“When I’m rock climbing, I bring my lucky gloves, otherwise, I feel uneasy. I won my first competition with them, and I feel like I’ll always do better when I bring them or wear them. I definitely think it’s a placebo, but it’s what I’ve grown used to, so I still bring them everytime I go rock climbing to this day.” 

– Meeka Rahimi (10)

“During basketball season, right before halftime, I would run into the dance room and do a cartwheel. This started because in one of the first halftime dances we performed, I had to do an aerial and for some reason I thought doing a cartwheel before could warm me up. Now I do this a lot because it gives me the burst of energy I need right before my performance. Although this ritual started as a nervous last-minute decision, I think it’s a funny tradition that helps my body warm up, so I will continue this tradition. ” 

– Jenny Grennan (11)

“[The nerves] go back days before the meet. I like to visualize [the race]. At any opportune moment I’ll just visualize myself in the race and then for some reason I’ll be nervous from that. Even though I imagine myself having a really good time I still somehow get nervous from that. So at a swim meet before getting behind the block or before I have to race, I shake my arms a lot and jump a couple times. The shaking clears my mind of all the nervousness before stepping up to the blocks.” – Vincent Wang (10)

“For rowing before a race I have a little folded American flag that I always put in the back of the boat. We had the flag when we did a PR practice in Marina Del Rey and when we went to regionals with the flag we did really well there. We brought it to Florida with us to nationals and did well. It’s probably a placebo or it could just be a coincidence. I’ve always just kind of had [the flag] with me just to have it, it doesn’t hurt. It’s just kind of an easy thing to bring good luck so I just do it because it doesn’t hurt to do a little extra.” 

– Sean Halligan (11)

“My lucky ritual is actually stolen from a show called Dance Moms. It’s the little dance, “Kiss kiss knee knee floor floor up” they do before they perform. My team and I do this every time before we perform. This lucky charm helps me calm down all the nerves and is just fun to do with your friends.” 

– Carli Govel (9)

“Before I play tournaments, I have a little McDonalds Edna Mode figurine from The Incredibles. It’s kinda like a bobblehead. I put it on the dashboard of my car and face it towards the court where I’m playing, and so if I lose and come back sad, then I’m happy because I see her. If I were playing and I was trying to make myself feel better, I feel that she’s watching.”

– Naomi Kao (12)

“Before a race, I listen to the song ‘Sidelines’ by Phoebe Bridgers three times in a row, and then ‘Titanium’ by Sia twice without interruptions or else I have to start over. I actually hate the song ‘Titanium,’ I just listen to it because I always have. I get really nervous before races and ‘Sidelines’ helps calm me down, and ‘Titanium’ gets my adrenaline up before I run.” 

– Kate Sherry (10)

“My visor because I practice with my visor a lot so racing with it feels more comfortable. I wear my grandpa’s watch sometimes. I feel like when I wear it, things start to go my way and I feel lucky. I have my [rubber] chicken Benito, but I lost him – I got a new one but it’s not the same. The chicken makes the scariness of a race kind of go away because it reminds me of how fun it is since it’s just a toy.” 

– Alex Naehu (11)

“I listen to some NBA Youngboy when I walk into the classroom before my tests. This is my intro music that I listen to with my headphones in, like I’m Kobe. I’m locked in. When I listen to NBA Youngboy I win my races in track and field and do well on my tests. I got an 88% on my Ms. Palosaari test. That’s coming off an F on the previous one so that’s how you know it really works.” – Matthew Liu (11)

“Before a game, whenever we cheer and huddle, I always have to do it with my left hand, otherwise I feel like I’m going to have a bad game if I do it with my right hand. Although I am right handed, I’m not really sure where that superstition came from. I just have a better game when I do it with my left hand. I score more goals, or we win a game. I feel like if we lose it’s because I did it with my right hand.” – Gabby DiCamillo (11)

“Before I perform, I like to do five jumps, up and down. Sometimes in addition to doing five jumps, I like to run a lap because if I’m more tired, I’m less likely to [blank and] make something up on the spot [while performing]. It helps me rely on just muscle memory. I always use the same brand of strings, go to the same person who does my hair, I warm up the same way every time. I don’t eat anything for an hour before performing.”

– Anthony Yoon (12)