Many Americans grew up playing sports and being told by coaches or parents the common phrase “look good, feel good, play good.” Fewer people continued to play their sport at a collegiate level and truly put the phrase to the test.
Athletes at Union University can often be picked out in a crowd by their unique swag. Each team has their own particular style. The way they walk, the way they sit with each other, the way they carry their backpack: often, it all stands out from the average student here and contributes to the culture of a team.
The difference is especially noticeable on a game day. You may be asking yourself why. Well, it is because game day requires a certain amount of mental preparation.
“A large part of the game starts in the locker room before the game,” sophomore men’s soccer player Manayeh Linton said. “If guys are in the locker room feeling bad about themselves and not looking good, then they go into the warm ups lazy, not putting their best foot forward. Then they go into the game carrying the same mentality as they did in warmup, which all started in the locker room.”
The men’s soccer team has noted the connection between looking good, feeling confident and performing their best to the point of creating what they call the “Swag Committee.”
“The Swag Committee is a group of guys, typically four, and is the most drippy guys on the team,” Linton said. “We pick what outfits we wear before games and pick out the new warmup kits and new jerseys for the following year.”
Although the importance of 24 guys on a roster matching what sweatpants they will wear to classes on a game day may seem questionable from an outsider’s perspective, it plays into the unity and confidence a team needs for success.
“It is vital that we pick the best outfit for the team,” Linton said. “You know, if you look nice, you play nice. That’s how it goes. When you think you look good, you have confidence, you play with a little more pizazz and a little more smoothness. You feel better, so you play better.”
“It is very mental,” sophomore women’s soccer player Ella Neely said. “Getting yourself in the headspace for a game is very mental and, it’s like, once I have that hairstyle on it gets me game ready.”
Looking good for a game can be in the form of warm up sweats, hairstyles or even makeup routines. The softball team has been painting glitter on their eye black and putting ribbons in their hair. The women’s soccer team has various game day hairstyles. Cross country runners choose their shoes, and many other sports pick their cleats. Every athlete has their own individual way of expressing themselves to boost their confidence for competition.
“I always wore my KDs before a game for a special confidence in my play,” graduate student men’s basketball player Ty Parks said. “I felt like I had my best games in those. I do think when you look good you play better. Getting a haircut also brings confidence to you.”
It is all a part of the mental game. Collegiate athletes have spent years developing their bodies to have the technical skill to perform their sport at this level and developing the physical strength to do so for a full season. The equally important skill that is often neglected is the mental strength. It is crafted differently for each individual.
“‘Look good, feel good, play good’ is honestly so true,” Neely said. “I always like to have cute hairstyles for games because I feel like I look better and then I play better. I don’t know how to describe it but when you look better it gives confidence, and even though soccer and looks don’t correlate, if you feel better about yourself, you play better.”
This is the same indescribable reasoning of why sports are more than games. Sports deeply impact lives. People cheer for their teams. They wear their colors every day and dress their children in them, teaching them to say the team’s slogan as a regular greeting.
All of this plays into the feeling of pride that supports a sports program and fuels success.
A beautiful part of human nature is dedication, repetition and motivation. Sports reflect them all. Athletes have been dedicated to perfecting their skill and repeating their rituals to find what motivates their best performance. These lessons translate on and off the field.
“I feel like when I have a busier day I will wake up earlier to get myself ready for the day because there is just something about getting ready that makes me more energized,” Neely said.
Looks are only skin deep; however, mentality and mindset go far beyond appearance. Both will change as we grow older; yet, we can practice understanding how we can best put ourselves in a mental mindset that prepares us to put our best foot forward so that we can “look good, feel good and play good” in all we do.
Photo by Gentry Wolfe