Many athletes have superstitions. Superstitions are rituals that many people believe to be a bad habit for many athletes, but I think differently. These rituals are important for players in every sport for many reasons. There are thousands of kinds of superstitions.

Those famous athletes in that video have rituals important to them and I have my own rituals. Before competing in any athletic event, I do my hair the same exact way, with the same hair ties and the same headband. I listen to the same songs, over and over, and I do the same warm up. I think of it as a way of wishing myself good luck. Without my rituals I feel like I won’t play the same game. Going into a game without completing these superstitious tasks leaves me feeling unsettled and nervous. However when I do complete my pre-game rituals, I feel calm.

Some people believe that superstitions add unnecessary stress to an athlete’s pre-game. They worry that if they don't complete the ritual, they will go into the game with less confidence than ever. The differentiating factor is that many superstitions are very easy to complete. Often athletes do them in their everyday lives so it's not a hassle at all to them.

Athletes deep down know that that their superstitions don’t really have anything to do with how they play, but it does comfort the athlete.  "They often know that superstitious rituals are 'not rational,' but since on a top level the differences are so small, they think they cannot afford to take the risk to abandon the superstition," says Dr. Michaéla Schippers, an associate professor of leadership and management at Erasmus University's Rotterdam School. This statement made by Schippers describes the psychological impact that the rituals have on the players. They believe every little thing matters, and they don't think it's worth risking.

The superstitious acts also strengthen the feelings of confidence and control for the player. “They help people cope with uncertain outcomes in the future, especially if these outcomes are important to them,” says Dr. Paul van Lange, a professor of psychology at VU University. Those uncertain outcomes are exactly where the need for these superstitions derive from. After athletes complete a great event, they often analyze and remember what they did before that event, and repeat it in the hopes of having the same outcome for the next event.

Overall, these rituals don’t have many negative psychological impacts on the athletes. These superstitious acts before a competition are not bad habits at all. Instead these rituals are important routines that provide the athlete with a calm confidence that will lead them to victory.