Hackley Athletics. These two words will be incontrovertibly linked in the hearts and minds of every athlete who has passed through the ranks of our school, trapped in an eternal state of fond nostalgia. And it’s not the memories of big games, or championships, or the pressure-filled seconds of a dying clock that Hackley athletes will cherish the most. No, they shall cherish the small things, the pre-game pep talks, the inside jokes, and the unique atmosphere of a high school sports team that can never truly be replicated. Of course, they will also never forget the small pre-game rituals, idiosyncrasies, and superstitions that they have unwittingly adopted. As Hackley’s student-athletes gear up for another intense season of NYSAIS competition, the little rituals and traditions that every team performs before and after games become all the more critical.

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The cross-country team may have the longest preparation time before races, even though their competition length is certainly the shortest among the fall sports at Hackley.

“You definitely have to prepare at least two nights in advance,” said senior captain Frank Medici. “I like to pound at least two liters of water and get rest at least two nights before, which I have found greatly affects my performance. I also make sure I eat bacon before the race.”

In the precious seconds before the gun goes off, the boys’ team receives an impassioned pre-race speech from Frank, with topics ranging from hill technique to beating Poly Prep at all costs. The girls’ team does not partake in loud speeches, but they always make sure to have their trademark hair ribbons meticulously knotted for every meet. Preceding each race, the girls form a huddle and exchange words of motivation. “Ever since my freshman year season, we’ve done the huddle. We yell ‘Go Hack!’ and then everyone spits into the middle of the circle,” says senior captain Greer Levin.

Other team traditions include the yearly photo scavenger hunt at the beginning of the season, in which team members run through the streets of Tarrytown and cause havoc, goody-bag days, and the end-of-season speech from Coach Karpinski that often lasts over an hour and a half.

The girls’ soccer team was less transparent on the topic of pre-game rituals.

“We have a locker room ritual which involves ceremonial dancing, chanting, and cheering ‘Let’s Go Hack!’ in the locker room,” said senior Jojo Miller. This vague routine was disputed by anonymous members of the team who were coy on the subject of releasing the details of the true pre-game team ritual. The soccer team also makes sure to eat Gatorade chews before every game for good luck.

“We’re not supposed to talk about them,” said Milo Lempert of the football team, when questioned on football’s traditions. “Come to the games and you’ll see one right before we start.”

Girls’ field hockey was more transparent.

“Let’s say we’re playing Horace Mann and they’re red, Coach Leffler gets red M&Ms and before we play we smash them with our field hockey sticks or chew them,” said senior Serena Hernandez. While hitting opponents with sticks is not technically an aspect of the game, the spirit of the action is greatly appreciated.

With the winter season fast approaching, the swimming, wrestling, and fencing teams will be competing in earnest, bringing their own traditions and rituals with them.

“The fencing team is broken up by weapon so we don’t have too many teamwide rituals,” said senior Leandro Caponong.

“We start up by having Coach Marks shout ‘Lord makes us fast and accurate’. A few years ago, some guy started saying ‘let’s drop a train on them’, and we’ve adopted that phrase as a pre-bout ritual ever since.”

When asked why this person came up with “let’s drop a train on them”, Jon Levine replied:

“He only said that trains are pretty damn heavy.”

The wrestling team has one very simple pre-match tradition. Senior Stephen Zak described it as follows:

“Before we start a match we run around the mat in a circle, stretch, and then we go to the center of the mat, lay down, and then have an inspirational speech and chant really loudly.” Having witnessed this ritual myself, the atmosphere of intimidation engendered by the wrestling team has definitely been a factor in the team’s success in past years.

Of course, the entire school dresses up in costume and participates in Student Council’s traditional Spirit Week, another custom that will hopefully continue. Ever since 2012, Council has celebrated the beginning of the fall season with America Day and the annual apple-pie contest. The school also commemorates breast cancer research with its “Black and Pink-out Day”, as well as other spirit-related Blackouts throughout the year.