Do you notice your young athletes picking up habits while competing on the ball fields? Do they tip their hats, spit on their fingers, make signs in the dirt, or pick their nose before every play? Well, the later is just a bad habit they will grow out of, maybe!

Some of the best pro athletes had habits and quirks that got them through every game. Take Red Sox great, Wade Boggs for example. He certainly had a time fedish, and maybe an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Every day, he entered the batting cage at exactly 5:17 p.m., and then started his running program as 7:17 p.m.  Boggs took exactly 150 ground balls during infield practice. In games, he would make a line in the dirt with his left foot, tap his glove two or three times, then adjust his hat.

Just watch a baseball game on television. What do the pitchers do every time they walk back to the mound? Spitting on the ball is illegal, but watch the quirks they go through before the wind ups. The batters are even more fun to watch. Check out Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek’s hands on the bat. That’s something not to teach your youngsters in Little League. He starts with his hands almost a foot apart, and slides them together, as he loads, while the pitcher is releasing the ball. I’d call that one a bad habit.

I see many hitters give the sign of the cross before stepping up to the plate. Are they praying for a hit or a walk? Or, maybe they’re asking God to spare them from being hit! There was one pro hockey player, Bruce Gardiner from Canada, who dipped his stick in the toilet before every game. I hope he flushed first!

 Did you know former Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciapara used to get dressed the same way every day, tapped his toes during each at-bat, and touched each dugout step with both feet going in and out. Then there was Chicago Bulls Michael Jordan who used to wear his North Carolina shorts under his game uniform for good luck.

Do you notice your child stepping over foul ball lines when running off the field, wearing certain colors on game days, putting cologne on under their jerseys, talking to the ball before a foul shot, or eating junk food before game-time? If all of the above are observed, I’d say you have a normal athlete. Although, the cologne and Granola bars are not habits or superstitions - just a hungry teenage boy trying to attract the girls.

What quirks, habits and superstitions do you see on the courts or playing fields? Please share them in a comment.

-Bob Hammerstrom

Tags: bad, Baseball, Boston, Bruce Gardiner, habits, Jason Varitek, Michael Jordan, MLB, NBA, NHL, players, quirts, Red Sox, superstitions, Wade Boggs