Mini Project #8

Bizarre Rituals for Soccer Star

By: Amy Breckin

Lori Hudrick, 13, of Laurel Springs, New Jersey, is one of the best players on the Timber Birch Athletic Association’s (TBAA) Hurricanes Soccer Team. Lori has 16 goals on the season along with 21 assists. So how does she explain her success this season? Is it athletic ability? No. The exceptional cooperation from her teammates? No. Maybe just luck? No. Apparently, Lori attributes her success to her shampoo and Tastykakes.

Before every game, home or away, Lori wakes up at 7a.m. and takes a shower. She washes her hair with Suave’s citrus blend shampoo and claims that this is one of the secrets of her success. “Every morning before a game, I have to use my special shampoo,” says Lori, “I don’t know what it is, but the first two times that I followed this ritual, I scored three goals in each game, so I became superstitious.” Lori has followed this ritual all season and has always scored at least one goal in every game.

After the 7 a.m. shower, Lori drinks a glass of Pepsi and enjoys two chocolate cupcakes by Tastykake. “I love Tastykakes anyway, but for some reason I think that they bring me luck,” says Lori, “Every time I eat my two cupcakes, I get a lot of energy from them, and I think that they add to my flare on the field.” Cupcakes and shampoo add to the success for Lori on the field.

Cupcakes and shampoo are Lori’s pre-game ritual, but there are several rituals that her team partakes in as well. Before every game, the TBAA Hurricanes run two laps around the field and sing “Hey Ya” by the Black Eyed Peas. Apparently, this song was popular when the team began one of their previous seasons, and since they were champions that season, they decided to stick with the tradition.

The Hurricanes have been champs every year that they have performed this song on their two-lap pre-game run. The girls genuinely believe that this performance is the reason for their championship status. “Every time we perform this song,” says Lori, “the other team looks at us like we are crazy, but it has worked for quite a few seasons now, and it really gets us ready to play. It’s a team thing.”

There is one last ritual that the ladies of the Hurricanes perform. After a teammate scores a goal, the goal-scorer poses as her teammates pretend to be the paparazzi and use their hands as cameras to take her picture. Sounds a bit crazy, but the Hurricanes believe in their rituals. “We like to do things as team, and the picture thing is something that we saw in a movie,” says Lori, “so we did kind of steal that, but it helps us bond. We believe that these little quirky things help us win.”

Whether it is cupcakes, shampoo, a brush with the paparazzi, or a popular tune, the TBAA Hurricanes and one of their stars, Lori, believes that rituals are a part of the winning process. Every team has their own formula for success, and the Hurricanes clearly have a winning strategy and a few winning rituals.