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S O M E G O A L I E S G O t o g r e a t lengths to adhere to their superstitions. For Team USA's Steve Cash, it took equal parts ingenuity and duct tape. Until recently, the veteran sled hockey netminder used the same chest protector he started wearing while playing inline hockey during the 1990s. "I obviously got some flak from my team- mates," Cash said, adding that he would repair the more than 20-year-old Vaughn e q u i p m e n t w i t h " w h a t e ve r I c o u l d fi n d around the house." "I kept doing it because I feel like it is what helped me perform at the most optimal level," said the St. Louis native who is a three-time Paralympic gold medalist (2010, 2014, 2018). "A big part of being a goaltender is being in your comfort zone." And that is what superstitions are often about: performance and winning. The drive to do so consistently creates pressure to succeed that affects all athletes. How they handle it can be the difference between a good routine, a healthy habit or a cumbersome superstition. Athletes need helpful routines, which can eventually turn into good habits, according to sports psychologist and The Ohio State University lecturer Dr. Leif H. Smith, co-au- thor of Sports Psychology for Dummies. Good habits like pregame stretching are beneficial while superstitions often prove detrimental. "A routine is important because we are creatures of habit," Smith said. " We do the same things over and over, and we like to know what to expect." There's nothing wrong with a routine that fits the goalie's personality and prepares him or her to perform well. Finding that comfort zone can make a big difference. "Successful athletes, for example, have different routines, and they do them more consistently, and at higher levels than regular athletes," Smith said. That's why goalies are always looking for ways to improve their preparation and per- formance. But when a struggling athlete succumbs to the irrational temptation of superstition, rather than calm reflection on how he or she can better prepare, a goalie can get into trouble. If able, an athlete should avoid selective memory and rationally consider the game when he or she did not adhere to a particular superstition, for example always eating chick- en pregame, Smith said. There are plenty of examples of a successful goalie performing well when beef was on the menu. Following pregame routines makes for a complicated dance. All those interviewed for this story said they have a particular order that they dressed before games, left leg, right leg, left arm, right arm, for example. None could say why beyond that the routine feels right. MIND GAMES CREATE THE RIGHT ROUTINE TO TAKE THE NEXT LEVEL BY JOE PAISLEY S JUNE/JULY 2020 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM // 21