do things to honor him and to honor God more.“
Before her games, she goes over to her goal, touches the top of the crossbar, then makes an M in the dirt for her brother Malachi. Finally, she puts her fist to her heart and kisses it.
While Sherck’s pre-game ritual is more sentimental, junior Nolan Hutchison uses his time before his meets to help him calm down.
“Before cross country meets, I’ll do a runout, and then I’ll kind of take a short, calming, slow walk and think about my race strategies and how I want the race to go, and certain points in the race that I need to pay attention to,” Hutchison said. “Then, when I get back to the line, I take a knee and do my prayer that I do before every race.”
Hutchison used to deal with a lot of stress and nerves before his meets. This ritual, especially the praying, has helped him to deal with that stress.
“I think praying is very important, and I feel like if I don’t pray, then my race doesn’t necessarily go bad, but not as well,“ Hutchison said. “Praying helps to keep my thoughts on track.”
He said that he started this ritual halfway through the 2024 cross-country season during his transition to Christianity.
On the contrary, freshman soccer striker Avery Jarrells likes to be active and with her friends before games.
She says that she listens to music (specifically either worship music or rap) and that she has to get 100 juggles with the soccer ball in a row before every game.
She believes that being with her friends is a vital piece and the most important part of what she does.
“It just works out. After I do it, I always feel warmed up and ready to play/compete,” Jarrells said.
On the same note as Jarrells is junior Lily Dennis.
She says that she does a special handshake with sophomore Ruthie Peckinpaugh and senior Stella Sieber before every cheer competition.
She says that it makes her feel hyped up and ready to compete.
Dennis said she started this at the beginning of the year and that it helps her to prepare for the action and pressure on the mat.
“It just gets us in the right mindset to go out there, perform well, and hit all of our stunts,” Dennis said.
There are many students in the school with interesting or unique pre-game rituals, and they all have meaning behind them. Sometimes it is to get hype with your friends, or other times it is to calm yourself before your conference meet. They all create a mindset that leads to success.
“I would say it’s not as much the act of what I’m doing but the reason behind it,” Sherck said. “It’s for my family, it’s for my brother, and it’s all for God.”
