BLACK CATS AND HOCKEY TAPE:

INVESTIGATING ROUTINES AND SUPERSTITIONS

AMONG PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY ATHLETES:

A QUALITATIVE STUDY

STAMATA (MATA) CATSOULIS

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES

IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF ARTS

GRADUATE PROGRAM IN KINESIOLOGY AND HEALTH SCIENCE

YORK UNIVERSITY

TORONTO, ONTARIO

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While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. Canada ABSTRACT

Superstitions among athletes have become an accepted feature in elite sport and are often followed and normalized in popular media. Yet, aside from some dated research (e.g.,

Gregory & Petrie, 1975; Neil, 1982), there is relatively no scholarly research - socio- cultural or otherwise - critically examining superstitious behaviour among athletes. This study attempts to address this gap in the research by critically examining the role of routine and superstition among professional hockey players. This study explores how and why ice hockey players employ routines and superstitions in their training and the effects on competition practices. This study attempts to differentiate between routine and superstition as experienced by male professional hockey players. The effect that routines and superstitions have on anxiety has been investigated. The reasons hockey players adopt routines and superstitions are also explored, taking into account the regimented hockey environment professional hockey players are immersed in.

iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

There are numerous individuals who deserve to be identified and thanked, as they have been integral to the successful completion of this study. This project would not have been possible if it weren't for the strong support team I had and continue to have behind me.

I'd like to begin by acknowledge my mentor who took the time to teach me the game of hockey. My appreciation cannot be put into words. Without these teachings I may have missed experiencing the joy of hockey, which later became the focus of my research interests, and a part of my life goals. Thank you.

I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Parissa Safai, who gave me a chance to succeed by taking me under her wing. These past two years, under Dr. Safai's supervision, my knowledge has been enriched and my views broadened. Dr. Safai's guidance and support truly helped develop and influence this research. I am truly grateful for the encouragement and freedom she provided, supporting my desire to conduct research in an area which I am deeply passionate about.

Thank you for believing in me.

I also would like to thank Dr. Safai for having selected the eclectic group known as the Safai lab. Many great friendships have developed out of this group, with many memories and laughs shared, so a special shout-out to Cheryl, Bryan and Danielle - "So

Social!" Love you all!

This thesis would not have been possible without the wonderful support of my family. My mother has supported me throughout my life, encouraging me continuously.

v Her enthusiasm towards hockey is second to none. Mom, you are my biggest inspiration.

I cannot put into words what you mean to me. My sister who always agreed to (painfully

I'm sure) proof-read my assignments throughout university. Every edit served to help advance me to where I am today. Thank you for all your support throughout this journey.

I'd also like to thank my father, who has supported me throughout my academic journey, allowing me to pursue my dreams. You have all had an influence upon me and all I hope to do is make you proud.

I have been blessed in my life to have a strong support network above and beyond those who I've mentioned thus far. To all my dear friends who have listened about my research, helped with recruitment, or just encouraged me to keep pursuing my dreams: you all mean so much to me. Thank you for being in my corner.

To my boys (as you will always be), the Hawks. You welcomed me and allowed me to share in certain aspects of your "world." The way you all have embraced me is beyond words. It is partially due to your acceptance of me as part of the group that I was able to conduct this study. The countless hours of postgame talks helped me understand the game from a different perspective, a player's perspective. I will always be your number one fan!

I wouldn't be able to complete this acknowledgement without mentioning Ralph

Pellicori. His support as well as his input has been invaluable to this project. I must thank him for the countless hours we spent discussing, arguing and analyzing; this helped shape this research as well as capture different perspectives countering my preexisting

vi beliefs. Thank you for being so superstitious yourself. It influenced the direction of my research.

Last but not least, I'd like to extend my sincerest gratitude to the study participants who agreed to participate in this study. They opened their lives to me and shared their experiences. Without them, this project would not have been possible. I hope that I have represented and honoured them accordingly.

vii FOREWORD

Choosing a topic for a Master's thesis was not an easy feat. I was looking for a topic to inspire me, as well as one where I felt I could produce a significant piece of work; one that would be impactful upon the hockey community. I had to remind myself that I was only in a Master's program and I did not have the experience nor was I granted the luxury of time to conquer the world. Due to my involvement with a men's recreational hockey team, I observed and contemplated and discussed which direction I could potentially take my research in with some of the players in this league.

The reason I decided to focus my research on routines and superstitions is two­ fold. After a 7-year involvement with the men's team and having observed particular players engaging in interesting patterns of behaviour prior to each game, I was intrigued by the importance and attention these players would give to those patterns of behaviour.

Having discussed these behaviours with these individuals, it was explained to me that certain beliefs were attached to these behaviours, and this created an inquisition which was not easily answered. How did these beliefs become attributed to these behaviours, ultimately becoming a normalized part of hockey? Why were they given so much importance?

The second part of my focus on routines and superstitions arose from the following: Howard Beck (2009), a columnist from the New York Times, wrote an article about a change in the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) game day routine. The Celtics, who practice a game-day routine, known as the shoot-around, decided to allow their players to sleep in rather than be at the arena between 9 and 10am.

viii Their decision was based on recent evidence from a specialist in sleep, Dr. Charles

Czeisler, who believes that sleep should be a priority in order for athletes to excel.

Shortly after this article was published Brian Burke, the General Manager of the Toronto

Maple Leafs, informed the media that he was evaluating this information and was considering removing the morning skate, a normalized segment of a professional hockey player's game day routine (torontomapleleafs.com, 2009).

The Boston Celtics recorded 50 wins and 32 losses in the 2009/10 season after removing the morning shoot around for the entire season (Beck, 2009). In the previous two seasons, the morning shoot-around was removed in the second half of the season only. In those two seasons the Boston Celtics posted a better win/loss record with 62 wins and 20 losses in the 2008/09 season and 66 wins 16 losses in the 2007/08 season compared to the 2006/07 season where they posted 24 wins and 52 losses (NBA Media

Ventures, 2010). Despite the improvement in their win/loss record over the seasons that the morning shoot-around was reduced or removed, it is difficult to attribute the success to the change in routine, as there may have been other factors at play. It does allow one to wonder whether these changes, which were opposed at first by the players, resulted in a positive outcome for the team.

To elaborate on the morning skate, it is a pregame routine professional hockey players engage in to prepare for a game, which may be extremely important to players who have developed their hockey skills and personal preparation routines via the morning skate. If Brian Burke was seriously considering removing the morning skate from the athletes' game day routine, what effect would this have on the players? Burke was

ix considering removing a common hockey experience in which all players share in an effort to prepare themselves for upcoming competitions. I wanted to perform research which could potentially shed light on the benefits or consequences of making such a change. I realized I had to start at the basics of routines and superstitions. This is where my research ideas led me, and the result was quite surprising, opening my eyes to aspects of the game of hockey to which I was previously unaware.

Over the next seven chapters I will be sharing the research experience of having professional hockey players share their lived-experiences with you. Throughout this paper, I use the first person and the third person. The language I use is meant to differentiate between personal accounts and academic reports, as I myself shifted between the role of person, struggling with emotions and trying to make sense of ideas, and academic, trying to overcome all insecurities in order to develop a theory. This is how I experienced qualitative research.

I hope you enjoy this detailed account describing my findings. It is the result of a wonderful, abundant, though at times stressful, year long journey.

x TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v

FOREWORD viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS xi

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1

Thesis Overview 7

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 9

Superstitions 9

Routines 12

Regimentation 15

Anxiety in Sport 17

Emotions in Sport 18

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY 22

Methodological Theory 22

Semi-Structured Interviews 22

Constant Comparative Method and Grounded Theory 24

Ethics Approval and Confidentiality 26

Methodological Experience 27

Research Process and Execution 27

Interviews 34

Transcription 47

Analysis 48

CHAPTER FOUR: ROUTINES 51

Development of Routines 55

xi Morning Skate 57

Interruption of Routine 60

"Success Creates Routine" 61

Normalization of Routines 63

Adjusting from Team to Team 65

CHAPTER FIVE: SUPERSTITIONS 70

What is a Superstition? 70

The Difference between Routines and Superstitions 78

The Purpose of Routines and Superstitions 86

The Roots of Routines and Superstitions 87

Game day 91

Equipment 93

CHAPTER SIX: ANXIETY 97

Facilitative Anxiety - "Butterflies" 98

Debilitative Anxiety 103

Lack of Anxiety 109

The Importance of the Game 110

NHL opposed to AHL Ill

Rivalries 113

Dealing with Debilitative Anxiety 114

Superstition as a Coping Mechanism 118

The Function of Routines and Superstitions on Anxiety 119

Regimentation 121

Ingrained Itinerary 122

Preparation 124

Routines and Superstitions in the Regimented Hockey Environment 125

xii CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUSION 128

Strengths and Limitations 131

NOTES 134

REFERENCES 135

APPENDIX A 143

APPENDIX B 144

xiii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

According to popular media, routines and superstitions in sport, in general, and hockey, in particular, are commonplace. Even the most revered players, such as Wayne

Gretzky, had superstitions: "I never get my hair cut when we're on the road because the last time I did, we lost" (Hamon, 1998a, 2). He continued by describing his specific routine of getting dressed:

I always put my equipment on the same way: left shin pad, left stocking,

right shin pad, right stocking. Then pants, left skate, right skate, shoulder

pads, elbow pads, first the left, then the right; and finally, the jersey, with

the right side tucked into my pants, (as cited in Hamon, 1998a, 2)

While this may appear as a seemingly benign idiosyncrasy, Gretzky is not the only athlete who engaged or engages in routines and superstitions in preparation for game performance. Kirk Maltby, a former hockey player for the Detroit Red Wings, explained his understanding of the difference between the two concepts of superstition and routine:

I'm basically a routine guy. There is a big difference between routine and

superstitions. If something that I normally do or if I'm getting prepared for

a game and something doesn't happen I don't have to knock on wood or

tap on something to counter it. (as cited in Vankoughnett, 2009, K 11)

This is a fascinating quote and one that begs the question: how do other players understand the difference between routines and superstitions?

Recently, a timely HBO 4-episode series named 24/7 Penguins/Capitals: Road to the Winter Classic was produced. This television series provided "exclusive behind-the-

l scenes access, along with in-depth interviews of coaches, players and front-office personnel, as the Caps and Penguins battle through their December schedules, meeting twice in one week" (HBO Canada, 2010, ^ 2). This was an excellent series which allowed for an exclusive look at all the pregame preparations, keeping in mind the influence the presence of the cameras may have had on the players and coaches. One particular clip of note, found in episode 2, shows Sidney Crosby, arguably the best player currently in the National Hockey League (NHL) describing his behaviours on game days

(Schreiber, 2010):

Schreiber [The Narrator]: As always the players arrive through the

northwest entrance of the Consol Energy Center. Sidney Crosby though

takes a different path than his teammates. A long and circuitous route,

designed specifically not to pass the visitors' locker room. For Sidney,

riding a 20-game point streak, game days are filled with a series of very

specific routines, like this one.

Crosby: There's probably a few which are borderline crazy, but I guess

we're all crazy in our own way. You're not gonna have any trouble

finding me at a certain time before a game. It's the same every single

game.

This clip continued to describe aspects of game day preparation including snacks consumed, lucky pieces of equipment worn and a special handshake Sidney Crosby shares with his teammate, Evgeni Malkin before taking the ice. It is evident from this

2 clip that all the pregame routines have been defined as "routines". The term

"superstition" was not mentioned at all in this clip or throughout the series.

Many athletes who participate in various sports are known to develop routines and superstitions during their training and competition regimens, and yet little is known about these practices and behaviours beyond popular media. According to Gallucci (2008), superstitions are those practices and behaviours that serve no technical function in preparing for the game yet are believed to be related to the outcome of the game. Based on this definition, how would one explain Sidney Crosby's path in the Consol Energy

Center? While it was described as a routine, is it really a superstition?

While there is not one unanimous definition in the literature describing routines in sport, the concept of routine, according to Websters Dictionary, is defined as "an unvarying or habitual method of procedure" (Retrieved from http://www.websters- online-dictionarv.org/definition/routine. last accessed June 1, 2010). In sports, routines may include paying specific attention to sleep, diet, practice methods, equipment and getting dressed (Gallucci, 2008), as illustrated in the Gretzky quote above. Preparation routines often remain similar from the minor and junior hockey leagues from about the age of sixteen and on in anticipation of one day playing professionally (Nixon, 1976;

Robidoux, 2001). According to Bloom, Durand-Bush and Salmela (1997), based on expert coach research, in hockey, game preparation includes a "morning skate" where the players take the ice for about 45 minutes and go over practice drills, followed by a video session, a team lunch and a nap in the afternoon before returning to the rink to prepare for that evening's competition. This routine repeats itself on every game day, unless the

3 coach decides to make the morning skate optional (P. Dennis, personal communication,

January, 2010).

Anecdotal evidence provides many examples of superstitions held by hockey players. During the NHL playoffs, some players choose not to shave their beards until they either win the Stanley Cup or are eliminated from playoff competition. This is an example of a proclaimed superstition that began quite recently in the 1980s when the

New York Islanders grew out their beards and won four consecutive Stanley Cups. This practice of growing out one's beard was quickly adopted by other teams in the NHL during playoff competition, with the exception of the New York Rangers who refuse to adopt a superstitious behaviour that was attributed to their rivals (CBC Sports, 2010).

Other common hockey superstitions include players developing meticulous ways of taping their sticks, following a certain player order when taking to the ice, or the order of putting equipment on for the game (Gates, 2010; Grigg, 2009a).

Superstitions among athletes have become an accepted feature in elite sport and are often followed and normalized in popular media. Yet, aside from some dated research (e.g., Gregory & Petrie, 1975; Neil, 1982), there is relatively no scholarly research - socio-cultural or otherwise - critically examining superstitious behaviour among athletes. In a tangential way, recent research, predominately psychological or social psychological in focus, investigates competitive anxiety in athletes as a function of proper preparation for competition (e.g., Boutcher, 1990; Burke, Czech, Knight, Scott,

Joyner, Benton, and Roughton, 2006; Foster, Weigand & Baines, 2006; Gallucci, 2008;

Jones & Hardy, 1990; Locke, 2003; Martens, Vealey & Burton, 1990; Snyder &

4 Ammons, 1993). While all of the above studies stress the importance of pre-competition routines, Foster, Weigand and Baines (2006) as well as Gallucci (2008) mention superstition and suggest that athletes utilize superstition in an effort to 'control the uncontrollable' in order to achieve the proper level of facilitative anxiety whereas Burke et al. (2006) believe that superstitions result from uncontrollable reinforcement after a random behaviour. This idea remains relatively understudied, generally, and there is a gap in the socio-cultural study of sport surrounding routines, superstitions and their importance to athletes, specifically.

This study focuses on male professional hockey athletes recruited as part of a sample of convenience (via professional and personal acquaintances, such as my involvement with a men's recreational hockey team in the capacity of assistant manager, granting me access to male hockey players who have professional experience). Given the plethora of popular literature regarding the routines and superstitions of professional athletes it seemed appropriate for this study to focus on professional rather than amateur hockey athletes. I do recognize that, in limiting study participants to males only, the lived experiences of female hockey players with regard to superstitions and routines are not being explored. Also, the superstitions and routines of professional athletes outside the sport of hockey are not being addressed.

By examining the lived experiences of professional male hockey players, this study aims to explore how routines and superstitions become a normalized feature of training and competition regimens. Given the relative dearth of research on this topic, this study draws on related bodies of knowledge including the development of athletes

5 into competitive sport, anxiety and anxiety management in competitive sport, as well as emotion and emotion control in competitive sport.

This study attempts to address this gap in the research by critically examining the role of routine and superstition among professional hockey players. The key questions of this study are: how and why do ice hockey players employ routines and superstitions in their training and what effect (if any) does it have on competition practices? In other words, this study attempts to explore the social and cultural importance given to pre- competition behaviour or a series of behaviours believed to influence athletic performance. While there are numerous examples, cited in the popular media, of superstition in a wide variety of sports, this study focuses on hockey and this study attempts to differentiate between routine and superstition as experienced by male professional hockey players.

The objectives of this research study are:

• To explore the lived experiences of professional hockey

players with regard to their routines and superstitions as part of

their preparation and competition;

• To examine how these routines and superstitions are or are not

adopted by the players and why; and

• To investigate the experience of anxiety, including its control

via routine and superstition, among professional hockey

players.

6 Thesis Overview

The following chapter provides a review of related literatures. As noted above, there is a lack of socio-cultural research on routines and superstitions, thus other bodies of literature were visited. Routines and superstitions in sport psychology were reviewed as well as literature pertaining to anxiety and emotions in sport. The disciplining of the athlete was also reviewed as it pertains to the regimented environment hockey players are immersed in.

Chapter Three discusses the methods employed in this research. Details will be provided regarding the researcher's experiences as she encountered her first qualitative research project.

The subsequent three chapters identify and explore the results of the study.

Chapter Four begins with defining routines as understood by the study participants. The development of routines is discussed, and the effects of routine interruption are explained. The normalization of routines is explored as well as the lived experiences of routine adjustment when the athlete is going from team to team.

Chapter Five explores the concept of superstition as understood by study participants. The difference between and interchangeability of routines and superstitions is explored and the purpose as well as the roots of routines and superstitions for the athletes are examined.

Chapter Six examines the theme of anxiety, particularly in two forms: facilitative anxiety and debilitative anxiety. Participants in this study spoke to both forms of anxiety as well as to a lack of anxiety; something considered to be debilitative to performance.

7 Factors which influence anxiety levels are discussed in detail, in addition to the role routines and superstitions play in controlling anxiety levels. Aspects of the regimented environment players are immersed in are also considered here, as the regimented hockey environment may affect personal stress levels. The function of routines and superstitions on anxiety is discussed, specifically how athletes use routines and superstitions to achieve facilitative anxiety.

The final chapter of this thesis provides a summary of the research project and draws together the central themes of this study. It also outlines the strengths and limitations of this project. It provides recommendations for future research as well.

8 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURES

There is a lack of socio-cultural research in the area of routines and superstitions in athletes thus this chapter will discuss the limited existing literature and the predominantly descriptive rather than analytical nature of the existing research. The use of routines in the development of the athlete will be touched upon, including regimentation, as well as the ways in which routines and superstitions can be linked to risk and anxiety as tools for anxiety management and emotion control. Emotions in competitive sport will be discussed; more specifically why athletes are trained to control their anxiety, the consequences of such control and the connection of anxiety management to routines and superstitions.

Superstitions

Retired Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche goalie Patrick Roy's self- proclaimed superstitions included making sure to step over the blue line on the ice on his way to the net and carrying on complete conversations with his goal posts, as he said

"they are my friends" (Grigg, 2009b, p. 175). Retired goaltender (nicknamed Mr. Goalie for pioneering the butterfly style of goalkeeping) Glenn Hall's superstition was quite extreme as he would have to vomit before every game for fear that, if he did not, his team would lose (Grigg, 2009b). Chris Chelios, who has played for the Montreal Canadiens,

Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks, would have to ensure he was the last player to be dressed before a game (Hamon, 1998a). These are but a few examples illustrating the common practice of superstitious behaviours among hockey players.

9 In a 1975 study surrounding superstitions in intercollegiate athletes, Gregory and

Petrie found common hockey superstitions to be focused on goaltenders as many superstitions were associated with scoring. Common superstitions included not saying the words "shut out" prior to the time in the game expiring when the goaltender has not let any goals in, tapping the goalie's pads for good luck, and allowing the goaltender to step onto the ice first. Neil (1982) found similar results when he inquired about ice hockey players' superstitions, acknowledging that though superstitions operate primarily on an individual level, certain rituals may be adopted collectively - for example, the growth of the playoff beard and, as another example of a superstition adopted by an entire hockey organization, the association between the Philadelphia Flyers and the inspirational singing by Kate Smith (Hamon, 1998b). When Kate Smith would sing

"God Bless America" instead of the national anthem prior to the Flyers' home games, the

Flyers would often win their games. Since her death in 1986, the Flyers continue the tradition of her singing by playing a video of Kate Smith singing "God Bless America" prior to every home game. The Flyers hold an incredible record of 87 wins, 23 losses and four ties as of June 9, 2010, when Kate Smith's voice is heard in the Flyers' home arena

(Anson, 2008; Panaccio, 2010).

Research in psychology and social psychology provide some data on superstition among athletes. Foster, Weigand and Baines (2006) attempted to replace superstitious behaviours with pre-performance routines in basketball players and found that superstitious behaviours had benefits to the players. They were unable to pinpoint the underlying mechanisms of superstitions but thought the effect of superstitions led to a

10 reduction in anxiety and an increase in confidence. Burke, Czech, Knight, Scott, Joyner,

Benton, and Roughton (2006) differentiated pre-performance routines from superstitious behaviours in that pre-performance routines were controlled by the athlete whereas superstitions controlled the athlete. Superstitions were found to reduce anxiety, build confidence and help cope with uncertainty by providing an illusion of control. Burke et al. (2006) found that individual personal beliefs as well as particular sport environments were strong predictors of using superstitious behaviour. Wright and Erdal (2008) found that superstitious behaviour would increase with the difficulty of the situation in highly skilled golfers.

Gallucci (2008) defines superstitious behaviours as having no technical function in preparing an athlete to execute skills, but suggests that superstitions are associated with better performance as superstitions function to promote feelings of emotional stability and control. When looking at Gallucci's definition of the term, it can be suggested that superstitions are used as a way in which to control anxiety. Wade Boggs, a successful major league baseball player, claimed his superstitions were a positive framework for the mind and that superstitions may have shielded him from distraction (Gallucci, 2008).

Snyder and Ammons (1993) refer to superstitions as "micro-rituals" that promote the appropriate level of tension and excitement for an individual player. Again, it is seen in

Snyder and Ammons' definition that superstitions are thought to be conducive in achieving the "correct" emotional state for successful athletic performance. While these are valuable insights, the literature pertains only to the effect superstitious behaviour may have on executing successful athletic performance and do not address the socio-cultural aspects of superstitions or, or more importantly, why they are employed in sport?

Exploring the practice and the lived experiences of professional hockey players may help shed some light on the function of superstition and routine on anxiety control and emotion control in competitive sport.

Routines

Routines have become an accepted part of sport preparation, and as such the research on routines has been mainly descriptive, focused primarily in sport psychology.

According to Duquin (1993), in sport psychology, there has been an increased focus on successful athletic performance, resulting in research focused on routines athletes engage in prior to competitions. In light of the existing literature on routines, a universal definition of the term has not been established, as many researchers have chosen to define the term differently (i.e., Hanton, Wadey & Mellalieu, 2008; Lidor, 2007).

According to Lidor (2007), a preparatory routine is explained by using the term

"preperformance routine" which is "defined as a systematic sequence of motor, emotional, and cognitive behaviours that are performed immediately before the execution of self-paced tasks" (p. 447). Research on this topic spans three decades, and most studies have focused on golf skills and basketball skills. From the research on preparatory routines, Lidor has concluded the following: imagery and relaxation techniques implemented in a preperformance routine can aid in the execution of self- paced tasks; performance may improve when a consistent sequence is maintained; and preperformance routines are situation-specific and may have to be altered. As most

12 researchers have focused on golf skills or basketball skills, there are a limited number of studies conducted beyond these two sports.

Another limitation is the focus of research on preperformance routines in self- paced events. There are a number of sports that do not allow for the preparatory self- paced routine. Does this mean that preperformance routines are not used in these sports?

How would preperformance routines be applied in an open skill, unpredictable sport setting? In Hanton, Wadey and Mellalieu's (2008) study, they defined preperformance routines as "routines used approximately one hour before performance" (p. 474). This alteration to the definition may have been implemented to include elite athletes from various sports in their study. This definition may allow future research to investigate preperformance routines on a variety of sports, which use both open and closed skills, rather than only sports with self-paced events.

For the purpose of this research, extending Hanton, Wadey and Millalieu's (2008) definition of preperformance routines to include all routines athletes engage in on the day of competition allows research to include athletes who participate in sports which do not include self-paced events, for instance, hockey. Hockey relies primarily on open skills, as it is played in an unpredictable environment. Preperformance routines include preparations for all areas that influence performance, from sleep and diet through to game intensity (Gallucci, 2008). An example of this is found in this quote from Stephane

Lebeau, a former NHL player discussing his personal routine in preparing for a game:

On the day of a game, I get up at 8:30am. I have my usual breakfast,

orange juice, oatmeal, two slices of bread, and a glass of milk. Then I

13 head off to team training. When I get back, I always eat a hamburger

steak and watch a show on TV. I have a 90-minute nap in the afternoon.

Four hours before the game, I eat a plate of spaghetti. I arrive at the locker

room at around 5pm and I put on my underwear. In the two and a half

hours before warm-up, I chew 20 to 25 sticks of gum and drink lots of

water. I tape up my three or four sticks for the game and, before every

game, I jump in the dressing room spa for three or four minutes. Then I

put on the rest of my equipment, (as cited in Hamon, 1998b, f 6)

Lebeau captured many of the factors involved in game preparation, such as sleep and diet. He established a personal timetable for himself and engaged in this routine before every game. According to Boutcher (1990), this systematic pattern of actions and thoughts can aid in athletic performance by reducing pre-competition anxiety.

Boutcher (1990) found that preperformance routines had the potential to help maintain performance consistency and recommended that all athletes develop a routinized set of behaviours to prepare for competition. Jones and Hardy (1990) examined the stress experiences of some elite athletes. They found these elite athletes would refer to their perception of stress as either a positive or negative experience. There was a perception of control that mediated the experience of stress. Many of the athletes referred to "controlled nervousness" as facilitative to their performance. More recently,

Hanton, Wadey and Mellalieu (2008) found that preperformance routines help the athletes control anxiety. Again, most these studies look at anxiety from a psychological perspective, not from a critical social psychological or socio-cultural perspective.

14 From a socio-cultural perspective, Shogan (1999) argues that routines are important in disciplining the players in order to produce high performance athletes.

Shogan recognizes that repetitive training and immersion in drills results in bodily control, a crucial element in remaining focused to execute skills. Therefore, the minute organization of time contributes to the disciplining of the athlete as athletes are highly regimented. Furthermore, practice drills are generally preplanned and executed in a timed sequence, and lateness at practice or other team events is punished, a common practice in hockey organizations (Fleury, 2009; Kennedy, 2006; Robidoux, 2001;

Shogan, 1999). It is from the execution of these drills that coaches and team administrators can assess which athletes have developed the skills necessary to perform in competition, and coaches reward the better players with opportunities (Robidoux,

2001; Shogan, 1999). These rewarded players have conformed to the coach's expectations and, as conformity is rewarded, this ensures that the players who are rewarded (and those who are not by example of those who are) will continue to conform.

Therefore, one may assume that players will adhere to practice routines as a way of securing a position on the team. Security is crucial in reducing anxiety which can be debilitative in sport performance (Gallucci, 2008; Wilkinson, 2001).

Regimentation

The idea of regimentation in hockey has been examined by Robidoux (2001). He compares hockey players to military soldiers, "subjecting themselves to disciplines of excellence and are [thereby] subsequently celebrated within this framework" (Robidoux,

15 2001, p. 28). Robidoux discusses the process of conformity athletes make to the team, as athletes are expected to sacrifice their individual self for the greater good of the team.

According to Robidoux (2001), all players are expected to follow the itinerary provided to them, though they are granted "free time" once their obligations to the organization are fulfilled. Robidoux (2001) claims that "players generally appear to draw solace from the security provided by this rigid structure" yet believes that this "solace" may be detrimental to the players' personal development, as well as impact the individuality of the athlete (p. 127). He believes that hockey players maintain an

"illusion of power" in their labour position within a hockey organization yet, even though the organization may comply and provide certain concessions to the athlete, the athlete nevertheless, by participating in training and practices, remains subordinate.

To summarize Robidoux's (2001) findings, as these athletes' imposed routines are strictly regimented, a homogenous group emerges, who are asked to sacrifice themselves for their team on a quest for a constructed idea of glory. For many of these players, it has been their childhood dream to play hockey professionally, and they feel fortunate to be employed as a hockey player. So adhering to the demands of the organization usually comes with little critical assessment as a false sense of trust is experienced by the athletes towards the organizations (Robidoux, 2001). Yet, as players become commodities, owned by the organization who holds their rights, they are expected to maintain a certain level of performance to maintain their employment. This strict regimented environment these hockey players are immersed in may result in a sense of a lack of independence or

16 control over their career, which may contribute to a sense of anxiety (Kidd, 1972;

Wilkinson, 2001).

Anxiety in Sport

Anxiety has become a recent focus in the literature, such that a number of researchers believe we are more anxious now than ever due to the "risk society" (e.g.,

Wilkinson, 2001). Wilkinson believes we live in an 'exaggerated' state of anxiety due, in part, to the increase of information technologies that constantly expose us to negative stories that may unnerve us. Furthermore, Wilkinson puts forth the idea of a social and cultural determination of anxiety, as we live with a sense of 'threatening uncertainty' which may come from a lack of resources available to us to escape 'fate' depending on our cultural resources. The example Wilkinson uses to illustrate this is the anxiety surrounding financial uncertainty that may affect a lower socio-economic status group rather than a financially privileged group. In applying Wilkinson's theory to sport, a heightened sense of anxiety may be experienced by the player who has not clinched his spot on the team, but rather, is a fringe player, having to prove his worth in every practice and every competition he engages in. This player may not experience the same comfort and ease as a 'superstar' player who has established his role and is relied upon by the coaches and the team. This difference may be evident financially as well, as a superstar player tends to have the power to negotiate better contracts, giving him a sense of financial security that the fringe player may lack.

Wilkinson (2001) believes that anxiety may result from a threat to one's personal identity and self esteem, and a positive sense of purpose as well as a sense of belonging

17 may help cope with anxiety. In coping with anxiety, Wilkinson states "the more we are convinced of our power to control the course of our lives, the less likely it is that we shall be overwhelmed by feelings of anxiety" (p. 68). This sense of control and mastery is taught to athletes through discipline and routine and has been emphasized through sport psychology (Shogan, 1999). Furthermore, Wilkinson mentions "the abundance of popular literature devoted to the management of stress and anxiety" (p. 65).

Competitive anxiety in sport is a "function of the uncertainty about the outcome and the importance of the outcome" (Martens, Vealey & Burton, 1990, p. 215). Thus, routines are believed to help combat the sense of uncertainty if the athlete has adhered to a training regiment and has recognized their own performance capability. According to

Shogan (1999), part of the disciplining of the athlete is to ensure that the athlete remains in control of their emotions at all times. As anxiety is an emotion, a brief exploration of the literature addressing emotions is warranted.

Emotions in Sport

Locke's (2003) cleverly titled paper, "If I'm Not Nervous, I'm Worried, Does That

Make Sense?" examined the use of emotion concepts by athletes in their performance through discursive psychology. As in Jones and Hardy's (1990) findings, Locke recognizes the athletes' need for positive anxiety, as the athletes state that if they are not nervous, they are not focused. Locke refers to the optimal level of nerves and arousal as

"a ready state" (p. 12). Locke believes her participants framed their experiences based on

"sports culture" which has normalized the expectation of specific emotions at specific times; therefore, the emotional experience is regulated in orientation to cultural norms.

18 This is not to say that there are not biologically based or instinctual emotions, known as

"prime emotions" (Buck, 1999), yet in the sporting context these emotions may be expressed according to social forces and vice versa. Locke mentions that the participants always had expectations of success, making evident the "normalization of success" thus implying that poor performance or failure were exceptional cases. This is an interesting qualitative study that focuses on the athlete's emotional experience in relation to expectations and raises an interesting question: does pre-competition anxiety exist because it has been normalized?

Snyder and Ammons (1993) would answer yes to this question. They believe emotions are socially constructed rather than biologically constructed. Just on the basis of sporting competition, where there must be a victor, emotions are socially charged.

Snyder and Ammons talk about "the sociological dimensions of emotion in sport" (p.

113), more specifically how athletes must learn to control their bodies and channel their emotions. They believe that emotions are relational, learned in social relationships.

Furthermore, they believe that sporting excellence is achieved due to the small skills, such as 'micro-rituals' (the term the authors used to define superstitions) as well as emotional control, which have been incorporated into training routines, as athletes have learned to self-regulate in order to achieve the optimal level of arousal. Snyder and

Ammons conclude by stating that athletic performance "requires an emotional preparation and control within a socially defined optimal range to enhance their success"

(p. 128-129).

19 This idea of controlled emotion in athletes is very problematic since, according to

Duquin (1994), "sport is a place for the expression of strong emotions" (p. 270) and, rather than these emotional expressions being encouraged, sport scientists are often more focused on restricting and suppressing emotions in fear that they may negatively affect athletic performance. This may result in athletes becoming disconnected with their emotions as well as with their moral and ethical self (Duquin, 1994). There has been an increased focus on winning in sport, coupled with a lack of regard for the athlete's body, leading to the potential for increased injuries and disengagement (Duquin, 1994). The question that surfaces out of this literature is what do athletes do with their emotions?

How are they managed, and are superstitions and routines used as tools to manage their emotions?

Hockey players are expected to be calm under pressure as emotional outbursts

(although it should be noted that some displays of emotion under certain circumstances - after a big win or a big loss - are considered acceptable) are often criticized by coaches and the media (Fleury, 2009). When referring to Daniel Carcillo, a player who reacted

"poorly" to a suspension during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the General Manager of the

Philadelphia Flyers said: "He's a player that has to play on the edge and sometimes he goes over the edge" (CBC Sports Staff, 2009, f 10). Another player from the San Jose

Sharks is quoted as saying "We can't sulk too long" after a losing a hockey game (CBC

Sports, 2009, f 14). Axe these quotes illustrating Locke's (2003) idea of the proper level of emotion in training and competitive practice? Is there a specific "sport culture" in hockey that dictates the proper level of emotion?

20 Many questions emerge from existing literature with regard to routines and superstitions. It appears that routines and superstitions are thought to be beneficial in reducing debilitative anxiety (Gallucci, 2008) as well as controlling anxiety in athletes

(Boutcher, 1990; Jones & Hardy, 1990; Martens, Vealey, & Burton, 1990), yet these are descriptive rather than critical accounts of routines and superstitions. This study critically investigates routines and superstitions as related to anxiety management and emotion control. Why and how routines and superstitions are experienced by players and how they have become a normalized part of competitive sports, specifically hockey, are the questions that drive this research.

21 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

Methodological Theory

This purpose of this study was to look into the importance of routines and superstitions through the lived experiences of professional hockey players. This study employed qualitative research methods, specifically semi-structured in-depth interviews.

According to Creswell (1998), I embarked upon a phenomenological study as my interest was in studying a shared lived experience surrounding the particular phenomena of routine and superstition. This study also examined the sources and effects of anxiety on the players and how that anxiety was negotiated. This chapter will discuss the methodological process involved in this research, providing details regarding data collection, analysis and the methodological experience.

Semi-Structured Interviews

Seven professional hockey players were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide (see Appendix A). A semi-structured interview guide offered flexibility in format, taking on the layout of a list rather than a rigid set of questions (Lofland &

Lofland, 1995). According to Berg (2007, p. 95):

This type of interview involves the implementation of a number of pre­

determined questions and special topics. These questions are typically

asked of each interviewee in a systematic and consistent order, but the

interviewers are allowed freedom to digress; that is the interviewers are

permitted to probe far beyond the answers to their prepared standardized

questions.

22 The questions evolved throughout each interview, with the interviews taking on a conversational style with the participant rather than a rigid question/answer period. As

Berg (2007) mentions, wording of questions is of importance in semi-structured interviews as the participants should understand what is being asked of them and the questions should be open-ended. All interviews were recorded using a personal voice recorder. Questions were centered around the development and importance of routine and superstitions, as well as anxiety and performance.

As this study was looking to capture the lived experiences of professional hockey players regarding routines, superstitions, anxiety and emotions, the questions were created in order to encourage the participants to describe their hockey experiences, while allowing the participants to be free to discuss matters important to each individual. Most interviews developed into a conversation, and the interview guide was not strictly followed. At times the interview guide was altered and probes as well as follow up questions were inserted in the interview to gently persuade a participant to expand on a particular point or experience. One participant in particular requested to look at the interview guide to possibly see, in his words, "if there's something to elaborate on." This was actually a helpful technique as the participant thought of many experiences to share with me based off scanning the interview guide.

The interviews were conducted individually and, prior to the commencement of each interview, I took the time to explain the purpose of the study and obtain a signed informed consent form (see Appendix B). Field notes were taken as well throughout the interview in an effort to capture other details of the participants' interviews such as body

23 language or to capture an action or moment the voice recorder may not be able to.

Interviews were transcribed shortly after the interview occurred so that key phrases, intonation and physical/bodily details of the participants were fresh in my mind. A facesheet was used for every participant which provided space for me to record "gross factual data" such as location of interview, time of day and other relevant demographic information (Lofland & Lofland, 1995, p. 103).

In total, seven individuals agreed to be interviewed for this study. The interviews took place in various locations including hockey arenas, coffee shops, sports bars and an office. Two participants were interviewed at the same location on different days. Each participant was provided with the Informed Consent Form (see Appendix B) which they reviewed and signed before the commencement of the interview.

Constant Comparative Method and Grounded Theory

After transcribing the interviews, data analysis followed a constant comparative approach to draw related themes from participants' descriptions of their own experiences and feelings surrounding routines, superstitions, and anxiety. In constant comparative method, analysis begins with first-level, or open, coding that consists of a line-by-line analysis of each phrase, word or sentence, or examining entire paragraphs (Schreiber,

2001). Each transcribed interview was read and reread, and important phrases or words were highlighted. Following the repeated reading of interviews was second-level coding where categories were determined based on the codes developed in the first step

(Schreiber, 2001). In third level coding, these categories were used to determine and examine relationships between concepts, constantly referring back to the data to confirm

24 or deny the relationship. Drawing diagrams throughout this process was a useful tool I used to assist in visualizing the relationships between categories and relationships

(Schreiber, 2001). The constant comparative method has been used to return to the interviews and compare each one individually, against each other and against the literature (Boeije, 2002).

The grounded theory approach is a constant comparative process where the researcher analyzes the data concurrently, while collecting the data, organizing the data and forming theory from the data (Boieje, 2002). More specifically, grounded theory involves developing codes, concepts, and themes from the data as preliminary steps in the construction of theory. Constant comparative method is the process used when engaging in grounded theory approach.

There are a wide variety of means to collect, analyze and interpret data but

Lofland, Snow, Anderson and Lofland (2006) caution that "qualitative fieldwork findings of some theoretical or conceptual significance are not so much novel discoveries as they are extensions or refinements of existing work" (p. 195). The categories that surfaced out of the data were analyzed and organized into common themes as per the constant comparative method (Cote, Salmela, Baria & Russell, 1993). As themes emerge from the data, it is imperative that the data continues to be finely investigated to allow the relevant themes pertaining to the subject matter to be discovered and developed into an abstract, parsimonious theory.

Grounded theory "entails developing increasingly abstract ideas about research participants' meanings, actions, and worlds seeking specific data to fill out, refine, and

25 check the emerging conceptual categories" (Charmaz, 2005, p. 508). Though this is not an ethnographic study, grounded theory recognizes that the researcher may play a major role in interpreting the data, and I believe I may have achieved theoretical sensitivity by having allowed the data to direct me (Giske & Artinian, 2007; Schreiber, 2001).

Ethics Approval and Confidentiality

The research methods employed for this study were conducted according to the regulations and policies set out under the York University Graduate Student Human

Participants Research Protocol and was approved by the York University Human

Participants Research Committee (HPRC) on July 13, 2010 (Certificate #: STU 2010 -

109). Every effort was made to ensure confidentiality, since this research involved discussions of anxiety and emotions, unless the participant indicated otherwise. This research project complied with required ethics, confidentiality, and informed consent to ensure that the safety, welfare, and dignity of all participants involved in this study were upheld at all times.

All the data obtained for the study has been used in confidence. To protect the identity of research participants who preferred to remain anonymous, pseudonyms have been used. Also, specific references (locations, situations) that may identify participants have been altered. Those participants who waived confidentiality have been identified.

Transcripts have been available to those participants who wished to view, for the purposes of verifying, what was recorded during the interview process. Transcripts, along with recordings of all interviews, were stored in a locked cabinet, accessible only by the researcher and her supervisor.

26 Methodological Experience

In the following section, I will be discussing my experiences during the research process, including data collection. A short interview by interview account will be provided to illustrate different key moments between Mata (myself) and the study participants to help give context to the interview process, as each interview occurred under different circumstances. This section will close with my personal account of the process of analysis.

Research Process and Execution

Initially participants were to be recruited via a gatekeeper who had previously worked with a professional hockey team. I chose to investigate the lived experiences of professional hockey players as most anecdotal evidence discusses routines and superstitions in professional athletes. Male athletes were easier to recruit than female athletes, thus I used a sample of convenience. The gatekeeper was unable to assist me directly with recruitment, for a variety of unforeseen circumstances, but did advise me on a location where I would be able to find professional hockey players train during their off-season. I visited this location but found it rather difficult to engage in conversation with these athletes as they seemed to be in a rush to leave the facility as soon as training was over. Furthermore, I was not the only individual waiting for these athletes to leave the facility, as there appeared to be many fans possessing hockey memorabilia which the fans desired the athletes sign. I quickly realized my attempts to recruit participants in this manner were futile. I wondered about the importance of an introduction from a common

27 acquaintance (the gatekeeper) and if that would have had an effect on my ability to recruit participants in this setting.

As this method of recruitment was ineffective, I turned my attention to alternative means of recruitment. For example, I had been personally involved with a men's amateur hockey team in the capacity of assistant coach as well as assistant manager. As such, many of the players who participate in this men's league have had professional hockey experience and these athletes proved to be more accessible to recruit as participants.

Recruitment entailed approaching individuals who I was already familiar with and asking if they were interested in participating in this study. All athletes I approached agreed to participate. From this recruitment method, I was able to recruit three individuals.

Another method of recruitment occurred via word of mouth. I had mentioned my proposed research plan to various acquaintances from different social circles. Three different individuals used their own personal contacts to put me in touch with potential participants and I managed to recruit one participant from each individual, which proved to be very helpful with the diversity of the participant pool.

I also contacted the head of media relations with the Toronto Maple Leafs organization via email describing my research and requesting assistance in location potential participants. Despite my employment with Maple Leafs Sport and

Entertainment as staff at the Air Canada Centre, which I thought may be beneficial in giving me an opportunity to recruit some of the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Toronto

Marlies, I did not receive a response from the organization.

28 Another gatekeeper was a contact of mine who worked at a hockey magazine. He was able to put me in touch with the Toronto Marlies organization directly. The public relations officer with the Toronto Marlies was concerned about the proposed length of my interview (45 minutes to an hour), and wanted to put time restraints on my interaction with the athletes. Though I understood his concern, I was not comfortable with that arrangement and that lead quickly dissolved.

The most interesting recruitment experience I had occurred with one participant in particular. I had gone to a local restaurant in the Toronto area with a friend of mine in the beginning of October. As we were finishing up, I looked over and realized a retired professional hockey player/coach had just entered the venue. He was alone. As I was about to approach him and introduce myself, his phone rang and he began a telephone conversation which I did not want to interrupt. His guest appeared shortly thereafter to join him. I thought my opportunity had come and gone. On my way out, I mustered up the courage, waited for a break in his conversation with his guest and walked up to the table and introduced myself. It was clear that I caught him off guard but he was very receptive and provided me with his email address so that I may send him more information regarding my study. After exchanging a few emails, he agreed to an interview and, in December, the interview took place. This participant drew from his experiences as both player as well as coach, which proved to be invaluable input.

As can be seen, my method of recruitment was not clear cut and resulted in a sample of convenience. That being said, it becomes difficult to claim that my sample is representative of professional male hockey players. Therefore, the results are not

29 generalizable to the greater population. Due to the difficulties I had recruiting active professional hockey players, all the players I managed to recruit have retired from playing professionally. Retired players seemed to be more readily available compared to active players. Many of these participants continue to play at the recreational level. It should be noted that each participant had a very different reason for retiring from the game.

Though all the participants were recruited and interviewed in the Toronto and the

Greater Toronto Area (GTA), not all of the participants actually reside in the GTA. I was unable to venture out beyond the GTA due to limited time and financial resources. I emailed all participants, except for one, explaining the purpose of this study. I attached the informed consent form to the email, so they would have a copy of it for their own personal reference. The participant whom I did not email did not provide an email address to me. I met him at a hockey tournament one evening and interviewed him the following evening. I ensured that he had a copy of the informed consent form for his records.

The ages of the study participants ranged from 24 to 58 years of age. All participants were male, able-bodied retired professional hockey players. Although my intent as the researcher was to keep the recruitment criteria broad in nature, the majority of participants who agreed to be interviewed were white, while one player identified himself as aboriginal as he was recruited at the a multi-cultural hockey tournament, playing on the aboriginal team, Aside from prior knowledge about the ethnic background of a few participants, I did not ask that the participants provide that information to me.

30 No explicit attempts were made to recruit groups on the basis of race, ethnicity,

(dis)ability and/or sexual orientation.

The participants are a predominantly white, physically dominant homogenous group, that may not be representative of the general population, though, according to

Robidoux (2001), may be very representative of hockey athletes. Despite thematic saturation achieved in the sample used in this research, these results may not be generalizable to a greater population. Also, the recruited participants had predominantly similar hockey development experiences. Being that the participants have all retired from playing professionally, their responses may not be representative of current male professional hockey athletes and may only reflect the lived experiences of a limited number of male retired hockey athletes. Having said that, the emergence of common themes seems to suggest that these findings may be relevant to other professional hockey players, both current and retired, especially when compared to the literature.

Once I decided upon the direction of my research, I began an exhaustive review of the literature. There were limited academic sources on the socio-cultural aspects of routines and superstitions, therefore I had to delve into other related bodies of knowledge, such as sport psychology, anxiety and emotions in sport. The literature was revisited throughout the process of data collection and analysis, which helped develop different perspectives of the data collected. This experience resulted in an awareness of the importance of returning to the literature at different times throughout the research process. This process allowed me to confirm or deny hypotheses that surface from the

31 data. Giske and Artinian (2007) mention the importance of approaching the literature as

"ideas" rather than "truths."

According to Creswell (1998), I was embarking on a phenomenological study. I was interested in studying a shared experience surrounding particular phenomena, namely routine and superstition. Routines and superstitions are phenomena which had been associated with hockey players in popular literature (e.g., Fleury, 2009; Grigg,

2009a, 2009b) and I desired to gain a deeper understanding surrounding these topics.

In developing the questions for the interview process, I was very direct (see

Appendix A). I was using a semi-standardized approach (Berg, 2007). I began with fourteen structured questions. These questions evolved throughout each interview. As

Berg mentions, the wording is of importance in semi-structured interviews. The language used should be understood by the participants. This surfaced in spontaneous follow-up questions I used during the interview process, using terminology and vocabulary understood in hockey such as "morning skate" "special teams," "PP" (referring to power play) and "PK" (referring to penalty kill).

Though probes were explicit in the interview guide, Lofland and Lofland (1995) state "it may happen that you do not... have much idea of what to probe for" (p. 102).

This statement sums up my experience prior to beginning the research process. More probes were added naturally during the interview. Contrary to Berg's (2007) suggestion, the length of each interview did not increase in a stable manner as I progressed through the interviewing experience. There were two occasions where the participants seemed to rush the interview. One interview took place in a hockey arena, where I was interviewing

32 a player who had just finished playing a hockey game in a tournament. He seemed tired and not fully engaged in the interview. A second interview was interrupted by a phone call at the 4-minute mark in which the participant indicated to the caller that he would return the call in 20 minutes. As a result, I understood that as 20 minutes was all the time the participant was willing to give to me and that interview was not as long as the others.

Despite these two shortened interview experiences, the interviews were around an hour on average. As the interviews progressed, more ideas surfaced which I wanted to inquire about. After the final interview, I would have liked the opportunity to return to the previous participants and pose certain questions differently or added new questions. Due to time constraints I was unable to return to all of the participants to follow up. I did manage to return to a few participants to clarify certain statements and ask more questions. Those participants were the ones I recruited through the recreational hockey league.

The art of taking fieldnotes is an area in which I believe I need improvement. I did not experience the "danger of tape recording" which as explained by Lofland and

Lofland (1995) may result in the interviewer being less engaged in the interview due to the reliance on the voice recording. Rather, I experienced the opposite. I was so enthralled by the information I was receiving from the participants that my fieldnotes suffered. I hope that with practice, I will be able to master the skill of taking great fieldnotes, as I noticed major improvement from the first interview to the last.

My project also had auto-ethnographic elements as well (Creswell, 1998). My seven-year involvement with the men's hockey team exposed me to the fundamentals of

33 hockey, including both technical and mental aspects involved in the game. I noticed behaviours and actions performed by the players which aroused my curiosity and interest.

These experiences were included as a basis in structuring my research questions and developing my interview guide (Appendix A). Also, my experiences were included as data in the research via memoing. Mills (1959) suggests that any good researcher should have a journal and a collection of notes. I had begun taking notes approximately three years ago at practices and games, noting whatever I believed may be relevant at the time, which I was able to incorporate into this project. As Schreiber (2001) states, "in grounded theory, everything is data" (p. 65). I had conversations with many people regarding this topic, which resulted in more data collection, as well as participant recruitment.

Three of the participants were easily recruited as I was already an "insider" due to my involvement with the men's recreational hockey team. I was a "known investigator" and each participant was fully aware of what my interests were. Lofland and Lofland

(1995) mention the exploitation of social ties, which I definitely used to my advantage.

As mentioned above, just by discussing my research with friends and acquaintances, I was able to recruit three participants through other people. One participant was approached in a restaurant, after I recognized that he was a former professional hockey player, thus potentially being a good candidate to participate in this study.

Interviews

This section will go into more detail regarding each interview and certain interactions between the interviewer (Mata) and the participants which cannot be

34 summarized elsewhere. The dynamics of the interaction in the roles between interviewer and participant will be touched upon. This section is meant to give the reader insight to the dynamics of the interview process through sharing my experiences when conducting the interviews as well as provide background information to put the lived experiences of each participant into context. Names have been changed to ensure anonymity of those participants who chose not to waive confidentiality.

The First Interview: Ron

The first participant, Ron, was recruited with the help of an acquaintance. I was discussing my interest in recruiting professional hockey players to interview with my registered massage therapist and she suggested that I email her with information about my research and she would forward it to her colleague who is married to a retired professional hockey player. After a few exchanges of emails, Ron and I had first arranged to have a telephone interview. When I suggested that I visit Ron's office to conduct the interview face to face rather than conduct the interview over the telephone, he agreed. My first interview took place in October of 2010 and, though I was nervous, I was looking forward to beginning the data collection process of my research.

Ron was very prepared, as he had already composed a list of things he wanted to mention to me, and he had already printed and signed the informed consent form. We began the interview with my standard question of asking him to tell me about his hockey history. This participant was the oldest, and retired from the game of hockey in 1981. He split his career between the American Hockey League (AHL) and the NHL, and he spent his final year playing in Europe. I found his experiences from the different leagues he

35 played in an asset for my purposes when inquiring about the differences within and between leagues and teams.

As the interview was conducted in Ron's office, Ron may have felt a sense of control or power. He appeared to be in control of the interview, and used his pre­ recorded notes as reference for his answers to my inquiries. When I asked him if there was anything else he'd like to add, he went over his notes to confirm he had shared with me all he was prepared to share. He replied:

Um no, I think we've talked about a number of things here. We talked

about putting on the equipment, driving... [Ron looks over his notes] No,

I think that's all the things I have that I wanted to mention to you...

Meals... Practice... Is there anything else you wanna ask?

What I found interesting is once I had asked if there was anything he would like to ask me (which occurred at the 46 minute mark of the interview), that one question led to 20 more minutes of data. Ron then inquired about my research and which direction I wanted to go in and that opened up new avenues for the participant to share more anecdotes. I had the opportunity to inquire about his experience playing in Europe. He shared rich data with me regarding that experience. Ron also suggested that I get in touch with the

NHL Retired Players Association to recruit participants. I did make an attempt to follow this lead but I was unable to make contact with anyone there. I considered this first interview to be a success, and was looking forward to more interviews to come, though I had not had any scheduled at this point in time.

The Second Interview: Craig

36 The second interview was with the participant whom I recruited on my own by approaching him in a restaurant. I met Craig in October and, after exchanging a few emails, we agreed to meet in the beginning of December at a coffee shop. When I arrived at the coffee shop Craig was already there. There were Christmas carols and holiday music playing loudly in the background and I was a bit concerned as to how that would turn out on the personal recording device. It did not turn out to be a problem at all.

Craig had experience as both a player and a coach. This interview took the form of a guided conversation. I probed his experience of being a player and a coach and the differences he experienced within and between each role. Craig's last season as a player was the 1996/97 season. His last season as a coach was the 2008/09 season. He described the regimentation players are subjected to in professional hockey leagues. In this interview the interview guide was altered as we progressed into subjects regarding his experience as both a player and a coach that opened up new topics. His last statement in the interview was most interesting: "That was completely painless, I'm not sure I gave you much to go on." It made me wonder how Craig had mentally prepared himself for the interview and what his expectations were. Nevertheless, another successful interview was complete.

The Third Interview: Mike

The third participant was recruited with the help of a friend of mine. I was out at an establishment in the Toronto area, and ran into a friend who I had not seen in a while.

We were catching up and in that conversation, he asked me what I was "up to." I told him about my research and he said he knew a couple of retired players that he was Mends

37 with and he would try to recruit these people for me. He was able to recruit one participant, Mike, who he put me in contact with via telephone. I contacted Mike and we arranged to meet in late December at a coffee shop. The previous two participants were both Canadian from the Ontario area. This participant grew up in the United States, in the northeast. His journey to professional hockey differed from the previous participants as his hockey development came from a "prep school" and then university hockey. After playing for the U.S. Olympic team, he went to the AHL and NHL. This participant's professional hockey career ended with some coaching experience in the professional minor league, the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). This participant had a plethora of experience from which to draw on.

At the 4-minute mark of the interview Mike's phone rang, and he excused himself to take the call:

[phone rings]

Mike: Can I take this?

Mata: Yeah, go ahead.

Mike: [phone conversation] Hey Scott, yeah, I had to meet someone...

Okay... With the wha?... Can I call you back? I'll call ya in 15, 20

minutes... Why? Yeah they are there, they're there. Okay... Bye...

He mentioned to the caller that he would call the person back in 15-20 minutes. I felt that put a bit of a time constraint on me. At the 21-minute mark, he said:

I hope I answered your questions. If I didn't, if you go through it, let me

know, we can meet again and whatever.

38 That was pretty indicative that he wanted to wrap up the interview. So I asked if he had any questions for me, and he asked about my intentions once I was done school and after a short conversation, I wrapped up the interview. Despite the length of the interview, this participant provided perspective on regimentation and anxiety. We discussed key themes that were beginning to emerge from the data.

The Fourth Interview: Dave

The fourth interview was the shortest. This participant was recruited with the help of a colleague from the Master's program. In December of 2010, a recreational hockey tournament was taking place in the Toronto area where some teams had players who had professional experience. My colleague acted as a gatekeeper, taking me into the locker room hallway and introduced me to the general managers and coaches of teams participating in the tournament. Out of the four people I exchanged information with, one person actually requested that I return the next evening to interview him after his next game. I agreed.

The next evening I arrived at the arena early enough that I was able to watch the participant play. The team he was playing on lost their game. I waited for him in the hallway and when he emerged from the change room, it was almost midnight. We stepped into the empty arena and I began the interview. He grew up in Ontario, so his hockey development came through Ontario programs. I took into consideration the time, as well as the continuation of the tournament the next day. Though it was the shortest interview, I felt that the important issues were addressed. I didn't have time for many

39 follow up questions at the end, and when I asked if he had any questions for me he was quick to answer:

Dave: No, it's pretty straight forward. A lot of your questions are easier

for you to ask me. It's pretty straight forward.

Mata: I don't know if there's anything else you wanna add, I'm just

basically looking at routines, superstitions, and just doing comparisons.

Dave: No, that's all there is.

I asked him one more question pertaining to his timetable. Once he answered that question, I wished him luck for his game the next day and we ended the interview.

The Fifth Interview: A.J.

The fifth participant was recruited through the recreational men's league that I had been involved in. I had knowledge of his experience as a professional player and I approached him to participate in this research. He too went through the Ontario hockey development programs. We arranged a meeting via emails and text messages for early

February of 2011 at a hockey arena. A.J. was choreographing a hockey video shoot for a television show. Once the filming was done, he came up to the restaurant in the arena and we began the interview.

The music in the restaurant was quite loud, but the recording came out very clear, despite the background music. This participant spent the majority of his professional career in the professional minor hockey leagues in the United States. He seemed to enjoy the opportunity to be interviewed and share his experiences. It was a very relaxed

40 interview. He appeared to relish the opportunity to switch roles and ask me questions when I provided the opportunity:

Mata: Do you have any questions for me?

A.J.: Questions for you? Okay, what made you decide to pick this topic?

Mata: I don't know... [I hesitate, thinking]

A.J:. That's not a good answer! [Share a laugh]

I must admit I was caught off guard with this role reversal, and I wasn't prepared to answer his question without giving it some thought, which I did:

Mata: I have to think about it. It was just the whole idea of superstitions.

I think it started with Ralph mostly, watching him play and he's really

superstitious... So my first mini-project was just on goalies and then I

decided to expand upon it.

Giving the participant the opportunity to reserve the roles and ask me questions was an asset in helping me analyze the direction this research was going in.

The Sixth Interview: Charlie

This participant and I have a friendship which began two years prior to the interview. He is involved with the team that I worked with. He grew up in Ontario, yet decided to take the NCAA route of hockey development. He explained his decision:

Charlie: That was a big point in my life where I had to decide, do you

want to go to school and take the scholarship route or do you want to go to

the OHL (Ontario Hockey League)? And a lot of kids these days are

going to get to that point where they gotta make that decision, and that's a

41 very, very tough time... It's an exciting time, don't get me wrong, but it's

very tough, cause you either go one way or the other. I know back when I

played, education wasn't as big in the OHL. I know that's changed a little

bit now, even in the last 5 or 6 years they're starting really to mandate

education and make it where you can do both... I'm not sure exactly how

the rules work but basically if you went the OHL direction you weren't

allowed to play NCAA...but the other way around where if you went to

college, you could always leave, and go back and play in the OHL, it was

never an issue. It was just the one way, where if you went to the OHL,

you couldn't go to college.

Mata: And all these colleges would be in the States, NCAA is all in the

States?

Charlie: Yes, everything is in the U.S. So I wanted the education, I

decided to go to school. I took a scholarship at St. Lawrence University, I

played four years there.

This decision to choose the NCAA route of development was of interest, as the hockey development systems are different, with the OHL having the reputation of being a better route to the NHL. At this point, three of the participants had followed the OHL route for their hockey development, whereas the other three further developed their hockey skills in the NCAA. I wondered if I anything would surface relating back to the development systems the participants experienced. I interviewed him in the same location as the previous participant, a week later.

Due to the fact that we had shared previous conversations about the subject matter I was interviewing him about, when beginning a sentence he often used the term "Like I told you before..." illustrating previous conversations. This particular interview appeared to be the most personal, possibly due to the existing friendship we had already developed.

During the 54-minute mark of this interview, I looked at my voice recording device and realized the battery had expired. Luckily, I had an extra battery with me, so I changed the battery and continued the interview. I am not sure how much of the interview I lost due to the battery expiring, but it seemed like we were able to pick up where we left off. My question prior to the battery giving out was:

Mata: Wasn't it tough playing back to back like that? [Battery died]

[Frantically searched for another battery, found one and inserted it into the

personal voice recorder]

Mata: Okay, hopefully this one lasts, okay, so we'll try to...

Charlie: Okay, so just in terms of the back to back games, in my situation

it was difficult cause like we said, there's not as many games in college, so

if you lost that Friday night game it was almost mandatory to win on

Saturday because you didn't play again until the following Friday...

Thankfully, Charlie was able to stay on track with the specific topic at the time of the battery expiring, as I had lost my train of thought due to the panic that arose from the This participant was also the easiest to transcribe. When I mentioned to him how slowly and clearly he spoke (and what a joy he was to transcribe), he informed me that he had received interview training when he played professionally (quite an interesting aspect if looking at the influence an organization has on players). As the interview progressed, and Charlie seemed to relax and perhaps forget he was being interviewed, the question/answer session morphed into a conversation, and he did not speak as slowly or clearly as he did at the beginning of the interview. What was really interesting was once the battery expired, and I had to take a moment to change the battery, it almost was as if this process brought attention back to the fact that he was being recorded, so when I began taping again, he returned to the slow, clear pace of providing information that he used when we began the interview about an hour prior.

This participant was forced to retire from a career in professional hockey at a fairly early age due to injury and, though he was the youngest participant in my research

(age 24), he provided detailed accounts of his experiences as they seemed to be fresh in his mind. It was great to have this seemingly fresher input in comparison to the first two participants who were considerably older. It seems to appear that certain routines and superstitions may potentially withstand the test of time and have could become embedded in a hockey subculture, as I will discuss in the subsequent results section.

The Seventh Interview: Mark

This participant was also a friend of mine who had professional experience. I had met him some years ago through the recreational men's league. He was no longer participating in the recreational league due to injury, yet we still managed to keep in

44 touch. I contacted him directly via instant messaging and asked if he'd be interested in participating. He agreed immediately. The seventh and final interview took place at a sports bar, where Mark and I met for dinner while watching the local hockey game. This interview took place two days after the previous interview with Charlie. We had dinner first, where I tried to avoid discussing my research, hoping to save it all for the interview, but inevitably we discussed certain aspects of the academic program and some aspects of my research. Once we finished dinner, we began the interview. This was by far the noisiest environment in which I conducted an interview, yet the quality of the recording was excellent.

This interview definitely took on the form of a conversation, and as that, probably one of the most difficult interviews to transcribe. As this was the seventh interview, I still had the interview guide with me but had ideas in my mind of what I wanted to ask

Mark. This participant did not wait for an invitation from me to ask if he had any questions for me but rather took initiative himself and asked many questions such as:

Mark: So you're trying to make the connection between superstition and

routine, or superstition and...

Mat a: I'm just gathering. And then I'm going to sit down and analyze it

and see where it takes me. It's different kind of research, I'm not

crunching numbers. Basically I'm going to transcribe our interview word

for word. And then you start looking for common words between the last

guy, and the other guy and start pulling out ideas. So I'll share quotes that

certain people said.. .just to kind of drive the point across that I'm trying to

45 make. I'm going to like take this opinion and that opinion and create my

own. I think that's how it's going to turn [out], but ultimately I don't

know how it will all link together.

Mart. What are you looking for? You don't know what you're looking

for?

Mata: I think I'm looking for...

Mark'. Like what's your main question that you're trying to answer?

This participant was instrumental in helping me analyze my own thoughts in understanding the research process I was engaging in. He also seemed to be very intent on being as helpful as he could be, so towards the end of the interview, when I asked:

Mata: Is there anything else you want to add?

Mark: Let me see your questions [referring to the interview guide]. I

haven't answered anything...I mean if there's something that I can

elaborate on.

Mata: Okay, you want to look them over...

I excused myself to go to the bathroom. When I returned I asked:

Mata: Did it trigger anything?

Mark shared a key piece of information with me at this point [see pp. 119-120]. I wish I had implemented this strategy in previous interviews as it worked quite well in this situation.

The other interesting part of this interview was the number of pauses throughout when we both became distracted with the hockey game we were watching during a

46 scoring opportunity or a power play. Despite these pauses in our interview, we somehow were able to stay on topic, and the conversation flowed nicely. It was by far the most relaxed and social interview conducted in this research. This interview completed the data collection.

Transcription

For me, transcription was a tedious process, with many decisions having to be made on how to manipulate written word to capture spoken word. Transcription proved to be one of the most difficult aspects of this project. Capturing all the urns and the ahs was important to me in order to illustrate the thinking process that was occurring while the participant was speaking. Lapadat (2000) discusses establishing conventions for transcription and points out how problematic this process can be. For example, whereas I chose to employ the symbol "..."to represent a pause in speech for the first interview I transcribed, I inserted "[pause]" in another interview to convey the longer version of the same thing - a pause in speech. I tried different methods, symbols and written sound effects (e.g., um and ah) in each interview in an attempt to find the method I was most comfortable with. I allowed the context and the use of language during the interview to create meaning during transcription, which I then translated into a representation of how I perceived and interpreted it to be.

When transcribing, I added in many descriptive terms - for example, wide toothy grin to capture my interpretation of the participant's expression and choke to describe a difficult moment when the participant had a rush of emotions that cut off his speech. It was my attempt at capturing the essence, or rather, quality of the interaction. As there is

47 no step-by-step guide on transcription, I remained mindful, attempting to transcribe in a manner that would be understandable to others reading my transcription, yet not necessarily readable. I focused on capturing the interaction between researcher and participant, inserting share a laugh representing both the interviewer and participant sharing a moment of laughter. I listened to every interview recording, following along in the transcribed document to correct or add any words, emotions, or actions a number of times. When I felt I had resulted in a successful transcription, I released a sigh of relief, only to realize that data analysis was the next challenge I was faced with.

Analysis

Schreiber's (2001) attempt at a step-by-step guide to grounded theory was helpful when I began to analyze the data. I began by reading every transcript over word for word many times. Once I felt I had grasped what the participant was trying to convey, I then went over each transcript with highlighters and pens, marking any phrases or words which appeared to conveye special meaning. I used all the methods outlined by

Schreiber, line-by-line analysis, sentences and whole paragraphs and finally going over the entire document. This, according to Schreiber (2001), is "first-level coding", also known as "open coding" (Giske & Artinian, 2007). Much of my transcripts were covered in different coloured highlighters and ink markings, which aroused feelings of slight anxiety as none of it seemed organized, until I began to create categories (also known as second-level coding (Schreiber, 2001) or selective coding (Giske & Artinian, 2007)) and

I organized all the captured moments of speech into one or many categories. It was similar to getting a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle dumped in front of you with all the pieces

48 scattered, until you organize the edge pieces and create the frame. That experience was exhilarating. Witnessing my data transform from blurbs of words into comprehensible categories was exciting.

I had begun (at some point along the way) creating rough sketches of diagrams.

This was a great way of allowing me to visualize the categories and helped begin the process of drawing connections between the categories, in order to arrive at final concepts. Diagramming was invaluable. It illustrated thoughts I did not know I even had until I was able to visualize them, showing areas which were strong and areas which needed to be worked on. If I began as a "tabula rasa," I don't believe I would have achieved the same results. I was able to examine my pre-existing beliefs and confirm or deny them through the constant comparative method, always keeping an open mind and allowing the data to direct me (Schreiber, 2001).

All these examples which I mention above capture the constant comparison method that is crucial in developing grounded theory (Boeije, 2002). From the moment I conducted the first interview, I compared what the participant said to preconceptions I had regarding the topic. My comparisons only became more prominent when I collected more data from other participants. I had already identified similarities in the participants, and patterns which I was going to test through coding. Some of these similarities fit nicely, other thoughts were discarded. Constant comparison was most prominent when I returned to the literature. I was able to compare my results with results that had already been published. Constant comparison also occurred within my own data. Every time a

49 new idea would occur to me, I would return to the data to ensure the data fit with my idea, experiencing the inductive process grounded theory consists of (Cote et al., 1993).

As the methodological experience is relevant to the outcome of the research, this chapter provided details of what the methodology entailed and how it was interpreted by the researcher, on an interview by interview basis, and a step by step basis of transcription and analysis. The following three chapters will summarize my findings, beginning with a chapter on the theme of routines.

50 CHAPTER FOUR: ROUTINES

This chapter will explore the theme of routines, primarily as defined and explained by the study participants. Furthermore, the participants' development of routines will be discussed as well as the importance of routines and the impact of routine interruption. The concept of "success creates routine," along with normalization of routines will be introduced and the adjustment from team to team will also be discussed.

The study participants who decided to waive confidentiality (as indicated on the Informed

Consent Form (see Appendix B)) have been named name whereas participants who preferred to remain anonymous have been given a pseudonym.

Routines were understood by the participants as all the actions/behaviours a player would engage in on game day to prepare for upcoming competition. While this chapter will focus on the participants' understanding of routine, it is important to note that the definition of the term 'routine' is not well established in the existing literature.

As mentioned in the review of related literatures chapter, time prior to competition appears to be a factor when defining routines, thus a universal definition of routines has not been established (e.g., Hanton, Wadey & Mealieu, 2008; Lidor, 2007). For example,

Hanton, Wadey and Mellalieu (2008) define pre-performance routines as "routines used approximately one hour before performance" (p. 474) and yet the participants in this study spoke of pre-performance and game preparation routines beginning many hours and even, in the case below, days prior to competition:

Mata: So what was a typical game day like for you?

51 Ron: It probably leads up before game day. In the NHL, at the time, we

played an 80 game schedule, which meant on average, two, sometimes

three games a week. So there's not a lot of time in between, there's not a

lot of time to practice. If you have a few days in between, you start

preparing for the game a few days before game day.

Ron explained that game preparation for him began days before the competition. This sentiment was echoed by other study participants who discussed the grueling practice schedule in the days prior to competition. Many participants discussed the practice timetable implemented by their team's coaching staff, and the difficult off-day practices that were intended to prepare the athletes for the upcoming competition. Though practice is a very important factor in preparing for competition, for the purposes of this study, the focus remains on the routines that these athletes engaged in on game day, which practice sessions (i.e. the morning skate) are a part of.

Despite Hanton, Wadey and Mellalieu's (2008) definition including a time frame for pre-performance routines of only an hour prior to competition, study participants spoke about their preparation on game days beginning the moment they woke up to the minute the puck dropped at that evening's competition. Craig explained:

Game day is a pretty familiar ritual to everybody. You normally get up at

8:30 or so and get off to get some breakfast in ya and get off to the rink. If

you're playing at home you skate in the morning at 10:30, have a light

skate in the morning at 10:30 till about 11 o'clock, 11:15, then you do

your preparation meetings, preparation for the game and then leave the

52 rink. Pre-game meal around 1 o'clock. A lot of people ate similar meals,

pasta, steak, [but] a lot of people don't eat meat now. Then you get a little

rest in from 2 to 4, it's right there on the itinerary, so you take advantage

of the pre-game nap, 2 to 4 and then you get up, get a few cups of coffee

for ya and meet your teammates. Then it's off to the rink probably about 4

o'clock, 4:30. And then prepare for a game [game times are usually 7 or

7:30pm].

Another participant, when asked the same question, described a similar experience:

A.J.: Game day? Was it a home or away game? Because they're

different.

Mata: Tell me both.

A.J.: Home is usually morning skate, which would be very light, maybe

25-40 minutes where you would just kinda get on the ice, do some flow

drills, maybe some regroups, nothing really big, just to get you going,

from about maybe 10 - 10:45am. And then you get off the ice. I'd

usually go home by 1 o'clock, maybe cook, I'd usually cook pasta and

chicken, I'd eat half my pasta and half my chicken and I would nap from

about 2-4, wake up around 4:15, eat a little bit more if I was still hungry

and you get to the rink about 5:15 - 5:30pm for a 7 o'clock game. And

then on the road, depending on whether you're busing right in or not, if

you're there the night before then you basically have a morning skate after

the first team, the home team, and then usually do the same routine where you probably eat a team lunch and then you go nap and then you get back

on the bus and you drive to the game for 5:15pm.

Mike summarized the experience as well:

Just kinda boring stuff, just you know you do the same thing, you get up,

you have a pre-game skate, you go home, you probably eat the same stuff,

you take a nap, you visualize a little bit, visualize who you're playing, who

you're playing against, maybe some good things you hope to come from

the game, from yourself.

These athletes followed an itinerary that was provided to them by management. The day was organized minutely, which according to Shogan (1999) helps to discipline the athletes. Mike referred to game preparation as "boring stuff' which speaks to the normalization of this daily routine for him.

Despite the delegated schedule these athletes were required to follow, Dave explained the personal aspect of game preparation:

Rituals as a hockey player, every guy is different, some guys play music,

some guys watch highlight videos, we had sport psychologists, you know

with teams in junior, they get you focused and it's personal. The biggest

thing about a professional hockey player or OHL player or junior or a man

in the NHL is it'spersonal [emphasis added]. It's all that guy needs to do

to get him ready for the game. Some guys can eat Kraft dinner and hot

dogs, some guys can go to McDonald's and play a good game, other guys

gotta have a steak, pasta, get carbs, get protein, it's all up to that

54 individual; he needs to eat healthy and lotsa fluids, you know what I mean,

and in the mind, like I said, it's 90% mental the game, they play it in your

head you know, so like I said, your coaches try to set you up, [but] they

don't have the gear on and it's mainly the player that gets himself ready to

perform, what his role is on the team and to his best ability, so like I said,

it's pretty much personal.

As noted above, while the game day itinerary, including details of the morning skate, timetable and team meetings, is provided to these players from their teams (i.e., coaches and team managers), the specific, personal behaviours/actions of each individual and the importance and function of these behaviours/actions to the athletes themselves was of interest in this research.

Development of Routines

Team routines are implemented by the coach or captain of the team, whereas the sequence of those routines are decided on in part by management, as is seen with the use of creating itineraries for the athletes (Robidoux, 2001). The players' timetable is organized for them, and outside of what has been outlined for them in the itinerary, they then decide what to do with their time within that timetable in order to prepare. One participant who had both coaching and player experience was asked the difference between being a player and a coach. He replied:

Craig: It's a ton more work [as a coach].

Mata: So as a coach were you responsible for implementing certain

routines at times?

55 Craig: You're responsible for all the logistics, the travel, the bus, the

meals, the practice length, the content in practice, so yeah you keep 'em

on a routine, make sure they don't have too much idle time.

It is interesting to note that Craig felt that as a coach he could not allow his players to have "too much idle time," perhaps in an effort to maintain power or control over the players who he was coaching.

There appears to be a difference between the idea of team routine, which all players engage in and may be similar based on player position (i.e., goalies have similar practice experiences, defensemen are grouped together and forwards are grouped together

(Robidoux, 2001)) and personal routines which develop over time. Ron explained how his routine began in junior hockey:

I wasn't driving to the rink in Peterborough, I was walking, but you know

coming home from school the day of the game I would stop at a little drug

store and have a milkshake on game day. And you know that was

something that I thought that if you played well then well that must work

so do it again... Those things start, they change all of sudden if you had a

few bad games, then you'd start looking for different things.

This participant explained the fluidity of personal routines. This supports the idea that routines are not static, but rather develop over time and are situation-specific (Lidor,

2007). As Lidor believes, routines seem to be ever-changing, depending on the performance result. Perhaps, if the performance result is positive, the routine will be retained but this is not to suggest that the routine is protected from alteration. If the

56 performance result is negative and the result is attributed or connected to the routine in any way, the routine will be altered or changed. It is important to note that team routines may be altered as well, with the decision ultimately coming from management, as in the case where a coach may decide to make the morning skate optional.

Morning Skate

The morning skate would occur on game day, as described above, and would include a short on-ice practice. Most athletes interviewed participated in the morning skate, as noted by Dave:

It's pretty much a tactic for your coaches to run you through a little bit

more, like warm up drills to get your blood in your hands going and a feel

for the puck, get a little sweat going, maybe about 45 minutes and work on

some things that need to get worked on, maybe your special teams,

powerplay and penalty kill for what the other team's doing.

Ron explained further:

Pre-game skate was just to test your equipment, to get out on the ice, and

have, wasn't like a full practice, it wouldn't be like a regular practice but

you would take some shots and have a little warm up just to get a little

sweat. In some instances, it was with partial equipment on, like the

sweatpants, you know, maybe shin pads and gloves, and helmet.

Morning skates have become part of the regimented routine of being a hockey player implemented by the coaching staff and hockey club (Dryden, 1983; Fleury, 2009;

57 Robidoux, 2001). One participant in particular was not a fan of the morning skate. He believed that it depleted his energy for the game that evening:

Charlie: So for me on a game day I would be one of those guys that

would never ever go on the ice for a pre-game skate

Mata: Really?

Charlie: Hated it! Absolutely hated it. Everyone would do it, they would

tape their stick, they'd try out a new stick or something or try out a new

pair of skates or something, go on the ice, whatever, do their thing. I

would never ever go on the ice. I had this weird sort of mental image that

I was exerting my energy at the pregame skate, and I wanted to save it for

the game, so if you could think about it like a glass of water, you know, if

it's completely full, you have your full amount of energy. I felt like if I

went on for that morning skate, I would only have three-quarters of that

cup of water for the game, that's just the way I looked at it, I don't know

why.

This participant's game day routine was unique in comparison to the other participants, as he preferred not to participate in the morning skate, as he felt that he was better prepared if he conserved his energy. Interesting to note that work ethic is often judged by the team coaches and managers on whether or not a player participates in the morning skate or optional practices (Dryden, 1983).

Players are expected to participate in practices and in the morning skate. If players are scratched from the line-up for reasons that are not injury related, these players

58 are expected to expend a greater effort at practices and work harder during morning skates (Robidoux, 2001). Depending on the talent and skill level a player has, he may be exempt from extra practice. If his skill and talent is high enough, it affords him a certain power to be able to dictate how much time and effort he puts into a practice (Robidoux,

2001). According to Robidoux (2001), generally, players who are ranked higher in skill are able to leave the ice first during practice. Those who are looking at making the line­ up will be the last ones off the ice in an effort to display hunger and drive for the game.

Perhaps Charlie was skilled enough to afford himself the power to decide whether or not he would participate in morning skates without being overlooked when the coach decided who would be in the line-up for the next game. Context and level of play may be important factors in this situation as the participant noted:

In college you get the option. There's the occasional time where the coach

says we need to work on something, cause we're playing this team and

this is what we need to adjust and he would make us all go on, but 90% of

the time, it was up to us, and I always chose not to do it.

All other participants engaged in the morning skate and mentioned it as an integral part of their game day routine.

As for more specific personal routines, they generally revolved around behaviours and activities such as music choice, stretching methods, getting dressed a certain way, equipment preparation, the order of taking the ice to name a few. Many of these actions and behaviours may be perceived as superstitions as well. Some participants claimed, for example, that the way they taped their stick was a superstition opposed to others who

59 claimed it to be a routine. The difference between routine and superstition appeared to come from the importance each player placed on the action or behaviour. This differentiation will be discussed in a subsequent chapter.

Interruption of Routine

There was great variation among the participants' responses to the question: "if a major part of your routine was altered or removed, would it affect you?" That said, it became clear that these athletes did not like anything interrupting their routine as they felt it resulted in distraction. Mike explained:

If my routine was interrupted, depending on what it is, like if I got a nick

in my skates before the game I had to get them re-sharpened and I didn't

do [a specific behaviour], it was on my mind, it was something I didn't

like.

Equipment malfunctions generally were at fault for the majority of routine interruptions, as the participant described with the nick in his skates. Another participant revealed more details about routines being interrupted:

Mark: Let's just say you had an equipment issue, your lace broke, and

you normally tie your laces two minutes before you're gonna go on the ice.

So five minutes before you know the coach is gonna talk so I used to leave

my skates untied; soon as he's done, I'd tie my skates. Well, shit my lace

just broke, and I gotta go on the ice now. Now it's all fucked up [laughs]

my whole routine.

Mata: So what do you do? Change your lace quick?

60 Mart. You gotta change your lace and go back out there, but now your

whole... when you step on the ice, I used to step on the ice and do two

quick laps without anybody else, and that was my routine, do two quick

laps, and whatever drills we used to do, I would make sure I was the last

person on the first drill... and then after that your routine is broken, it's

broken. It is.

When inquiring more into the results of the broken routine:

Mata: You've got to adjust yourself to that somehow, right? So you kind

of create a new one? You gotta adjust yours someway...

Mark: Well I guess it was more of a success creates routine. I don't think

routine creates success. Like I mean if you don't do well then you're

going to say that that routine that you had prior wasn't the right routine.

When something goes right, it's like "okay, what did I do that day?"

Mark explained the potential for routines to be altered due to interruptions which are out of the player's control. If due to this interruption, a different behaviour was engaged in and the player had a good game, that behaviour would be maintained, hence his statement of "success creates routine."

"Success Creates Routine"

The idea of "success creates routine" surfaced out of the data. It seemed to summarize the idea of "trial and error" in the development of certain routines, or perhaps,

"trial and good result" where a random, chance occurrence may result in the alteration or creation of a routine. Mark explained that if, due to the broken lace, he did not have time

61 to do two laps on the ice but only managed to get on and take just one shot on net during the warm-up and had an incredible game, his routine may adjust to repeating that behaviour: getting on the ice and taking one shot on net, rather than doing two laps on the ice. This is what was meant by the idea of "success creates routine." Mark did not have control over his lace breaking. Rather, he had a decision to make as to which action to perform when taking the ice in the lessened time period he had available to him to warm up.

Of further interest is in the rationalization Mark (as well as other participants) engaged in when looking back over the day's events when something did go right (this idea will be further touched upon in Chapter Five). The need to look for an external factor to explain success or failure is worthy of analysis and will be addressed in the section on anxiety (see Chapter Six).

Thus far, it has become evident through this research that many of these participants utilized very specific pregame behaviours to ensure that they were prepared to perform, in addition to the routines implemented upon them by the organization they played for. Each participant put importance into different behaviours, as these pregame routines proved to be very personal. None of the participants enjoyed an interruption to their pregame routine, as it was seen as something that was a nuisance and distraction, though at times it may have resulted in the creation of a new or alteration to an existing routine, which was adopted due to a subsequent successful performance. The idea of daily routines being described as "boring" draws attention to the normalization of routines in these athletes' lives.

62 Normalization of Routines

The idea of the normalization of routines speaks to certain behaviours players engage in becoming standard behaviours. Itineraries are an example of actions and behaviours which are delegated to athletes by management, which is standard procedure on professional hockey teams (Robidoux, 2001). On a personal note for the athletes, the repetition of personal routines athletes engage in within the delegated itinerary may become normalized as well. Mike described his game day preparation as boring (see quote above), and this speaks to the normalization of the game day routine as something that had become expected and perhaps monotonous, yet still a key part of game preparation.

One participant had a very key example which may help to explain how a routine he shared with the goaltenders he played with came to develop. He explained that during the warm up prior to the game starting, he would focus on warming up the goalie. This particular participant has a special affinity for goalies, as his brother is a goaltender. Due to the attention this participant would focus on his goalies, he began a routine that was shared between himself and his goalies over the years of his career. He described this routine:

Charlie: [During warm-up] I'm the only guy that doesn't shoot from his

spot, I always come in and walk in on him, and we have a little battle

going on cause he wants me to score and I kinda want him to stop it but at

the same time, I'm trying to bury it on him and he's trying to save it, so

63 we're both trying to get each other ready and again, we've never talked

about it.

Mata: Never discussed it?

Charlie: Never discussed it, it just kind of happened and now I can't not

be that last guy, and it happens every game, so it's kind of just these little

tiny things, and it's weird, that you don't discuss them but they just kind

of transform and they get created.

The goaltender Charlie was referring to plays in the recreational league I am involved in, therefore he was available to further inquire about this warm-up routine that was shared between the two players. The goalie confirmed that this routine became important to him as well and he relied upon it for game preparation. This is a perfect example of how a personal warm-up routine that two players share may come to be normalized. For each party in this interaction, the experience is quite different, yet both rely on it to get themselves ready to perform in the game. (The goalie explained that if Charlie's routine had been distracting to him, he would not participate in it). Charlie was the one who began and continues this exchange with certain goalies he's played with over the years.

What was rather fascinating was the selective choice of goalies he chose to share this personal routine with; as if it was a sacred part of his routine that he shared with a select few. Or perhaps he was only allowed to share this with the goalies that were willing to participate in this routine with Charlie. That specific interaction is unclear, as this is only one example given regarding a routine shared between two players in which both were

64 able to comment on, yet this speaks to the personal nature of routines and their importance to each individual.

Adjusting from Team to Team

According to Robidoux (2001) each player when joining a new team needs to establish himself and his role on that team, engaging in and adopting certain rituals and behaviours in an effort to assimilate into the team. Fleury (2009) recollects his experience and the difficulties he had when he joined the Calgary Flames in 1989, describing the time it took to adjust and prove himself a worthy teammate. Newcomers are generally viewed as outsiders, at times a threat to an existing player's established role on the team (Robidoux, 2001).

When examining the idea of personal routines, despite the personal nature of these routines, these behaviours may affect teammates, as is seen in the example noted above with Charlie and his goalie. Other personal routines which may affect team members include the order in which the athletes take the ice for the game or even warm- up. Ron explained that the order of players going on the ice for the game was not by accident or a random occurrence, rather each player had his place in that line. Being displaced to another team may affect that line up, as now there is a new body which needs to fit in to the existing sequence. Craig, whose career spanned three decades in the

NHL, described his "team to team" experience:

It takes a while when you go from one team to a next to get into a routine,

when I went from Edmonton to New York in 1994, I had been in the

league for 15 years at that point, and still I found myself out of sorts from

65 a routine perspective, because when you've been on the same team you're

ritual is so tight, you know exactly who you're gonna be talking to at

certain time. When you go to a new team you're kinda, you don't have

those connections... As much as I knew players on the other team, they

had their own routine, you know, so you're trying to develop your routine

and what you're gonna do rather than just sit in your hockey stall and you

know, "look intense" [laughs] but you would find it takes a while and I

think a lot of ways that's why players struggle initially when they go from

team to team, like you see that a lot where players just get out of their

comfort zone a little bit and it throws their game off, and it just a little

awkward at the start when you go to a new team

Despite the experience this player had and despite the friendships that already existed with players on the New York team he was traded to, he still had difficulty integrating in the team. This difficulty impacted Craig's preparation routines, as he had to assimilate into the already established routines of his teammates. This time period of uncertainty, especially in an environment which is so minutely organized, may have contributed to the discomfort Craig referred to.

This experience was not unique to this participant. Another participant, A.J., described his experience:

A good example of that in the NHL, or wherever I've played, a guy

always wants to be the last person to step on the ice right? And that's just

like a superstition or routine that they have, but you know what happens is

66 that if they're a rookie that's not gonna happen cause there may be a

veteran and they're gonna have to work around it, you know what I mean.

He continued to explain the adjustment process:

It depends on how the team is. But most of the time it's just getting used

to the roommate you're with or something like that and once you kinda get

into the dynamics of the team, most teams practice the same time, most

teams do everything the same, so after that it's kinda like when you're in a

new city, you're like, "what's there to do, what do the guys do?" You just

have to figure that out. But game routines everything is very similar

because players will get there at a certain time, most practices are at the

same time, you have to be there an hour before, like our practices were at

10am, we had to be there at 9. On our team in Lexington, the guys were

real pricks. If you were late, like you had a guy standing there, if you

were there at 9:01 you would get fined like 5 or 10 bucks. But in

Rockford, guys were a little older and they were like if you get in there

like 9-9:10 it's okay. And you kinda just sit there. There's usually a big

screen TV, you watch all sports highlights there. You take your time after

practice and it's the same from team to team. Like some rooms have more

stuff than others, but hockey is hockey. It's just, everything is the same.

This participant alluded to the similarities between teams stating: "Hockey is hockey...

Everything is the same." Yet, if that were the case then athletes should not have any difficulty integrating into teams. One interpretation of this statement could be that the organization of teams, the hockey systems that are in place for example (practice times, team meals, general itineraries) are similar from team to team, yet the individuals on each team do not allow the teams to be identical. He does mention the importance of getting into the dynamics of the team, which may be understood as assimilating into the specific team culture, similar to Robidoux's (2001) explanation of rookie initiation and rituals.

Furthermore, the participant's experience of the different attitude on punctuality speaks to specific team culture and values which may change from team to team.

Other participants described the difficulties when moving from league to league, for example being called-up to play in the NHL from the AHL affiliate team. This experience generally roused feelings of nervousness (which will be addressed in the chapter on anxiety) and this team change impeded their ability to complete their routines, as they were trying to find their place on the parent club. The movement from team to team, whether it be in a trade or a call-up, may create a sense of uncertainty in the player who has made the move until he becomes accustomed to and assimilated into the customs of that particular team. Players are found to be out of their "comfort zone" which may result in feelings of anxiety as well as the development of new routines, due to the change. Each team appears to have their own set of values and culture that can also contribute to the player's uncertainty. Similar to the new kid in class, some may adjust quicker than others, but an adjustment period does exist (Fleury, 2009; Robidoux, 2001).

Perhaps this period of uncertainty may lead to the creation of superstitions, in an effort to gain a sense of control, which will be addressed in the next chapter.

68 In summary, routines have been defined as all the actions/behaviours a player would engage in on game day to prepare for the upcoming competition. Team routines were implemented by management whereas personal routines were decided by the individual participants. Personal routines usually were centered around the order of putting equipment on, stretching, or food intake, to name a few, and successful performance functioned to maintain the behaviour. These routines, as they are repeated on a game-day basis, become normalized and expected. According to the participants, team to team routine adjustment takes time, as there appears to be different team dynamics when beginning to play with a different team, regardless of rookie or veteran status. At times, it appeared that the terms of routines and superstitions were being used interchangeably. This will be examined in the following chapter which will discuss the second theme that emerged out of the data, superstition.

69 CHAPTER FIVE: SUPERSTITIONS

The second major theme that surfaced out of the data was that of superstitions.

This chapter will define superstitions, explain the difference between routines and superstitions, as per study participants, and discuss the purpose and importance of these behaviours for these athletes.

As noted earlier in the thesis, superstitions pertaining to athletes and sport are found quite often in popular media (i.e., CBC Sports, 2010; Domet, 2010; Grigg, 2009a).

It is presumed that the athletes have attached a belief to these behaviours, and that these behaviours give an advantage to the player performing; to the point where many players don't want to leave anything to "chance" and have to ensure they perform these behaviours prior to their sporting competitions (Domet, 2010). Having said this, when examining the definition of superstitions according to Gallucci (2008), superstitions are defined as behaviours which have no technical function in preparing an athlete to execute skills. Instead, Gallucci suggests that superstitions are associated with better performance as they promote feelings of emotional stability and control. When inquiring about superstitions, the study participants offered a variety of answers about how they defined and understood superstitions in their lives and sporting experiences.

What is a Superstition?

Many participants understood superstition as a behaviour or series of behaviours that had to be done before each game. These behaviours or actions had occurred before, and the athlete performed successfully, therefore the behaviours were maintained in order

70 to ensure continued successful performances. Superstitions were defined as "something that always has to be the same." One participant elaborated:

I think it's just something that made you more comfortable to play, gives

you more confidence no matter how small or you know, foolish it seems.

If it made you feel better, why take a chance? Just like stepping on a

crack in the sidewalk... does it do anything? But if it makes you feel

better then why not just step over it.

Superstitions seemed to provide a sense of comfort, as this participant alluded to. He also mentioned that perhaps the behaviour may not actually affect anything other than making him "feel better," describing the behaviour as "foolish." By increasing this participant's comfort through the superstitious behaviour, he also claimed it increased his confidence, coinciding with previous findings (Burke et al., 2006; Foster, Weigand & Baines, 2006).

When asked more specifically, "Did you have any superstitions?" another participant explained:

Sure, you know, I relayed some of them as far as driving to the rink a

certain way. When I was at home, living in Washington, I was fortunate

enough to live outside [downtown Washington]. The rink was situated in

Maryland, I lived halfway between the rink and Baltimore and it wasn't

too far from Annapolis, Maryland which was the capital of Maryland and

is the head, the Navy town. It's beautiful, it's on the Chesapeake Bay, so

it's a nice place, I used to go there for my pregame meal and I would have

fish and you know, again it was superstition because the first time I did

71 that I had a really good game and that became the routine [emphasis

added].

It appears that Ron used the terms routine and superstition interchangeably here, which will be touched upon later on in this chapter. Ron continued:

Everybody had superstitions in terms of you know different mannerisms

and things. Even the manner in which you went onto the ice, you know

there was certain... like in the warm up you watch, often times the

camera will focus on the team coming onto the ice and you watch people,

what they do, they have., some of them will stand back and be the last one

on, sometimes it's not always the goalie who's the first one on, that's

usually the tradition, but players would walk and soon as they hit the ice,

they would take off and there's different mannerisms and superstitions

involved in that.

Ron mentioned many aspects involved in the game that have been considered to be superstitions by some players. A.J. explained his superstitions as well:

I probably got dressed the same way all the time, so I think my left skate

I'd always put on first and then my right, tie my left, then tie my right, I'd

tape my sticks the same way, sometimes I'd even get superstitious if I had

a good game or something, you know when I was younger I remember

taping my stick with a little black stripe in the middle and if I was scoring

I would always put the little black stripe in the middle... and my

grandmother passed away in 1996, and on the Easton hockey sticks, where it would say Easton in there, what I would do is I would take a little black

piece of tape and go around the "T" cause her name started with "T", so it

was just my little reminder kinda thing... So it was good, but I wasn't

super-superstitious like not washing my clothes. Like some people don't

wash shit if they... I never was like that. If I was on a goal scoring streak

or something I would definitely do everything the same. If I napped for a

certain amount of time, or ate the same food I probably would continue

doing that.

Superstitions encompassed many types of behaviours that were different for each participant yet it's interesting to note that certain behaviours these players discussed are also considered routines. This may lend to the idea that routines and superstitions are different in the sense of the importance given to the behaviour or may be due to the terms being used interchangeably, being understood as the same. This will be elaborated upon in a subsequent section.

One participant in particular, Mark, described some of his behaviours as

"constants." He explained:

My specific superstition was basically music. My music thing for me was

basically a big thing for me because it got me motivated. Once things

kind of changed for me mentally, you know, I had to get into a different

frame of mind, I would change that [music], but besides that, my clothes

going in, my attire, other than that it wasn't too much. I would never change my left to right, I would never change those other little things, my

food; those are my constants.

This idea of having "constants" conveyed the idea that these behaviours and actions were relatively unchangeable. So whether there was a win or a loss, a successful performance or a not so successful performance, the constants remained the same. It seemed that they were somewhat concrete, perhaps solidifying as part of preparation process with the passing of time. This participant discussed his diet, the sequence of putting on his equipment and his attire (the clothes he would wear when arriving at the rink for the game) as his constants. His performance may have been influenced by the food, clothing and equipment he wore, but these aspects were never blamed for poor performance, or exceptionally good performance, and they were kept the same. The only aspect Mark would change was the type of music he decided to listen to. The behaviour of listening to music still remained a constant.

Another participant, Dave, described his superstitions in a similar manner:

[I was a] Little bit superstitious like any other player. I dressed my left

stuff first, put all my left stuff on first. You hang your stuff in certain

places, if you got a hot stick you know like you use in a game that you

scored, you keep using that one till it breaks. Just kinda simple stuff,

nothing really crazy... If I ate a certain thing and I played well that night,

I'd try to eat it again, you know, stuff like that, nothing really too crazy

but just kinda little things.

74 Dave here as well discussed his "constant" was the order of getting dressed (left to right).

Dave also used the term "crazy" to explain that the behaviours he engaged in were not over the top. This idea of "crazy" was a sentiment expressed by many participants and one that is also found in popular media. This idea of "crazy" will be discussed later on in this chapter.

Getting back to the idea of superstitions, another participant described two particular processes that he engaged in prior to competition. Of these two processes,

Charlie described one as a constant and the other as one susceptible to change, yet both he considered superstitions.

Charlie: I have to use black tape on my stick. I feel like if I have white

tape on my stick I have less power in my shot. I don't know why but I

feel like for some reason, the white tape has less power in it. Every time 1

go through a major slump, this dates back to minor hockey, if I was going

through a huge slump where I wasn't scoring or playing well I would

make myself play a game with white tape, and then I would go back to the

black. And then I'd play [with] black [tape] until I played bad again.

Mata: So you've gotta switch something up?

Charlie: Yeah, so if I was playing bad, I'd be like "you know what? Fine,

you have to use white tape" and I hated using white tape.

Mata: Wasn't it like punishing yourself almost?

Charlie: But I made myself do it. I felt if I could play well with the white

tape on my stick then, you know, I can play even better with the black,

75 right? But for some reason yeah, I don't know I just feel like white tape, there's not as much power in it. I don't know why... it gets chewed up so easily, and the puck marks on it and stuff, it's just so feeble. White tape is so feeble, I don't know [laughs], it's kind of stupid, but...

Mata: No, these are little things that you put importance into, right?

Charlie: Yeah. And my dad, when I was growing up, when I was a little kid, I guess this is the other superstition, um, I tape my stick the exact same way he taped it for me. So, all the little tiny things that he did, and he always took so much care when he taped the stick and it includes the, when you tape the knob on the end of your stick, everyone's got a different knob on the end of their stick where you do the different rotations or the different amount of tape or they use scissors to cut off certain areas or whatever... I always do it the same way that my dad did it for me, I've never changed it, I've always had the exact same knob on my stick and I've taped my blade the exact same way my entire life, never changed it once, so I don't know if that's a superstition but you know he always used white tape on the top part, on the knob and he always used black tape on the blade and I've done the same. I don't know, I've never ever changed it, even when you get into junior hockey, into college hockey you're kind of on your own, you don't have your dad anymore to kind of do things for you, even in the later years of minor hockey, right? You kind of want to start doing things on your own. Not me, I never

changed [taping my stick].

The participant explained his superstitions involving his hockey stick. He described the process of taping his stick in the exact same way his father taped his stick for him when he was younger as a superstition. When he felt he needed to change something because he was in a "slump" he would change the type of tape he used on the blade of his stick, still taping it the exact same way his father did, just with different hockey tape.

Behaviours such as changing the tape one uses may be common in the hockey community to combat scoring slumps1.

What is particularly fascinating is that when Charlie feels the need to change something, he chooses to change the colour of the tape instead of the process of taping his stick. This may be the athlete's way of honouring his father through the process of taping his stick, keeping the amount of tape and the number of rotations the exact same as his father. Looking above at a quote from A.J., he mentioned taping his stick a certain way to honour the memory of his grandmother who passed away. This idea of honouring significant people appears to be common, as Fleury (2009) also discussed certain behaviours he would perform to honour his father prior to each game he played. These specific behaviours were considered to be superstitions by Fleury (2009) but were not behaviours that were susceptible to change. They remained constant for a different reason than in the previous participant who used the term "constants." They honoured a significant person, a person who loved the player unconditionally, regardless of the player having become a commodity in this tightly controlled hockey environment where

77 his value is judged based on his performance. These behaviours may have provided a sense of comfort, reminding the players that they are loved outside of hockey.

The Difference between Routines and Superstitions

What became quite evident was the interchangeable use of the terms routine and superstition. As mentioned in the introductory chapter, in the HBO special, the narrator referred to Crosby's game day process as a "series of routines" despite Crosby referring to some of his personal routines as "borderline crazy" (Schreiber, 2010). Routines generally are not referred to as "crazy" as they are considered to be part of the technical preparation process of becoming game ready, having been normalized through regimentation; superstitions, on the other hand, have no technical fiinction in preparing athletes for a game and yet are believed to influence the result of the game and are more commonly referred to as "crazy" or "foolish" (Gallucci, 2008; Smith, 2008). This could be attributed to the history of the word superstition as the term does not carry the most positive of connotations (Smith, 2008). It appears that, through some participants' expressions of embarrassment around superstitions, a negative connotation of the concept of superstition still exists. As one participant stated, "a lot of the time, superstitions [are] sort of like stuff you do that you keep to yourself."

Another participant provided a great explanation as to how he understands the difference between routine and superstitions.

Mata: Why would you consider getting dressed as a superstition rather

than a routine?

78 A.J.: I don't know... That's a good question. But a routine is like, a routine can happen like basically you go to a game you maybe stop for a coffee, right? But I don't know, like if I didn't get a coffee one game, or if

I didn't get it from a certain Tim Horton's say, but I went to the arena and the snack bar's open and I got a coffee, that's different, that's a routine.

Like you have a coffee before the game, but some people are like "I went to this Tim Horton's and I got this coffee and I drove with the coffee and I drank the coffee on the way to the game" there's a difference there. And if they don't do that and they have a shit game, they'll blame it on not having the coffee [from the Tim Horton's].

Mata: It's just interesting because many of these things you considered superstition, somebody else will consider a routine, so where does one end and the other begin right?

A.J.: Well some people will say you know like a lucky shirt or lucky something and that's more of a superstition I guess but, I mean I think it all comes down to the way you play and some people are more skilled than others and they just fall... I think routine is like anything in life, it just becomes a balance, and it just gets you focused whether it's a superstitious thing or a routine. I know guys that I played with, their sticks would be in their locker, in their stall and you couldn't touch 'em.

If you touched their sticks they'd throw [them] away and they'd want a new [one]. They'd give you shit; no one could touch their sticks. Shit like

that is a little too much.

Here the participant discussed the limit of superstitions, as in his experience he found other people's beliefs to be "too much." He continued:

A.J.: But I don't know, that's a good question. For some people, it

depends, if it's a small superstition it could be a routine but there are some

people who are really meticulous and stuff, and then that's almost

obsessive, like they gotta do certain things the right way.

This participant seemed to believe that there is overlap between routine and superstition, as both function to help achieve focus, yet still seemed to believe there was a limit to this, as certain behaviours he judged to be "too much."

Another participant shared the same belief regarding overlap of routines and superstitions. He described this:

Mark: Left to right was how I used to put on my equipment, always had

to be left skate first, left shin pad first, left elbow pad. Everything was left

to right, that was my routine basically from start to finish

Mata: So where do superstitions jump in here?

Mark: Superstitions jump in where [pause] as soon as things went wrong.

It was like okay, did I do something different? and then you kind of

backtrack. Did I put my things on the right way, did I listen to the same

songs? When we won, my music routine was the same, if we lost I may

throw a different song in there, or, if I wasn't playing well, I would throw a different song in there. Same tie, same clothes all the time, it was

always the same. That was my thing. If it changed, if something went

wrong, I would change something. And then as long as it went well I

would keep it. You gotta keep that routine.

This participant seemed to be using the terms routine and superstition interchangeably, as

Ron may have done in the quote above. Or perhaps, superstitions became the routine, as is seen in Ron's case, regarding his pregame meals. Ron had explained that his superstition became his routine, as successful performance was attributed to the initial experience of having his pregame meal at the specific restaurant he went to. He decided to maintain that behaviour.

Charlie described his thoughts on the difference between routines and superstitions as a function of consciousness:

I think routines, you're conscious of... I think that's, to me that's not the

only difference, but that's the biggest difference. You're conscious of

your routine. You know at, cause you're aware of it, you're kind of

watching the clock, and you're like "okay at 2:51 I need to have my nap"

or "I need to eat this, this, this and this today because when I ate that last

time I played well" or whatever... You're kind of aware of it. But a

superstition, I feel like you're aware of it at the beginning but as you start

to move on and time progresses you're not as aware of it... you just sort of

do it, right? That's sort of kind of, it just happens, it's second nature....

It's something that your body... it's natural to you, I don't know how to explain it any better than that... I just feel that routine you're conscious of,

superstition you're not... and I'm sure other people wouldn't agree with

me, cause I know superstitions are crazy, people are like, the black cat,

under the ladder, people see that they go crazy, I don't know... for me

superstitions aren't, they're just not as aware of them as a routine... a

routine you know what you have to do, at the exact time and you make

sure that happens, and you do everything you possibly can to make sure

that happens, you know... If you get a phone call a couple of minutes

before you're supposed to have a nap, you're not going to talk to that

person, you're probably not even going to answer the phone, right? You're

aware, you know what's going on... but superstition before a game, you

probably just do it and don't even think about it, I don't know, that's what

I think...

Charlie explained that routines, for him, are in the conscious mind, perhaps due to the itinerary provided to the athletes, whereas superstitions are behaviours which he would engage in without consciously thinking about them. In this quote, Charlie also used the term "crazy" to describe superstitions, illustrating the negative connotation of word

(Smith, 2008).

Going back to the difference between routine and superstition, this participant explained:

Mark: I think your physical routines will never change. I'll always do my

stretching routine, my sleep routine, my eating routine; those things will always be there. But I had players on my team who would never wash

their... like they had the same undergarments right for like, since they

were like 12. One guy's was like yellow and he never washed it. Ever!

Mata: That's disgusting! [laughs]

Mark: Yeah. It was beyond disgusting! [laughs]

Mata: But it works for him.

Mark". But it works for him. That's a superstition. Your routine about

how you go about your day I think will affect how you're mentally

prepared for a game but it's not necessarily superstition. Me, putting my

things on left to right is a superstition. I don't know how it started or why

it started. I did it as a younger kid. My stick taping, I think those, like my

tie. If we won, I had to wear the same tie. It was a comfort feeling. We

won I played well and it was just a comfort. But the routine, I guess it

kind of ends after....

Mata: The things that are necessary for the game?

Mart. I guess. That's a good way to explain it.

Again Mark described the sense of comfort that performing these routines and superstitions would provide, even when putting personal hygiene at risk as in the case of his teammates. It becomes evident that there is a wide variety of behaviours or actions which may be considered to be superstitions, and for some, though the behaviour is originally considered to be a superstition, it may be considered a routine and vice versa. One participant in particular, Craig, gave an interesting response when asked if he had any superstitions. Craig explained:

Not really, I'm sure there were... Um it was a lot of years ago. I was

pretty fastidious about my sticks and that, as all players are, you know you

spend a lot of your time when you get back to the rink in the evening

getting your sticks the correct length and the right curve and the right paint

job and all that stuff and I really didn't have a lot of superstitions [trails

off]...

He continued to explain:

I didn't really have any quirky little stuff, say a stop at Tim Horton's or

you know threw sugar over my shoulder, I didn't really have too many of

those superstitious routines. A lot of players have them.

It was of great interest to inquire about the claim this participant made as to not having any superstitions, despite his initial explanation regarding his sticks. The dialogue continued:

Mata: What do you think shielded you from those [superstitions], what

made you different?

Craig: Just kind of more of a pragmatic personality you know. I just kind

of could never really view the significance of all the superstitions and so

forth. I never really bought into the significance of them all but a lot of

people do.

84 Craig described the importance of preparing his sticks in response to being asked if he had any superstitions yet as the interview progressed, Craig corrected himself and claimed he did not have any superstitions. He described himself as having a "pragmatic personality." Perhaps the negative connotation of superstitions resonated with this particular participant.

Another interpretation may be that this may have resulted from having continued to perform these behaviours for such a long period of time that, as Charlie had suggested, they become subconscious and Craig no longer recognized the actions or behaviours as superstitions as they may had became second-nature. This speaks to Burke et al.'s (2006) suggestion that superstitions control the athlete (subconscious), whereas routines are controlled by the athlete (conscious).

As is evident from the quotes, there is an unclear definition of the difference between routines and superstitions, and each participant seemed to struggle with explaining this difference. The interchangeable use of the terms is something which raised further questions that seem to be unanswered, which speaks to the complexities surrounding the two concepts. Perhaps this is due to the negative connotation associated with superstitions, and the idea that superstitions are "irrational" where rationality is promoted in our society (Smith, 2008). Also, the idea of control may play a factor, where it appears that routines are controlled by the athletes yet superstitions appear to control the athletes. Despite this struggle explaining the difference between the two concepts, the participants explained the similarities of routines and superstitions. These similarities will be discussed in the following section, the purpose of routines and superstition.

85 The Purpose of Routines and Superstitions

Having attempted to examine the differences, there appears to be considerable common ground between routines and superstitions, such as the purpose of engaging in these behaviours. Whether the action or behaviour is considered a routine or a superstition, it appears to function as a tool to help prepare the athlete for the upcoming competition, either physically or mentally.

When in a performance rut, routines and superstitions may be used to switch things up, in an effort to get out of that rut. Here one participant, Charlie, explained:

You know, I guess the only thing I would think about is when I did up my

skates, tie up my right skate first rather than my left, there's no reason for

it. Now if I didn't have a good game, I would switch, and I'd do my left

skate out first, so let's say I went out, even if I didn't score or get an assist,

if I played well the next game I would do my left skate up first again and I

would continue that until I had a bad game and then I would switch back

to the right.

Here this participant explained the impact that minor adjustments had to his routine in an effort to create change. These small adjustments are believed to impact the outcome of the game. Thus despite the label of the behaviour, the behaviour seems to function in the same way: to prepare the athlete for competition. When athletes are experiencing a dip in performance, they may decide to change their routine or superstitions in an effort to create change. Yet one must question where did this all begin? The following section will discuss the roots of routines and superstitions.

86 The Roots of Routines and Superstitions

This project has been interested in understanding how and why athletes in hockey adopt routines and superstitions. It appears that one source of routines and superstitions comes from observational learning, as many participants spoke about having emulated their favourite athletes while growing up and adopting their idols' behaviours:

Mata: When people will watch a pro-hockey player do a certain thing, do

they take that same thing and make it their own?

Mark: The tucked in jersey. I had that for a long time

Mata: Cause of Gretzky?

Mark: I actually used to tuck it almost fully at one point. But yeah,

there's stuff that does come from, does start from somewhere, you see it.

You copy it.

Mark explained that despite emulating another player who he admired, his superstition would ultimately be based on what worked best for him. He explained:

At the end I think it all boils down to your comfort. It makes you feel

complete, ready to go, if not, it's almost like you're forgetting something.

Like leaving the house without your phone or your watch, it's just like

something's not right. You don't feel right.

Ron explained this idea in more depth, explaining specifically the roots of his superstitions:

Ron: A lot of these superstitions you inherit, you know. As a rookie your

eyes are wide open and there are veteran players there and you observe

87 and see what and you pick up their superstitions. One of the things that

was drilled in me very early is that when you're playing for a team the

sweater was, you respected that sweater, you didn't put it on the floor, like

you never put your sweater, as you're getting dressed you never left your

sweater on the floor, it was always hanging up. You'd never let that

sweater hit the floor, I mean this is your team that you represent, you

respected that sweater when you put it on. You put it on and when you

took it off you hung it up. Little things like that, and you know some of

them are good some of them are goofy and but they're superstitions.

Mata: Are they're contagious in a sense?

Ron: Yeah, and they pass along. They pass along. And I'm sure if you

talk to a player who's playing today some of these things are as prevalent

today as they were when I played in the 70s.

Ron described superstitions being passed along from player to player, through observation. Robidoux (2001) discusses the reinforcement of hockey culture as young players tend to look up to older players, and how the socialization of novice players may occur through observational learning. According to Robidoux, it is through voluntary submission that these players assimilate themselves on their team, following the lead of veteran teammates.

The term "inherit" that Ron used speaks to the idea of adopting pre-existing behaviours or actions that the entire team or perhaps one particular player engages in.

The hanging of the team sweater was one Ron recognized as important. Perhaps that

88 specific behaviour, the way the team sweater was treated, symbolized the amount of respect a player had for their team. Perhaps for Ron, he interpreted a higher level of importance put upon the treatment of the uniform within his team.

Looking at the roots of routines, Charlie recounted when he began to develop his personal routine:

I didn't really have anything special that I did or anything like that, but

when I got to college that sort of changed a little bit cause I could see how

people prepare for games on your team and I also knew that your

opponents were preparing a certain way as well, and that sort of changed

the whole ballgame. 'Cause when you see everyone else preparing so

much and focusing so much and you feel that they're getting that

advantage, it makes you think about it, it makes you think, what can I do

to sort of level the playing field, right?

Charlie discussed the pressure to conform and adopt a routine, through observational learning as well as from the fear of being at a disadvantage, believing the competition was preparing a certain way that would give them an edge. One could question that these pressures are created to have the athletes intensify their focus on hockey as they advance to higher levels. Robidoux (2001) discusses the sacrifice players make in forsaking other aspects of their lives, such as their education and their families. According to Robidoux, the athlete is expected to devote himself completely to hockey development in order to obtain opportunity to achieve professional status. Arguably, routines and superstitions may be used as a tool to help the athlete feel better about his preparation for competition,

89 and work by reducing debilitative anxiety and achieving facilitative anxiety which has been promoted by the organization with an "all about winning" focus (Robidoux, 2001).

This idea of the ideal hockey player is an image that lends to the childhood dream of becoming a famous hockey player, as many participants had emulated their favourite athletes while growing up, adopting routines and superstitions they have observed.

Despite this idolized image, many do not recognize the hard work and dedication, the total immersion in hockey, and other aspects of the athletes' lives which are sacrificed to achieve this dream, as many of my participants discussed. Craig explains this dedication in a bit more detail:

I think in hockey people often don't give enough credit to the players to

the level of commitment that they have to have to play the game. It's just

20 year old kids, 25 year old kids, and your life is completely regimented

from September to the end of May, hopefully June. But I mean it's busy

for the players, you know, the routine is relentless, you gotta be hard

mentally to survive it. A lot of those guys are young kids, they wanna go

out, they wanna have some fun, they wanna go away for the weekend with

their buddies and that doesn't happen, you know, at all.

The dedication which has been demanded to achieve success in professional hockey is accepted by hockey players as part of the process, as seen with the itinerary imposed upon them. In order to obtain, or even maintain a spot in the starting line-up, these athletes are subjected to complete regimentation as Craig explained. Craig described the ramifications of this commitment, as other aspects of players' lives suffer. The imposed

90 routine upon players has become a normalized part of hockey which has created an existing base for routines and superstitions to be developed out of. Some examples illustrating this are provided below.

Game Day Suits: CBC's Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts often show clips of the players arriving to the arena dressed in a suit and tie, portraying a professional image.

That same professional attire is not required to be worn when attending practices. Mike

Babcock, the Detroit Red Wings coach and coach of the men's Olympic hockey team

(who won the gold medal in 2010) is known to wear his McGill University tie for important games as he considers it to be his 'lucky' tie (Graham, 2010). The attire players wear to the arena before games has been considered to be superstitious by some, as Mark explained:

Same tie, same clothes all the time, it was always the same. If it got dirty,

so what? It got dirty. But the next game was the same. That was my

thing.

Ron explained his perception of the purpose of the attire worn to the game differently:

Ron: Even the way players dress is almost like a routine. When I played,

you almost had a costume, a travelling costume, was a type of shirt and tie

and a suit. It wasn't like a business suit, but you had a shirt, tie and a suit

and there's all kinds of variations in between, but you know, teams travel,

they look the same. If you were at an airport and teams were coming in or

going out, you couldn't tell one team versus the other because they all

looked alike. You could say, there's a hockey team, you could see the scars, the faces, same as a football team if you saw them come in, you

could tell that's a football team or a basketball team, and whether it's one

team or another, they're similar, similar type of routine of travelling,

routine of the way you dress when you travel. [On an] off day, you're not

in suit and tie but for anytime you were travelling with the team it was

expected that we travelled with a suit.

Mata: Why is that? I was always curious to know. I mean you see them

now on TV, when they're going to the rink off the bus and they're always

in a suit and tie.

Ron: It's professionalism. We had trouble being able to afford a suit and

tie. You didn't have a whole closet full of clothes but the players that

come, when you see them coming into the rink, they look professional,

and it's just all part of the persona. And the way that you carry yourself

translates into the way that you play. I think there's a lot to be said about

that rather than a travelling circus or something and that would reflect on

the ice as well. So I mean when you travelled in the minors by bus, you're

not wearing a suit and tie for an eight hour bus trip. Usually track pants,

and bring a lunch or something. Travelling in the minors is a whole

different discussion. What I'm talking about here is playing in the

National Hockey League.

Ron referred to a certain image, a "persona" that each team member is expected to maintain, perhaps as part of a collective identity and explained that hockey players are expected to carry themselves a certain way both on and off the ice when representing their team. What becomes interesting is that for some hockey players, the suited attire helps to not only communicate professionalism but may also help to create a particular mindset for some players and may affect game preparation. Therefore the suit can, for some, easily take on the form of a routine or superstition to be adopted.

Equipment: Every year, the NHL Board of Governors approve or reject suggested changes or alterations to the rules of the game in order to create more excitement (to market the product south of the Canadian border), reduce problems that arose due to past rules, and to make the game "safer" for the athletes to protect the owners' investments

(the athletes). One such rule change in 1979 was the implementation of mandatory helmets (Grigg, 2010). Any player entering the NHL who had not signed a contract prior to June 1, 1979 would have to wear protective headgear. Craig was exempt from the mandatory helmet rule, already having a contract in place. He was the last person to play in the NHL without wearing a helmet. When asked why he decided not to wear a helmet, he explained:

Craig: It was just peer-pressure more than anything. When I started

nobody really wore [a helmet], Boston was an experienced team, and they

had a veteran team and nobody wore helmets and I guess, for whatever

reason [I] took it off. Never really got into too much trouble without it, ya

know.

Mata: You're lucky.

93 Craig: Lucky. I wouldn't do it in today's game you know but, it was fine

then.

Mata: But even then, you were the very last person so you see everyone

around you wearing a helmet, at that point [inquiring as to why he did not

begin to wear a helmet].

Craig: It just became a novelty. Then I got married, I put a helmet on in a

show of new found responsibility [laughs] but I took it off the next year,

for whatever reason, whimsically...

The league potentially impacts routines and superstitions, as it creates and alters the rules of the game, mandating equipment necessary to play as well as game times and schedules. Craig explained the peer pressure he faced when he entered the NHL, playing on a veteran team. Initially, wearing helmets was a sign of weakness, as there was a stigma associated with it until 1968, when Bill Masterton, an NHL player, died from massive brain injury when his head hit the ice (Cribb & Starkman, 2011). It took 11 years for the NHL to mandate the rule change, but over those years, many players began to wear helmets on their own accord and the stigma began to change. The helmet became a part of mandated hockey equipment. Yet for Craig, when presented with the option, he chose not to wear the helmet for the majority of his career, perhaps falling victim to the established comfort that many participants explained is necessary to perform, or perhaps reveling in the idea that he was the last player allowed to play without a helmet and he enjoyed that status.

94 The idea of peer pressure speaks to the participants' explanations regarding the roots of routines and superstitions. This supports the interpretation that certain behaviours are observed and mimicked by the athlete, so the athlete does not become ostracized and may assimilate into the group with more ease (Robidoux, 2001). The peer pressure that influenced Craig, as a rookie, to remove his helmet once he began to play in the NHL may still exist today, yet the focus of peer pressures may have shifted to other aspects of the game, such as the importance of preparation as Charlie explained he experienced in college.

In summary, many study participants claimed that superstitions and routines helped in achieving a game-ready focus, supporting Snyder and Ammons (1993) findings. Despite the label attached the behaviour as one of routine or superstition, executing the behaviour functions to prepare the athlete for competition. It may also be postulated that routines and superstitions may be strongly shaped by the leagues that run the game. The power the leagues hold can determine how the game is shaped and how the athletes are molded, and this may have an influence on routines and superstitions athletes may engage in. Many organizations have autonomy over players' lives, as they exploit labour (the athletes) for capital gain, thus making the athletes commodities

(Robidoux, 2001). According to Robidoux, players are often powerless within the organization, unless they have achieved superstar status. Superstar status may afford the athlete a bit more comfort, yet the superstar is aware that he has to maintain his level of production to ensure his spot on the team is not threatened (Robidoux, 2001; Wilkinson,

95 2001). Thus professional hockey leagues may be environments where players can be subjected to high levels of anxiety.

As noted in Chapter Two, routines and superstitions were found to reduce debilitative anxiety, achieve positive anxiety, build confidence and cope with uncertainty by providing an illusion of control. The next chapter will explore anxiety and its management as it relates to routines and superstitions.

96 CHAPTER SIX: ANXIETY

As Wilkinson (2001, p. 68): states "The more we are convinced of our power to control the course of our lives, the less likely it is that we shall be overwhelmed by feelings of anxiety." This quote captures the reason that athletes may use routines and superstitions in preparing for competitions: to obtain a level of control over their life on and off the ice. Shogan (1999) believes that a sense of control and mastery is taught to athletes through discipline and routine and, as seen in this research project, many of the study participants seem to agree.

Participants understood anxiety in two ways: debilitative anxiety and facilitative anxiety commonly referred to as "butterflies" (cf., Snyder & Ammons, 1993). A.J. was able to summarize the multi-faceted concept of anxiety in this quote:

Anxiety is good before a game. Going out and playing a game you always

have some kind of [anxiety] when you get on the ice, especially playing

professionally. You got a crowd there, whether it's a home or away, I

mean you're playing in front of people and they're there to watch you so

it's always a thrill. Good anxiety is always good. But I think there is a

negative anxiety; I mean look at Phil Kessel right now, or some of these

people right? They're putting so much pressure on themselves and every

game they don't score or get a point, you're carrying that burden, until you

get a point, then you're like "I'm safe for a game or two" but it's always

there if you're not having a good season. It becomes very, very difficult.

I've had that too you know, where I get brought on to a team, even in

97 junior where I'm an older player and they expect a lot from you. And if

you're not getting points it could be because you're not playing with the

right guys, or you're just in a slump and it's very nerve-wracking, you

almost don't wanna go to the rink. You're like "fuck, if I don't score, I've

gotta do this again, these people are giving me money, I'm not

performing." It becomes tough.

This quote captured many of the aspects of anxiety; positive anxiety, negative anxiety, as well as factors that may affect anxiety such as recent performance, confidence, crowds and the expectations of the organization (employer). All of these factors will be discussed in this chapter. This chapter will begin with a discussion on facilitative anxiety

(butterflies), followed by debilitative anxiety, and lack of anxiety. The importance of games will be touched upon, and how that may affect anxiety as well as how players deal with anxiety. In this section, the terms routine and superstition will be used interchangeably since, as explained in the previous chapter, whether the participants engage in a routine or a superstition, the expected result is the same: to achieve a level of readiness for competition. The effect of routines/superstitions on anxiety will be discussed, and it will conclude with a discussion of the effect of regimentation.

Facilitative Anxiety - "Butterflies"

According to Martens, Vealey and Burton (1990) competitive anxiety in sport is

"a function of the uncertainty about the outcome and the importance of the outcome" as the athletes have adhered to a training regiment and have recognized their own performance capability (p. 215). The participants referred to this anxiety as "butterflies."

98 The idea of "butterflies" came up in the very first interview, and continued to surface in every subsequent interview. The term "butterflies" was used to describe that feeling of nervousness, anticipation, excitement that the players experienced physically prior to playing. Ron described what is involved in this experience:

The nerves, the butterflies, I guess, the adrenaline, it starts at the pregame

skate. Your focus is on what's gonna happen that night, you're thinking,

and life is on the perimeter.

Ron described his anxiety in a positive light. He claimed that the sensation of

"butterflies" is necessary for situations both inside and outside of hockey. He continued to explain:

One thing about butterflies, everybody has them. It's nervous energy.

Even outside of hockey. If you're put in situations where you're nervous

that's good, you need that. If you don't have that, there's something

wrong. Even the best player in hockey, Gordie Howe, used to be nervous

and if you weren't nervous before a game, you weren't prepared. So it

wasn't the fact that it was the nerves, it's how you manage that.

Ron explained that the sensation of "butterflies" is an indicator of readiness, supporting

Locke's (2003) findings. Ron continued by sharing an anecdote about a teammate of his and how his teammate dealt with pregame anxiety:

There were several players on our team, one was a very good friend of

mine and the nerves would get to the point, and you could almost time it,

you could see him and he'd be twitching and you know, nervous energy,

99 and then all of a sudden, up he'd go into the washroom and you'd hear

(makes retching sounds) before every game... And there was no reason

for it, but it was just the way [he dealt with it]. Everybody dealt with it

differently.

This is not the first account of a player being physically sick to his stomach before or during a game from the nerves. There are anecdotal accounts of this occurring in popular media (Grigg, 2009b). A few other participants shared their experiences about teammates actually physically being ill and throwing up prior to games. This appears to be a common occurrence for some hockey players (one which I have witnessed personally, on numerous occasions).

Another participant, Dave, described how pregame anxiety affected him:

Dave: I knew myself so well that if I had that sick feeling in your

stomach, I'd play good...

Mata: If you had it you'd play good?

Dave: Yeah, you know what I mean? If I wasn't nervous I knew

something was wrong, like "Holy geez, why ain't I nervous?" you know

what I mean, cause you don't know what's gonna happen out there right?

Dave was concerned when he experienced a lack of nervousness. This speaks to Locke's

(2003) study where she found similar results with her participants. Her study participants describe an 'appropriate level' of anxiety, as they stated that if they were not nervous, they were not focused. Similar results appear to be surfacing from the data of this research, supporting Locke's findings.

100 Dave also spoke to the idea of the unknown, or what has been described as the randomness of hockey. Kidd (1972) refers to this randomness as well, in the sense that no two hockey games play out in the exact same way, as there is no predictability due to the infinite number of possible outcomes on each play. Ron echoed this idea in this quote when he continued to explain pregame anxiety:

It's fear, it's the things that go through your mind and the worrying about

what might happen. "Am I gonna be able to do this?" "Am I gonna fail?"

"Am I gonna get hurt?" All these things... But once the puck's dropped,

all of that goes. And hockey, you can prepare, you can have all of these

routines, you can practice, you can do everything and plan, but when the

puck drops all of that is out the window, because it's all random at that

point. You have to be able to act and react quickly. It's not routine at that

point. You can have all these set plays. It's not like football where they

blow the whistle and you stop and you line up and you start again.

Hockey, they drop the puck and then it's random. And you have to be

able to be creative and adapt and function. But if you're not nervous

before a game, you're not gonna have a good game. You're not in on it.

So it's a good thing. For some people it creates a point where they get

sick, but it's a matter of trying to use that energy and focus it in on a

positive way and the only way that happens is when they drop the puck

and you're at it. Ron described the nervousness attached to the unpredictability of the game that Kidd

(1972) attests to. Nervousness may be due to the unpredictability of the game, yet nervousness has been channeled in a positive light (butterflies) and is considered to be essential to the experience of being ready to play. When a player experiences the sensation of "butterflies" in his stomach, he is ready to perform. This speaks to Jones and

Hardy's (1990) findings of which they referred to as "controlled nervousness" which was believed to be facilitative to the athletes' performance.

Mark attributed achieving a state of facilitative anxiety to the routines he executed. When asked, "How do you achieve the good level of anxiety?" he replied:

Mart. That's where my routines came in.

Mata: So routines were there to help you attain that positive...

Mark: [Routines] Help you create that positive feeling.

Mark made the direct link between routines and "that positive feeling" or facilitative anxiety. According to this participant, routines are essential in attaining the appropriate level of tension (Snyder & Ammons, 1993). When trying to piece together the function of routines and superstitions upon anxiety, the following dialogue occurred:

Mata: So routines are basically preparing you for the competition, and

superstitions don't have necessarily anything to do with the competition,

yet prepare you mentally for that competition?

Mark: I think it just helps you to get that positive energy.

Charlie described a similar experience:

102 If I don't have butterflies in my stomach, I'm not ready to play. If I'm

extremely nervous, if I feel like, you know, that empty pit in your

stomach, you just have to do something, you have to go on the ice, and I

think that's another reason why I started getting ready late, cause I hated

sitting there in my full equipment and having that feeling in my stomach

cause you have so much energy built up. But if I don't have butterflies, if

I don't have that feeling in my stomach, if I'm not nervous, I am not ready

to play. And I think that's probably the same for any athlete [emphasis

added].

Charlie explained that he waits till the last possible moment to get ready and put his equipment on. This is part of his routine. Charlie explained that he still continues to engage in this practice for recreational hockey games. In this account, Charlie explained that that feeling in his stomach is a good thing. Thus far, it appears that routines and superstitions are used as tools to achieve facilitative anxiety. The next section will discuss how superstitions and routines are used as strategies to avoid debilitative anxiety.

Debilitative Anxiety

Debilitative anxiety was described as the anxiety that negatively affects athletes, lending to the idea of the appropriate level of tension or 'controlled nervousness' (e.g.,

Jones & Hardy, 1990; Snyder & Amnions, 1993). The participants looked at debilitative anxiety as something to avoid. Generally, it surfaced out of negative thoughts, or poor performance in previous games.

103 Charlie explained that he does not like waiting to take the ice, thus he will delay until the last possible moment to get dressed for the game. He explained how he uses his preparation routine as a strategy to avoid debilitative anxiety. He found that in situations where he does have to wait, while fully dressed, negative thoughts have an opportunity to creep in which may result in debilitative anxiety.

Charlie: I was the only guy that did it. Even it to this day I have people

that make fun of me for it, you know the guys on my team that I play for

now, Wednesday nights, the men's league hockey. One of them played

college hockey, a couple of them played junior, but most of them never

really played at a high level, and I've never explained why I wait until the

last second, and I still don't even really know why... Well because I don't

want to think, I just want to go on the ice, I get ready and go on the ice...

I don't want that time, that lag period, but I don't really know if that's

really a reason why I do it. Anyway, so these guys, they always make fun

of me, like "You gonna make the warm up today?" cause I always start

getting ready when the flood's just going on cause that gives me like 10

minutes to get ready, so they're all almost fully dressed. All of a sudden

the flood goes on, and I start getting ready and they just chirp me all the

time for it, "You gonna make the warm up today?" cause they just don't

get it, they just... I don't know...

Mata: Does it throw you off, so for example, you're going out there

you're ready to go and there's another game [going on]? Charlie: Yes, yes, I hate it, absolutely hate it.

Mata: Cause you just need to go and run out there?

Charlie: Cause if a game is late and I get ready, like for example in the

playoffs actually it happened, we came out, think it was the 2nd game, we

came out... I actually had a pretty good start to that game, but still I was

not happy. I waited purposely for a really long time, I was almost the last

guy out of the room, because I knew, I knew... I knew that that other

game was delayed so I was waiting as long as possible and then I came out

and then I had to wait a little bit, and it was driving me nuts because I was

like standing there going "Holy shit, we really need to win this game... if

we lose we're going to get eliminated!" All those thoughts started

entering my head and I just can't allow that to happen for some reason.

I'm a very firm believer in you know you have to think positive things,

soon as you let negative thoughts enter... I just don't want think about

anything. And it happened that game. That's actually kind of funny cause

you were there, you saw it. I was losing my mind! [laughs]

Mata: But you scored in the first 17 seconds!

Charlie: I know, but still, I'm still not happy!

Here is an example of how a participant has had to deal with thoughts that may have brought on negative anxiety. It's interesting to see how this participant uses his routine of putting his equipment on as a way of distracting himself from debilitative anxiety. He was able to recognize that he is the type of athlete who needs to maintain a positive mindset, and uses an integral part of his preparation routine (putting his equipment on) to achieve and maintain that mindset. When discussing this routine, he explained further:

It's almost like your mind, you take your mind out of your body and place

it beside you while you're getting ready for a game, you're not thinking.

This quote is quite telling. It may explain why Charlie waits for the last moment to complete putting his equipment on, the idea of being distracted by the process of getting dressed, which has become second-nature, machine-like, in the sense of "not thinking" but rather detached, speaking to Duquin's (1994) point of disconnect between body and mind.

Mark discussed his experience with debilitative anxiety. He experienced this debilitative anxiety when he ran into issues with management. Mark believed that due to his status on the team in Europe as an "import player," he felt that he had more pressure to deal with, as the team and management held him to a different standard than the other players who came from local areas. He explained:

It became debilitating for me when I was having issues in Europe. Being

away and going through problems, that's when I noticed that anxiety more

because that's when there's more pressure. In pro-sports there's a lot more

pressure, right? Even though I was performing, if we lost, it was still

"your fault."

He also attributed the anxiety to being in a foreign country and not having a support network of family and friends close by. As a Canadian playing in Italy, though he was of

Italian-Canadian descent, he did not speak the native language very well and this may

106 have been a barrier in developing a support network of friends, resulting in debilitative anxiety. He continued:

You feel bad for a guy like Kessel, right? It doesn't matter whether he

scores 1 or 2 goals, if they lose 3-2, they're gonna say why didn't you

score a 3rd or 4th? Because you're getting paid, because they're expecting

something more from you is what brings that anxiety, that negative

anxiety, and it does affect you because like, I'll give you an example. The

last game that I played there, I knew that the owner was coming and I

knew why he was coming, he was coming for me. Some things are out of

your control right? Doesn't matter what I did, we lost three games in a row

and it was the end of my 30 day probationary period. Lost three games, I

was gone, didn't matter if I was second in the league in scoring, we lost

three games, and that pressure didn't let me perform well because you

can't control everything right? Yeah I've experienced debilitating

pressure, absolutely.

Mark discussed multiple factors contributing to debilitating anxiety, including pressure to perform well when being watched by your employer.

In another instance, the interruption or alteration to routines may cause debilitative anxiety. When inquiring further about Charlie's preference of not participating in the morning skate (see Chapter Four - Morning Skate), the following dialogue occurred: Mata: If you were forced to take it [morning skate] and you were playing

that night, would it mess up your game?

Charlie: Mentally I wouldn't feel as prepared as I was when I didn't

skate. If I had to take that morning skate, I can't say it would mess up my

game cause you gotta deal with certain things and you're never going to

get the same routine every single time, there's always little different things

that take place and happen, but it was definitely a hindrance mentally.

Like, I wouldn't feel as prepared. I felt sluggish most of the time if I had

to do it, especially in the first period.

Mata: Like you lost a jump in your step in a sense?

Charlie: Yeah but at the same time it's tough to say. I think it was more

just a mental thing, I would feel sluggish mentally but physically I might

not have been,

Mata: Would that cause more anxiety? Negative anxiety in any way?

Charlie: Yes, yeah for sure cause I didn't get to do what I wanted to and

my routine sort of got broken up and I felt like I had, like I said, I don't

want to use that energy in the morning, I wanna save it for later... It's just

one of those things again that's hard to explain.

According to many of the participants, it could be suggested that the maintenance of routines is important in achieving a state of facilitative anxiety and avoiding debilitative anxiety, as a state of facilitative anxiety has come to be expected by these players. Lack of Anxiety

Some participants discussed moments where they were not feeling any pregame anxiety. There were various factors that may potentially result in a lack pregame anxiety.

Dave mentioned energy depletion or injury as a cause for the lack of "butterflies":

Mata: So those days you didn't have the anxiety, what do you think was

wrong?

Dave: I think the anxiety comes from the nerves. Like when we were on

like two or three game roads trips where you're playing the next night and

the next night, and you're like "Holy geez" you're getting tired,

Mata: Energy depletion?

Dave: Yeah, it's like the third game in a row, you're energy deficient, a

little bit tired. That was more when I wasn't really nervous, when I didn't

have it, just like, I was kinda like felt like lazy? I was like, [moaning,

groaning] and when you really think back about it, it was something I did,

I slept too long that day, I was tired from the night before, I didn't get a

good night's sleep cause we were on the road, on the bus you know,

travelling to the next town, we had to get up early, or got injured. Injuries

play a lot with a hockey player, you know you're playing banged up,

broken hands, blocking shots, bruised up, you know, or fighting with your

hands. Cut up, guys get banged up, they sacrifice a lot to play the game,

pucks hit guys in the feet, in certain spots and sometimes when you get

injured it plays a lot on your mind cause you don't feel 100%. Mat a: Do you play guarded a little bit?

Dave: Yeah, you play a little bit more tentative, you don't wanna go cause

you're already hurting, you're already banged up. So in times like that

that's usually when I didn't have anxiety, cause I was sore, I was tired, I

was more or less lazy.

A lack of pregame anxiety may be the result of both physical and mental exhaustion from the grueling game schedule, including the travel to and from other cities, as well as due to injuries which may have resulted from playing such a physical sport. Many other participants expressed similar sentiments to explain their experiences related to a lack of pregame anxiety. The importance of the game was also identified as a factor that may influence pregame anxiety.

The Importance of the Game

The importance of the game seemed to affect the levels of anxiety. It seemed that as the importance of the game increased, the potential for anxiety increased which led to a higher level of attention paid to pregame routines and superstitions. When asked where his superstitions began, Ron replied, "the higher you get up, the more important the games were" which led to an acute awareness of game preparation, as Charlie attested to when he advanced to higher levels of hockey, coinciding with Wright and Erdal's (2008) findings. Other factors which influenced anxiety include the day of the game and the attendance in the arena, which is of interest as these are factors which the participants had no control over. Rivalries also had an impact upon the experience of anxiety. NHL opposed to AHL: A few of the participants discussed the anxiety they felt when, after playing in the AHL, they were given the opportunity to play in the NHL. Mike, who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, described his experience. When asked if he had experienced pregame anxiety, he replied:

Mike: I would, I would, when I was in Toronto. Not so much in the

American League, [pauses] or before big games you would. You'd have

anxiety, you wanna play well, you always wanna go to the next level. I

played about 100 games in the NHL so I was always a guy that had to

perform well.

Mata: Is it safe to call you a "fringe" player then?

Mike: Yeah, for sure. I was up and down, so I did have anxiety, I wanted

to play well, I was playing with guys I watched on TV.

When asked if his anxiety became debilitative at all, he explained:

I guess it becomes that way if you're just stressed out about things you

can't control. Like if, "What's he gonna think of me?" "What if this

happens?" I have no control over it. You can only control things you can

control and that's what you should be worried about. But you do start

worrying about other things, like "What would he think of me if I did

that?" or "Am I gonna make the team?" "Am I getting sent down?"

That's kinda outta your control and if you worry about that it will bring

you down, it will make it very stressful for you not only before the game

but after and then life... it's just not a nice way to live, right? This participant discussed the anxiety or fear of being sent down to the AHL when given the opportunity to play at the NHL level. Though in retrospect, he was able to say that worrying will only bring you down, at the moment it was a fear and concern that he faced every time he would get an opportunity to play with the NHL club.

Mike described factors that influenced his anxiety levels, such as the attendance in the arena as well as the day of the game. When asked:

Mata: Would you look for that anxiety, that good anxiety in a sense?

Mike: I wouldn't look for it. I mean you kinda feel it before, you know, I

can judge it from... Well I went to university and we played 40 university

hockey games and you play Friday/Saturday. It's a playoff game and you

wanna move to the next level so it's very stressful, you're very, very

hyper, you prepare well and all that. When you're in the NHL you play

80 games, you have Tuesday night games, Wednesday night games. The

Saturday night games everybody's up for, you can do well. The Thursday

night games there wasn't too much anxiety, just kinda get by, don't make

a mistake...

Mata: The day of the game really makes an impact?

Mike: Yeah sure... [in] Toronto it's different because they sell out every

game. If you're in Atlanta, or a team that doesn't attend well, I'm sure not

having that anxiety, you won't play your best.

Mata: So you would have more [anxiety] because you're playing in front

of a full crowd? Mike: Oh yeah, for sure... Everybody's from Toronto, everybody comes

in, their family's here. They wanna fight, they wanna play well, it's a

great place to play, and a tough place to play.

Many participants explained their appreciation of the buildup of each individual game, taking multiple factors into consideration, including the location of the game and the crowd in attendance. Team rivalries also contributed to pregame anxiety levels.

Rivalries: Having a rival team seemed to affect the participants in the sense of a heightened sense of pregame anxiety. It was described in a positive manner, as helpful in getting "pumped" for the game. In Charlie's experience, the rivalry between the team he played on and his travelling partner team in the NCAA was described like so:

Charlie: I've never seen our rink as packed as it was for Clarkson games.

I'm sure it's like that for most travelling partners, 'cause traveling partners

historically have been the same for years so the rivalry definitely builds

up.

Mata: Does that get you extra-pumped up to play Clarkson?

Charlie: 100%! That game was different than any other game we played.

There's a lot of pride on the line for that game and I guess our rink was the

busiest it was for any other game throughout the year. The most fans we

ever had was for our travelling partner game. I think it's like that for most

divisions in college hockey, but certainly for us. [emphasis added]

This participant gave insight to how rivalries affect not only fan attendance but the players' anxiety level as well. Other participants echoed this sentiment as well,

113 describing the excitement they experienced when playing against a rival team. This supports Martin, Vealey and Burton's (1990) suggestion that competitive anxiety in sport functions based on the uncertainty of the outcome and the importance of the outcome.

Therefore the more important the game, the higher the need for the proper level of facilitative anxiety, which may explain why the participants spoke to increased pregame anxiety prior to important games.

Dealing with Debilitative Anxiety

Many of the participants shared examples of techniques they used to cope with debilitative anxiety. As mentioned earlier, Charlie used his routine of getting dressed as a method of distraction from negative thoughts. This section will examine different techniques and methods the participants used to combat debilitative anxiety, and provide details on those methods.

A.J. experienced debilitative anxiety during a scoring-drought in his career. In order to overcome this debilitative anxiety, he discussed focusing on other aspects of the game when, in his role as a goal-scorer, he was not able to score goals. He recollected his experience. When asked:

Mata: How did you end up dealing with the pregame anxiety when you

were in a slump? How do you get out of it in the end?

A J.: It's tough, it's really tough because especially on bus trips. Maybe I

put too much pressure on myself, but I found that if I didn't perform on a

bus trip and you gotta walk up the bus stairs and the coaches are sitting up

front, I always thought they were looking at me like "What the fuck, why

114 aren't you playing better?" And you kinda sit there, and I almost felt like I

couldn't talk to the coach cause I wasn't performing how he expected me

to perform... And when things are going well and you're scoring,

everything's jokes and rosy, but I always felt that when I wasn't

performing like I thought I should be playing, I always felt not tension, but

nervous around them.

He explained how he was able to combat the debilitative anxiety:

I think what I've learned over hockey is if you're not scoring, do

something else well. Like if you're not scoring but you're getting scored

against, that's bad. Try to be an even player, back-check, make a hit, do

something so at least you're contributing to the team until you can build up

your scoring or whatever if you're a goal scorer. You've gotta work

through it because everyone goes in cycles, even Sidney Crosby, every

player. Some [cycles] are smaller than others, but you're always gonna

have that. There's no one who's ever been consistent throughout the

whole season, you know. And a lot of the teams that win the Stanley Cup

are teams that near the end of the season their whole team gets hot and

they take that into the playoffs.

Due to the expectations this player put on himself, and perhaps the expectations his coaches had of him, he felt that he was letting himself, his coaches and his team down.

So he combated his debilitative anxiety by trying to play a complete game and focusing on other aspects of the game such as fore-checking and back-checking, to bring his confidence level back up, as confidence seems to impact positively upon facilitative anxiety. He brought to light the idea of consistency, as not every athlete is able to perform at 100% all the time.

Another participant, Craig, described the negative impact debilitative anxiety may have upon a player. He explained:

How does anxiety help you, you know? What's nervousness do positively

for your performance? I didn't experience a lot, but players that do have

to find ways to control it and manage it, otherwise it'll negatively affect

your game, how you're gonna perform [emphasis added]. You have to

have confidence; you're such an important aspect of playing the game, and

to play confidently. You lack confidence, which all players do from time

to time, it really negatively affects the way you're gonna perform on the

ice, but if you have confidence... it's a huge, huge factor how confident

you are and that's why players go through ups and downs. It's confidence

level.

The idea of controlling and managing anxiety speaks to Duquin's (1994) point on the emphasis on emotion control in sport. Craig, having been part of management, may have had to help his players learn to control and manage their anxiety in an effort to produce high performance athletes.

Craig also identified the link between confidence and anxiety. This coincides with A.J.'s description of his scoring slump. It seems that confidence may also combat

116 debilitative anxiety (e.g., Burke et al., 2006). Craig described how his confidence level affected the length of his hockey sticks. The preparation of sticks was discussed:

Mata: You would cut your own sticks right?

Craig: You cut your own, because you go up and down the shaft of your stick, as

the confidence ebbs and flows [laughs].

Here the participant explained how he would alter the length of his stick when his confidence was low. This is another example of changing a part of one's routine when things aren't going right, in an attempt to change the outcome of the game and regain confidence. As Ron summarized, "it's just little habits and ploys to try and get the edge."

Mark described how he used superstitions to manage anxiety. He expressed the comfort superstitions provided:

Mark: I think those superstitious things give you a comfort. It's just a

comfort. It makes you feel like things are right. I don't know how....

Mata: Do you think it helps you control your anxiety in a sense?

Mark: Yeah. Think of a kid with his blanket, that blanket helped them

relax, so it's for relaxation... you know what it comes to controlling your

negativity, like how does a guy snap out of a... you have a bad shift, you

do something wrong, you come to the bench, there's some guys that, Phil

Kessel for the last 14 games, just sitting there with his head down. How

do you train yourself to get out of that? You've gotta associate something,

right. We were taught when we have an issue like that, make a sound or

something. Give yourself a tap on the shin pads, and every time you give

117 yourself a tap on the shin pads that's your snap, you can take 5 seconds,

dwell on it, then snap out of it. I think that's part of getting you in the

right frame of mind, superstition.

The participant shared methods he used to control debilitative anxiety. Superstitions worked to prevent debilitative anxiety, by helping the athlete relax and provide comfort, thus promoting facilitative anxiety. Mark also discussed specific techniques he learned to distract himself when debilitative anxiety was threatening to creep in on him.

It seems that effective ways of combating debilitative anxiety are to be prepared, well rested and well hydrated before the game. When the circumstances that caused a lack of butterflies were inquired about, Charlie explained:

If you're exhausted you still have anxiety but it's more negative than

positive. Most of the anxiety that I have is just like "Oh man, this is going

to be a big game," like "I'm ready to go!" "Let's go!" But if you're

exhausted the anxiety turns into "Holy shit, I'm going to play bad tonight,

I gotta do something, I gotta go have a Gatorade or go eat something."

You kind of get all nervous, right? In a bad way cause you feel you

haven't prepared yourself and you know you're in trouble.

Preparation is key in avoiding debilitative anxiety and being game ready; and that preparation includes routines and superstitions.

Superstition as a coping mechanism: Mark described his thoughts on superstitions functioning as a coping mechanism. When discussing common superstitions, for example, the superstition about the term "shut-out" for goalies, he explained:

118 Mark: I think it could be... it's that seed right. It's like that bad seed that

just wants to sprout, and maybe it's used almost like a crutch, "Oh fuck,

that's why I did that wrong" it's like, it's just a crutch.

Mata: You need to blame it on something else?

Mark: Psychologically, yeah. You can't blame it on yourself. Almost

like a coping mechanism. Because for a guy like Sidney Crosby, the best

player in the world, he knows he's the best. But if he fucks up, he's gotta

think, "Okay, why did I fuck up?" He's too good to fuck up. "Where did

this come from? What did I do different?" That's [specific behaviour]

what. And now it's like, "Okay, I'm done. I can move forward" [once he

resolves the source of his "fuck up"].

Mark described the idea of superstitions as a "crutch," an outlet to place blame on when successful performance is not achieved. Superstitions function as scapegoats in certain situations. To further this idea, when a successful performance is achieved, the player will go over all the events of the day and assign importance to something that may have occurred out of the ordinary, and that out of the ordinary occurrence may develop into a superstition.

The Function of Routines and Superstitions on Anxiety

When examining the function of routines and superstitions on anxiety, the dialogue with Mark was key in summarizing that function. When given the opportunity to go over the interview guide, he had this to say:

119 Mart. The only thing I can say is the bigger the game, the more attention

I've always paid to my superstitions and my routines.

Mata: Okay, so the importance of the games... So like a playoff game

versus...

Mark: Playoff game versus a regular season game, or like a nothing game

Mata: Was that because that game involved more anxiety? Were you

more nervous before it?

Mark: Probably, probably. There's more riding on it that you want to

make sure that you did well, or I did well. I made me just really focus on

all those little things. I made sure that I did them all, the way I wanted

them to [be done]. I wouldn't forget.

Mata: So you would have a good game?

Mark: Yeah, so I would try and make sure I would have a good game.

Mata: So you did everything you possibly could off-ice to perform well

on-ice?

Mark: Yeah, the bigger the game, that's the way it was.

Mark's explanation seems to makes perfect sense, that there is some sort of link between anxiety and routine/superstition. As other participants have mentioned or alluded to, it may be due to the fear of the unknown, which may lead to pregame anxiety. So these athletes take every step possible to prepare and achieve facilitative anxiety opposed to debilitative anxiety, in hopes that everything goes smoothly, especially when there is more at stake, in instances where more value is put on the outcome of specific games. As

120 Wilkinson (2001) explains, we feel the need to control the course of our lives. Routines and superstitions may help the athletes attain that sense of control, which is perhaps one of the reasons they are so prevalent in sport.

It appears that routines and superstitions are used to help control anxiety, specifically to cope with or reduce debilitative anxiety and achieve facilitative anxiety, described as a sensation of "butterflies," in the individual athletes. Many factors can affect pregame anxiety in the athletes, such as the importance of game, employer pressures/expectations, and previous performance. Routines and superstitions may help the athletes cope with unsuccessful performance and help the athletes prepare for successful performance. Routines and superstitions help athletes achieve a "ready-state" as Locke (2003) suggested, a state where the athletes have a sense of control and feel prepared for competition. This "ready-state" has been normalized through the regimentation of hockey athletes.

Regimentation

Snyder and Ammons (1993) believe that emotions are learned in social relationships, which explains the importance of regimentation in professional hockey, as the implemented routines help "teach" the athletes the necessary processes needed to achieve professional status. Regimentation is defined as the minute organization of time implemented upon the athlete in an effort to discipline and train the athlete (Robidoux,

2001; Shogan, 1999). Shogan (1999) explained that regimentation is used as a method to discipline the athlete and teach the athlete emotion control, to produce a high- performance athlete.

121 The following sections will discuss regimentation in hockey. A brief description of the participants' experiences of regimentation will be discussed, followed by preparation. Finally, the function of routines and superstitions in the regimented hockey environment will be discussed, both from an individual and collective perspective.

The Ingrained Itinerary

In hockey as with many other sports, each team member is given an itinerary that is expected to be followed (Robidoux, 2001). It is from following both practice drills

(where coaches can assess which athletes have developed the skills necessary to perform in competition) and delegated timetables (which display the player's commitment to the team) that coaches reward the "better" and obedient players with opportunities

(Robidoux, 2001; Shogan, 1999). These players conform to the regimented hockey environment, as they feel they it will give them a sense of security when they are rewarded by the coach. This sense of security is crucial in reducing debilitative anxiety, therefore these players tend to follow the itinerary which is set out for them by management (Gallucci, 2008; Wilkinson, 2001),

According to Robidoux (2001), based on his ethnographic study of an AHL hockey team, hockey players are very regimented. Study participants discussed the strict timetables they followed and described it as "ingrained" into their personal lives. Craig explained how he was able to set his clock by his timetable:

You work off an itinerary and you work off it so much [that] it's ingrained

in you [emphasis added]. This is the time, this is what I should be doing.

If it's 4 o'clock I'm down in the lobby having a coffee, if its 4:15 I'm

122 outside waiting for a cab, if it's 4:30 I'm walking in the rink, if it's 5

o'clock I'm working on my sticks, 5:30, I'm sitting around talking [about]

the game. It's the ritual of it, it's the routine, everybody works off the

itinerary.

Mike described a similar experience:

So when you're a hockey player you get an itinerary so if you're going on a

road trip, you get an itinerary, you don't have to book your flight, you

don't have to plan your flight, you show up at 10 o'clock to skate, you

show up at 11 for the team bus, you show up at 12 for the team meal, you

take your nap, you show up, you know, everything is regimented, you

don't have to do... all you have to do is have your itinerary and show up.

These players described experiencing a minute time-organization that, as mentioned above, Shogan (1999) believes contributes to the making of high performance athletes.

Craig described his coaching experience, where he was in charge of creating the itineraries for these players. When asked:

Mata: So as a coach were you responsible for implementing certain

routines?

Craig: You're responsible for all the logistics, the travel, the bus, the

meals, the practice length, the content in practice, so yeah you keep 'em

on a routine, make sure they don't have too much idle time.

Craig explained that as a coach, he participated in disciplining the athletes, keeping them on track, "making sure they don't have too much idle time." From his explanation, it is

123 evident that these athletes experience a very controlled schedule. The effect of this controlled timetable was one of interest, as all players are expected to follow the itinerary, resulting in a shared experience of preparation routines; daily processes intended to prepare the athletes for competition.

Preparation

As explained above, due to the random nature of the game of hockey, players can practice and prepare as much as possible, but once the puck is dropped, the potential outcomes are infinite, resulting in a sense of the unknown (Kidd, 1972). When asked about preparing for competitions, Ron replied:

It didn't matter how much you prepared, there was no guarantee that what

you prepared would translate into what was happening. Hockey is a

random sport, I mean you could put your best plans on paper but it just

may not translate that way you know. You can't plan your practice and

perfect your power play and then get into a game and the referee doesn't

call any penalties on the other team, meanwhile you guys had penalties all

night - that wasn't part of what you were perfecting. So you have to try

and work on your whole game and sort of break it down to the individual

to know what they are responsible for to be prepared if and when that

happens... So the preparation is necessary but there's no guarantee that it's

gonna go as planned.

Kidd (1972) explained that hockey, as a creative sport, relies on instinct rather than set plays. According to Kidd (1972, p. 7) "the basic plays are obvious and simple and they

124 are repeated endlessly, but never in the same way or the same sequence" so in every game something different happens. The randomness of the game coincides with

Wilkinson's (2001) ideas on anxiety. Regimentation ensures that the athletes are prepared as per management's standards, through practice and nutrition, yet each individual player may engage in personal routines and superstitions to control the sense of the unknown, in an effort to achieve a state of facilitative anxiety above and beyond the regimented norm (Shogan, 1999), to get that "edge" that Craig referred to.

Routines and Superstitions in the Regimented Hockey Environment

As Ron explained, despite the random nature of the game of hockey, there is still a need to be prepared. Routines and superstitions may be used as tools to regain a sense of control when, as a hockey player, much is out of their control, from the timetable imposed upon them by management, to the possible outcomes on the ice during the game.

Routines and superstitions may in fact provide that sense of "comfort" that Mark expressed.

Routines and superstitions are personal to each athlete; they are actions and behaviours carried out by the individual. In the world of hockey where the concept of

"team" is so important, routines and superstitions may provide an individual identity to the athletes. Craig explained the significance of taping one's stick, as an example of a process every hockey player engages in, yet the outcome of this process is different for everyone:

125 It's like a signature, no two sticks are the same in terms of your handle,

how much tape you put on the blade, the size of it, the curve. It's like a

fingerprint. Everybody has a different model.

This quote may suggest that perhaps hockey players, taught to be team oriented, are searching for ways to maintain individuality. Wilkinson (2001) believes that anxiety can result from a threat to one's personal identity. Taking this into consideration, perhaps routines and superstitions may help control anxiety by providing a sense of identity, via personal preparation above and beyond that required by management, in an effort to achieve a state of facilitative anxiety.

How does that explain routines and superstitions that are experienced collectively, such as the playoff beard? Perhaps these collective routines and superstitions function to help individuals identify as team members. These superstitions may help bring a sense of togetherness, oneness, and an "us vs. them" mentality. As with the regimented routines delegated by the team, these collective superstitions may help each individual identify with the team. Perhaps this is why the growth of playoff beards is seen during the playoffs, when the importance of each game is elevated, and as Robidoux (2001) explains, as in the military, these players are taught to fight (perform) for each other. The beard perhaps then becomes symbolic, as a reminder of the sacrifice each athlete is making for their fellow team members.

Routines and superstitions seem to exist both individually and collectively, possibly impacting identity and functioning to control anxiety in an effort to prepare for competitions. Routines and superstitions may be on a continuum where the importance

126 given to the action or behaviour is determined by the athlete, which explains why the process of taping one's stick may be a superstition to one player and a routine to another.

The superstition/routine continuum functions in preparing the athlete for competition and achieving the proper level of anxiety.

To explain further, shared routines would include processes executed by the entire team, for example adhering to the team itinerary, or performing group stretching exercises. Shared superstitions may include growing in a playoff beard. Personal routines could be any behaviour or action that the athlete considers routine, such as getting dressed or as Mark explained, eating baby food before the game. Personal superstitions, like routines are based on the importance given to the behaviour or action by the athlete and can range from warm-up sequences to avoiding stepping on the lines painted in the ice, or as Charlie explained, the colour of the tape he uses to tape his stick depending on his previous game performance.

It may be that, regardless of whether the behaviour is shared (implemented via regimentation or tradition) or personal, it is executed in an effort to prepare the athlete for competition. In essence, these behaviours are executed to achieve a "ready-state" to compete, by helping the athlete 'control' anxiety. As Mark stated, both routines and superstitions "just help you to get that positive energy." This idea of the "ready-state" appears to be socially constructed through the regimented hockey environment, as these players are encouraged to engage in routines to prepare and achieve the "ready state" for competition (Locke, 2003). The findings will be summarized in the following chapter.

127 CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUSION

This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of professional hockey players with regard to routines and superstitions. As the literature pertaining to routines and superstitions is primarily descriptive, this study aimed to address the gap in research by critically assessing the role of routines and superstitions and their function in sport, specifically hockey.

The central question of this study was:

• How and why do ice hockey players employ routines and superstitions in their

training and what effect may it have on competition practices?

The objectives of this research included:

• To explore the lived experiences of professional hockey

players with regard to their routines and superstitions as part of

their preparation and competition;

• To examine how these routines and superstitions are or are not

adopted by the players and why; and

• To investigate the experience of anxiety, including its control

via routine and superstition, among professional hockey

players.

The lived experiences of the participants interviewed provided some answers to these questions. This chapter will summarize what has surfaced out of the data and also identify some of the project's strengths and limitations.

128 Routines have been defined as all the actions/behaviours a player engages in on game day to prepare for upcoming competition. Superstitions have been defined as a behaviour or series of behaviours that had to be done before each game, which did not necessarily have any technical functioning in preparing for the game (cf., Gallucci, 2008).

In this study, it was found that routines and superstitions have been used by the participants to prepare for competition. Regardless of whether the behaviour was considered to be a routine or a superstition, the reason the behaviour was engaged in was in an effort to achieve a 'ready state' to perform athletically (cf., Locke, 2003). The participants explained that the behaviour processes they engaged in provided them a sense of comfort, reducing debilitative anxiety and helping them achieve facilitative anxiety; thus these behaviours helped the participants achieve a sense of 'controlled nervousness' (Jones & Hardy, 1990). These routines and superstitions were adopted either collectively, to identify and participate with the team, such as the playoff beard, or individually, via observational learning (e.g., one participant's example of tucking in his jersey in an effort to emulate his childhood idol, Wayne Gretzky).

Routines and superstitions may be strongly influenced by the organizations that run the game vis-a-vis the lack of control many players experience within the organization. Most organizations have control over players' lives as players are often powerless within the organization, unless they have achieved superstar status (Robidoux,

2001). Even with superstar status, Wayne Gretzky, arguably the best player who ever played the game, was traded for a large sum of money, putting a tangible value on him as a player (Robidoux, 2001). Superstar status may afford the athlete a bit more security,

129 yet the superstar is aware that he has to maintain his level of production to ensure his spot on the team is not threatened (Robidoux, 2001). The hockey organizations have created this "dog eat dog" environment in professional hockey, where players are constantly in a state of competition whether it be against their teammates or other teams, potentially creating a highly anxious environment. As routines and superstitions are used in an effort to "get an edge" over competition and control anxiety, this environment may promote the use of routines and superstitions for that purpose.

As these players' lives are immersed in hockey and controlled by the organizations that they play for, one can suggested that the athletes are taught to achieve a sense of control over their emotions and their anxiety level to achieve successful performance (Locke, 2003). They have been taught to use routines and superstitions to achieve a level of control that is deemed vital for success. The personal routines and superstitions players engage in may function to help achieve a sense of personal control when so many aspects of their playing careers are uncontrollable. As previously mentioned, Wilkinson (2001) suggests that anxiety may result from a threat to one's personal identity. In a homogenized environment such as this one, the focus is primarily on winning, and players are expected to sacrifice for the team, potentially affecting the athletes' personal identity (Robidoux, 2001). In may be suggested that hockey players may develop and use personal routines and superstitions as tools to achieve a sense of individuality and control over their emotions, as players are expected to attain a level of facilitative anxiety for competition.

130 The tightly controlled hockey environment in which these players have been immersed contributes to anxiety they experienced. Perhaps a critical view into the organization of hockey leagues and organizations across all levels is warranted, as the organization of the hockey system is such that athletes may be in a constant state of competition, both against other teams and against their peers for a spot on the team

(Robidoux, 2001). The incredible control held by the leagues and the organization may in fact be problematic, resulting in the experience of high levels of anxiety and the need to control that anxiety. Also, the demand that the players be completely immersed in the sport does not allow for development in other areas of the athletes' lives. Future research may investigate career termination and the adjustment period athletes experience once a career in hockey is no longer an option. What are the experiences involved in career termination? This would be an interesting study which could examine the experience of and coping with anxiety under those circumstances.

Strengths and Limitations

A limitation of this study is attributed to the relatively small number of participants. Though qualitative research is not concerned with achieving statistical probability, the small number of participants limits the ability to generalize the findings to a greater population. That being said, the purpose of this project was to capture the lived experiences of professional male hockey players within a given context. As some of the results have been related beyond the sample population, it becomes difficult to apply these findings on a broader scale, and any effort to do so should be undertaken with caution.

131 The homogenous group of participants in this study may also be problematic. The study population was primarily white, able-bodied, male hockey athletes. As the lived experience of professional athletes was the aim of this study, the participants who were recruited had all retired from the game. That being said, all participants did have experience playing professionally. Due to the sample, this study may then reproduce voices of white, able bodied male hockey athletes, thus future research should go beyond the social demographics from this study. By diversifying the sample group, perhaps a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of professional hockey athletes will be attained.

It can be said that this sample was demographically homogenous, with the exception of age and amount of professional experience, as some participants' careers were longer than others. Speaking to the homogenous group of participants, according to

Robidoux (2001), this may be representative of a typical group of hockey players, as hockey players tend to be predominantly white, able-bodied males. Future studies should examine the predominantly white population in hockey, to perhaps find ways to diversify hockey athletes. This study focused on professional male hockey athletes as a sample of convenience was employed. The lived experiences of female professional hockey players have not been investigated and may warrant future research.

A contribution of this research is that it attempts to address the limited literature, despite the abundance of anecdotal evidence, regarding the lived experiences of professional male hockey athletes and the role of routines and superstitions in training and competition regimens. The lived experiences of professional athletes are important

132 in uncovering the details of how routines and superstitions are utilized, adopted and executed. Apart from media portrayal and biographies, our knowledge of the lived experiences of professional hockey athletes is under-researched in the socio-cultural study of routines, superstitions and anxiety. This research may contribute to decreasing the gap in knowledge, socio-culturally, on routines and superstitions in professional hockey athletes.

This research attempts to understand how and why professional hockey athletes have learned to negotiate anxiety via routines and superstitions. The regimented hockey environment is one where anxiety levels may be high, based on the tightly controlled environment these athletes are immersed in. Also, the need to individuate from the collective team identity may arouse feelings of anxiety as well. This may contribute to athletes implementing routines and superstitions to attain a sense of control and identity in an environment where little is controllable. This "illusion of control" in this environment should be an area which should be critically examined in future research, specifically around the organization of these leagues and hockey teams who tend to exercise power over the athletes, as this power imbalance may be problematic.

133 NOTES

'Interesting to note is that two days after the interview with this particular participant, I was listening to the AM640 Leafs pregame show on the radio, and Jim Ralph, the colour commentator for the broadcast had a segment called the GMKeys to Victory. In Ralph's

(2011) segment, this particular evening, he mentioned to Andy Frost, the pregame host, that Phil Kessel, a Toronto Maple Leaf who was experiencing 14-game scoreless slump changed the tape on his blade from white to black prior to the game on February 15, 2011 against the Boston Bruins, Kessel's former team. Kessel had not scored a goal against the Bruins since he was traded to the Maple Leafs two seasons prior. Not only did Kessel score two goals that night to end his scoreless slump, he also scored in the next game against the Buffalo Sabres and continued to score in most games for the remainder of the

2010/2011 season to reach a total of 30 goals in the season (retrieved on May 10, 2011, from: http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/club/plaver.htm?id=8473548&season=20102011&view=gamel og). I immediately messaged my participant letting him know what had been broadcasted during the pregame show. Phil Kessel was used as an example of a player under stress of pressure quite often by many participants.

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142 APPENDIX A Interview Guide

1. Tell me about yourself a. Hockey history/Development programs

2. When did you start playing professionally? For which organization?

3. Tell me about a typical game day a. Timetable - strict? b. Practice - examples please c. Routine - what sorts of things done

4. What about this game preparation is important to you? a. How is it different from others (teammates)? b. Has this preparation changed over the years? How so?

5. Tell me about your superstitions - what sorts of behaviours do you engage i a. How important are they to you? b. Where did they come from? c. Is there a difference between routine and superstition?

6. Do you have anxiety before a game? Nervousness? Emotional state? a. Why? Why not?

7. Tell me about a time that you had to deal with pregame anxiety/nervousness/emotional state?

8. How else do you prepare yourself for competition?

9. What do you do on off days?

10. Is there a difference in your preparation between home and away games? a. How? Why the difference?

11. Has your routine changed from team to team? How so?

12. If a major part of your routine was altered or removed, would it affect you? How? Why?

13. Do you have any questions for me?

14. Is there anything else you would like to add? APPENDIX B Informed Consent Form

Study Name: Investigating Hockey Players' Routines

Researcher: Stamata (Mata) Catsoulis, BA Hon. Psychology Master of Arts Student School of Kinesiology and Health Science, Faculty of Health 327A Bethune College York University 4700 Keele St. Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3

E-mail: [email protected] Tel: (416) 736-2100 ext. 21207

Purpose of the Research: To investigate the importance of routines in professional hockey players.

What You Will Be Asked to do in the Research: You will be asked to engage in a 30- 60 minute voice recorded face to face interview with the researcher. Questions will pertain to your hockey history and any routines you have.

Risks and Discomforts: We do not foresee any risks or discomfort from your participation in the research.

Benefits of the Research and Benefits to You: There will be no material benefits to you but you will contribute to the development of knowledge on this issue.

Voluntary Participation: Your participation in the study is completely voluntary and you may choose to stop participating at any time. Your decision not to volunteer will not influence the relationship you have with the researcher either now, or in the future.

Withdrawal from the Study: You can stop participating in the study at any time, for any reason, if you so decide. If you decide to stop participating, you will still be eligible to receive the promised pay for agreeing to be in the project. Your decision to stop participating, or to refuse to answer particular questions, will not affect your relationship with the researchers, York University, or any other group associated with this project. In the event you withdraw from the study, all associated data collected will be immediately destroyed wherever possible.

Confidentiality: Unless you choose otherwise, all information you supply during the research will be held in confidence and unless you specifically indicate your consent,

144 your name will not appear in any report or publication of the research. The data will be collected using a personal voice recorder as well as handwritten notes. The recorded interview will then be transcribed. Your data will be safely stored in a locked facility and only research staff will have access to this information. The data will be destroyed three years from the date of December 30,2010. Confidentiality will be provided to the fullest extent possible by law. If you choose to waive confidentiality and permit me to identify you by name in the research, please sign the separate section for that purpose below.

Questions About the Research? If you have questions about the research in general or about your role in the study, please feel free to contact me either by telephone at (416) 898-6282 or by e-mail at [email protected]. Alternatively, you may also contact Graduate Supervisor - Dr. Parissa Safai - either by telephone at (416) 726-2100, extension 23040 or by e-mail at [email protected]. This research has been reviewed and approved by the Human Participants Review Sub-Committee, York University's Ethics Review Board and conforms to the standards of the Canadian Tri-Council Research Ethics guidelines. If you have any questions about this process, or about your rights as a participant in the study, please contact the Ms. Alison Collins-Mrakas, Manager, Research Ethics, 309 York Lanes, York University (telephone 416-736-5914 or e-mail [email protected]).

Legal Rights and Signatures:

I consent to participate in Investigating Hockey Players' Routines conducted by Stamata (Mata) Catsoulis. I have understood the nature of this project and wish to participate. I am not waiving any of my legal rights by signing this form. My signature below indicates my consent.

Signature Date Participant

Signature Date Principal Investigator

If you would like to waive confidentiality and be identified in the research please fill out the following:

I, would like to waive confidentiality and give permission to be personally identified as a participant in this study. I understand that this is not necessary as part of the research, but rather my personal choice.

Signature Date Participant

145