Lois Lee, a Berkeley High School senior, runs cross country and track. At every meet, Lee wears a bracelet made by her older sister. Since Lee’s sister is in college and is unable to watch her compete, Lee wears the bracelets she made as an ode to her sister. The bracelet is a superstition for her that also provides her a sense of security. “It makes me feel safe … it’s okay if I don’t do good because it gives me a boost of confidence that things will go well,” Lee said.
Nicolas Casher is a BHS junior who plays basketball. When Casher was in eighth grade he started to wear a headband to prevent his longer hair from blocking his eyes. Casher began wearing the headband in all games, mainly for function. “I like throwing on a headband because not only is it very swaggy, but it blocks sweat so it can’t get in my eyes,” Casher said, appreciating the accessories’ look and purpose to help his visibility and play.
Braden Beal, junior and football player at BHS, wears a compression leg sleeve in every game. Beal began wearing the compression sleeve his freshman year and has continued to use the sleeve because he felt it gave him a performance boost. He has noticed that since he started wearing the sleeve he feels like he has better games. He said, “it’s a mental thing … when I play without it, I don’t perform to my best abilities.” For Beal, the sleeve makes him feel better about his play. “I always just played really well when I wore it, so I kept it,” Beal said.
Ahmirah McElroy-Dent is a BHS junior and plays flag football. In games and practices, McElroy-Dent’s accessory of choice is a pair of red gloves. Wearing the gloves consistently has become a tradition for McElroy-Dent, and she believes that her performance and game mentality is affected by whether she wears them or not. “I played without my gloves and I was really off my game,” McElroy-Dent said, adding that without the gloves she feels like she tends to mess up catches more frequently, gets angry, and loses confidence.