Receiving a corn hat after hitting a home run is just one of the many traditions that define the Woodgrove Softball Team. Whether it is a personal superstition or a team tradition that bonds players, athletes take all and any game day routines seriously.
Game day begins early in the morning when athletes wake up. Do they eat whatever they feel like eating that day? Nope. Superstitions start as early as breakfast for senior third baseman Grace Anderson, who eats strawberries. “Last year for states, I had to pack strawberries, because I couldn’t go without them,” Anderson explained. Additionally, senior left outfielder Faith Barker does not just stop with a consistent first meal. “I have Greek yogurt in the morning; a green apple, chicken, popcorn, and cucumber for lunch; and then two dates with peanut butter before the game,” Barker commented.
Once athletes are happy, fed, and feel their best, they also have to look their best. For the softball team, that entails their trendy hairstyles. Senior Addie McCullers is one of the team’s designated ‘team braiders.’ She serves as an athlete who is dependable not only for making big plays in the game but also for making big plays with the braids. “I do my own hair first, which is always a slick back with something funny in my ponytail. Then I always have to slick Abby and Ginny’s hair,” McCullers explained. Anderson gets some help when it comes to adding flair to her hair. “My teammates have to tie my ribbon for me, because I can’t tie my own,” Anderson stated.
Then, game time comes, and athletes must stretch and prepare for a competitive match. McCullers adds to her team titles—this one being more unconventional—by taking the role of ‘team chiropractor.’ During the stretching, people come up to McCullers and ask her to crack their backs. The superstition begins with the order of who gets cracked. “I have to go in the order that they ask me. If Taylor asks me first, she goes first, and then everyone who asks next goes in their order,” McCullers detailed.
Finally, game time hits and players all run out to a mash-up of “Run this Town” and “All the Lights,” hitting the door of the dugout on their way onto the field. If players are lucky enough to hit a home run, boy, is it rewarding. Not only do they get the satisfaction of completing a great play, but they get to wear the prized ‘corn hat,’ a plush hat in the shape of a corn on the cob, after crossing home plate. The tradition of the corn started when a radio host called them “corn-fed country girls” and has continued ever since.
Since the first state championship in 2012, when the girls got their first taste for victory, the unstoppable force known as Woodgrove softball has made new traditions, kept old traditions, and is continuing to forge their path.