At Collingwood there are things we do collectively and individually that become extremely repetitive and predictable. Everything adds to our mental and physical preparation including actions which can be considered superstitious.
I do not regard myself a superstitious person, but I am a creature of habit. There are things that I do during the week and on match day that are always exactly the same. This is also existent with my teammates.
Here are some of them.
Home ice bath:
This is crucial to my recovery. Every day during the week I drive to the same petrol station and buy three bags of ice (I keep telling the guy at the petrol station that my fridge is still broken). I fill up my bath with the ice bags and water then sit in the bath for 10-20 mins. What passes the time by is music. I listen to various songs on my iPod and sing them out loud to keep my mind focused on something other than how cold I am.
Thinking chair:
I have a really nice French Regal chair which I bought and call my ‘thinking’ chair. I have tried to emulate Albert Einstein who had a ‘thinking’ chair where he would go to a designated spot and simply think with the genius mind he had. I like to read on this chair and I have an exercise book called the ‘ideas’ book which I like to jot down any ideas I may have. I like to write poetry, draw sketches and write essays inside this book. I believe everyone would benefit from having something like this. Sometimes I just descriptively write about the future I desire to have as though I am already living it.
Walk behind Daisy:
This one is definitely on the superstitious side! On match day every time we run through the race before the game I always have to run behind Dale Thomas. I do not know why. As we walk up the race I will pat his back randomly and pull on his jumper. We have played a bit of footy together (75 games) and it has always been this way. I remember once I forgot to walk behind him and just as a creature of habit would respond, he called out for me and I quickly assumed my usual position.
Enclose myself in the locker:
Playing most of our games at the MCG we have become very familiar to our surroundings. All players, whether it is subconscious or conscious, have their own positions in the rooms. I personally have to sit in the corner where I can enclose myself in a makeshift ‘cubicle’. I do this by opening the locker door next to me so I have the wall on my left and the locker door on my right. It’s like my own little personal space where I listen to my music and get focused by visualising.
Warm up with Nick Maxwell:
I always have to warm up with Nick Maxwell as my partner for our final training session for the week and also on match day. This is another thing which I have not done through superstition, but just because it has become routine. This is generally the same for every player in the team. Another thing I do with Nick is always have dinner with him the night before the game. We have dinner at our close friend’s house (Nick and Sue) who cook up an absolute storm for us. I used to live with Maxy so this is how it came about and it has carried on through to now.
Call Bucks:I played my first game in 2005. My first game just happened to be Nathan Buckley’s 250th. What a privilege! The night before the game Buck’s gave me a call to see how I was coping with everything and lent me some words of wisdom as he always does. During that conversation he asked me if I had ever watched a movie called ‘Gattica’ which happened to be his favourite movie.
I went out to Blockbuster and hired out the DVD. I was truly inspired by the underlying messages of the sci-fi film. I then made it my pre game preparation to call Bucks the night before every game and ask him for another movie to watch and also hear some words of wisdom. Being the pragmatist that Bucks is, he had already created a list of his top 50 movies. I watched every movie from his top 50 the night before every game. Now that I have run out of movies, I still call him just for a chat the night before the game just to hear his wise words and he still asks me what movie I plan on watching.
Call all my family members before I go:
I always have to call all of my family members just before I leave for the game. This is something I have done since I have been in Melbourne away from them. For some reason I feel as though I am going to battle when I am going to a game. So I tell my family that I love them and they wish me good luck. Once I have spoken to them I feel as though I have their blessings and am ready to make them proud in battle. They always tell me to kick a goal and wave to them. I have only kicked 5 goals in 75 games and amidst the excitement I have always forgotten to do so! If you see me wave after I kick a goal then you will know it’s because I have remembered.
Until next time
Live for hope
Harry O
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