Parent Pre-game Rituals Ensure Team Success
Athletes aren’t the only ones who have pre-game superstitions.
More stories from Nicholas Carlson
Having pre‐game rituals is a custom many teams have in common. While primarily practiced by players and coaches, oftentimes the parents and family members of the players have pre‐game rituals of their own.
“I always say a prayer before every game,” Barbara Beake, mother of Will Beake, said. “I say one for Will to be safe and one more for all of the players to be safe.”
This is a common ritual for many parents, especially those whose kids play football. This habit gives many parents a sense of calmness before their kids take to the field; in a game as violent as football, parents will do anything to try and ensure their kids safety. Some parents have rituals, while others have superstitions.
“I always need to wear my lucky gray Antioch hat,” Larry Beake, father of W. Beake, said. “We’ll always win if I wear my lucky hat. There have been times I’ve shown up to the games without it and ran back home to get it.”
Almost like a prayer, wearing a specific article of clothing or jewelry can reassure parents before a game. Some rituals are done for specific reasons, others are done just as a routine.
“We always sit in the same spot on the 50 yard line, normally with the same parents,” said L. Beake. “We also normally get a hamburger at the game or eat at Antioch Pizza before.”
Some of these rituals aren’t something that must be done before every game, but rather something that has become conventional before the game or when showing up. Some parents seem to coach their kid more than the actual coach, but as kids get older, there is only so much the parents can do.
“I don’t say much to him before games besides to be safe and to use his head while he’s out there,” L. Beake said.
There are some parents that try to coach their kids from the stands; however, some parents leave it to the coaches and other kids on the team to get the job done. Everybody’s pre-game rituals are unique. From something as small as eating a burger or sitting in the same, spot to as large as saying a prayer or wearing a lucky hat, at the end of the day it’s only weird if it doesn’t work.
