Mental Skills: Ritual vs Routine      by Ray Lauenstein

Watch any athlete, particularly a basketball player on the free throw line and a baseball player at bat, and you will see performed what some might call a routine or ritual. Is there a difference?

Yes, and it mostly depends on your specific attitude toward the behavior.

In Japan, Sumo wrestling is the favorite national sport. Sumo is filled with rituals or ceremonial acts such as the lifting up of the legs to stamp of evil spirits and the tossing of salt around the ring.

These actions would be called a routine if they had no meaning to them, other then the fact that they are done each match. Most pre- free throw behaviors are a part of a routine. They are done to prepare the player to feel comfortable while s/he takes the shot. They really have no meaning to them.

Problems can arise when players feel that their performance relies on the accomplishment of a ritualistic behavior. For example; you only brush with Crest before a game and you only have Colgate this time. This non performance routine becomes a superstitious ritual if you let it affect your mind-set and performance.

Routines allow you to reach your optimal state of readiness, it is part of the preparation needed to put you in that state. Routines allow you to focus your thoughts without distractions. Often times they can trigger a relaxation response in an athlete without actually having to think about it.

Any non-performance related behavior which you think impacts your performance if it is omitted from your preparation is not part of a healthy mental skills program. A routine helps you get ready to perform, but you do not rely on it. The Lucky Rabbits foot is a myth. Don’t get caught in the trap. 

Ray Lauenstein is the author of Baseball: Playing Outside the Lines and The Making of a Student Athlete. If you would like him to speak to your team, booster club or other group please contact him via the online form or call 1-617-835-1836