Every game, meet or competition has some level of importance to the team, whether it be a championship or a regular league match. There are many different ways teams prepare for these events, and certain athletes have specific pre-game rituals that get them focused, hyped and ready. 

“Before every track meet, the entire team goes to the base of the track, and we have a nice cheer where we [spell] out ‘C-h-a-n-t-i-l-l-y’ and [chant] ‘Who we be? Chantilly!’” senior and captain Clark Saban said. “It’s a pretty good hype chant. Usually the seniors lead it, but it’s a lot of fun when the younger kids step up.”

Saban believes that this pre-meet routine is very beneficial to the team as a whole.

“It keeps everyone warm after a nice hard warmup, and it keeps everyone hyped for the rest of the meet,” Saban said.

Saban and his teammates think that this ritual has a special place in the winter track team.

“It’s special because everyone does it,” Saban said. “It’s a little bit embarrassing for an individual, but by the end of it, everybody is going ham, so once you break through the threshold of awkwardness, it’s a lot of fun.”

Sophomore Taylor Swope and athletes on the girls’ swim and dive team bus have special routines before meets as well.

“Before each meet on the girls’ bus, we always listen to music and we have cheers that we say right before we get to the pool,” Swope said. “This ritual is special because it’s something only the girls do.”

While both the winter track team and the swim and dive team get hyped together as a group, players on the boys’ varsity basketball team start by individually getting focused.

“My main pregame ritual is putting in my AirPods and listening to music,” junior Luke Titus said.

“I have a playlist that I listen to solely before games.”

Titus believes that music is a key part of game day, and it helps him become laser-focused.

“Listening to music before games helps me clear my mind so that I can enter a game-time mindset.”

Depending on the magnitude of the game, or the different emotions he feels before a game, the genre of the tunes he listens to changes.

“Most of the songs are upbeat and hype me up, but sometimes if I am nervous before the game, I will listen to relaxing music to calm me down,” Titus said.

Regardless of the way Chargers get ready before an event, all athletes can agree that these pregame procedures help the players feel more prepared to put their all into a game or meet and help their team succeed.