Saying Maryland field hockey midfielder Kyler Greenwalt is superstitious would be an understatement.
Every game, the sophomore has a specific set of rituals she needs to follow. First, she ties her hair with the same exact ponytail, scrunchie and bobby pin. Greenwalt then puts her shoes and shin guards on in a certain order before using the bathroom within the 10 minutes before coach Missy Meharg comes in the locker room.
Only once Meharg is in the room can Greenwalt put on her gloves and place her mouthguard in her sports bra. And then comes what she says is the weirdest part of her routine: painting her nails white in the locker room just before the game. She also drinks a coffee but never the whole cup, because if she does, it’s bad luck.
“I was always just like that one weirdo who could never break [superstitions],” Greenwalt said. “I think it just kind of helps me as a player. … It’s just like all in my head, I know, but I kind of like it.”
[Read more: Even after a dominant win at UConn, Maryland field hockey isn’t satisfied]
While Greenwalt is on the extreme end of the team’s superstition, the Terps have several pre-game traditions that they do collectively.
Every week, each player gets a “secret psycher.” They write that person a special note and secretly give it to them before the game.
The team links arms and stands together in a circle pregame, something they call “chinchilla.” Senior forward Olivia Reiter stands in the middle of it, shouting, “We’re going to get them!” After that, the players do a special chant together. They haven’t gone into a single game this season without doing so.
Before some big games at home, forward Julie Duncan puts her jersey over her head and the team turns off all the lights in the locker room. Then, once a strobe light comes on, the entire team starts dancing to music.
“I feel like it starts in the locker room because we all get pumped up in there and energy’s contagious,” forward Linnea Gonzales said. “We see one person getting excited, then we all get excited, especially when everyone is dancing in there. We just want to bring those vibes every game.”
[Read more: No. 3 Maryland field hockey beats No. 2 UConn, 4-2, in battle of undefeateds]
Once the team takes the field for warm ups, the same, familiar playlist blasts through the speakers. The first song, the one that gets the team most excited and ready to play, is an unexpected choice: “Circle of Life” from The Lion King.
Freshman Bibi Donraadt, who is from the Netherlands, had never played on a team that used warm up music before.
“It’s so much bigger … here and it’s so much fun,” Donraadt said. “I love it when we warm up with music, it just like gets you pumped up more.”
Even Meharg, who is in her 31st season as Maryland’s coach, has a ritual of her own.
“It goes through stages. I mean, it’s a funny thing. … Every year I have game socks,” Meharg said. “I’ve got three pairs of the same black Peds that I’ve worn [every game].”
Whether it be consistency, getting the team in the right mindset or just a little luck, such rituals have led to huge starts for Maryland as of late.
In each of its last four games, Maryland has scored the first goal and done so in the first 11 minutes to continue its undefeated streak.
The one game this season that Greenwalt didn’t paint her nails was against then-No. 5 Princeton. While the sophomore scored the first goal of the contest, Maryland played its worst first half of the season by a longshot before eventually tying the game with 15 seconds left in play and winning in double overtime.
