Young Goalies Unite!

Goalkeepers are almost always the most superstitious people on their team. Believe, I've tried, tested, and invented tons of them. Here are some of the things I do to bring myself good luck, as well as some others I've heard about. I call these the strange:

Naming the Posts

This is very common with goalies, even in ice hockey and soccer. The following is just my variation on it. The left and right posts are called Fred and George (either name goes, for me George is on the right, for my friend Jessica, he's on the left), and the top bar is called Bob. Every time the ball deflects off of one of the posts, you're supposed to say "Thank you Fred!" or whichever post it was. Think what you will...

Kissing the Kickers

Some goalies (myself not included) like to kiss the toes of their kickers before the game for good luck. I personally wouldn't do this, because I know exactly where they've been on: on icky fields!! Unless you feel like carting around rubbing alcohol to each game for disinfecting, I wouldn't do this. Not often, anyway.

The Song/Mantra

A mantra is a phrase you chant to relax yourself. While saying something to yourself to calm down isn't so strange, some goalies have made up actual songs. And we all know that not all goalies are poetically or vocally gifted. Some teams even bring tape-decks and play "motivational music".

Charms

I pretty much think that charms are weird. They can be anything from a necklace to a dried bit of orange peel. They're a bit hard to play with though, as you've got all that equipment on. I played with a loonie in my pocket for a while though.

No Lines!

Everyone knows that nobody is supposed to stand on lines when saying the team cheer, right? It's just not done! Bad omen!

Not Showering

While this is supposed to preserve the good luck "instilled" in your body, it mostly just preserves the stench of a disgusting dirty person. Yuck. Same goes for wearing the same underwear and all that...