Halftime Habits

By: Jack Cashin

Just as you are about to take possession of the ball, a sharp and shrill sound pierces your ears – the sound of the referee’s whistle blowing. What is it this time? Did he see another phantom handling of the ball? Did Fabio Ponti do his impression of the Italian national team by falling to the ground (some call it diving, some call it embellishing, Fabio calls it instinct) and flailing his limbs about as if he was concurrently suffering a Taser shock and a femur fracture of his femur?

As you turn to complain to the ref, regardless of the call, you realize he is merely indicating that the first half is over – it’s halftime. There are only a few minutes before play will resume. How are you going to prepare to tackle the crucial second half? With your mind racing, you can’t help but remember the words of famed NCAA coach Bob Knight: “Everyone wants to win, but not everyone is willing to prepare to win.”

There appear to be two main schools on how to best exploit the precious pause that is halftime: physical versus mental preparation. The first – physical preparation – covers a range of possibilities. It involves everything from attending to the injuries taken during the first half (always got to have the Flintstones band-aids for Dave Scholl or that kid will freak out), to running for a quick bathroom break (a favourite of the notoriously small-bladdered James Park), to snacking on Power bars (or, if you’re like me, fruits smuggled from Strachan). One of the most important ways to prep physically between halves, though, is through hydration. The last thing you want during the second half is to suffer a heat stroke because you forgot to drink water AND missed out on Mrs. Shackleford’s orange slices.

Now, while you could take this advice, run out to Metro and buy the full Gatorade G Series Prime (read: rip-off), you may also say to yourself, “Hey, I go to Trinity! I only drink water when I’m out of vodka – and I never run out of vodka.” In this case, you should look to NBA Champion Ron Artest, or as he is legally known nowadays, Metta World Peace (no joke, that’s actually his name – his daughter’s name is Diamond World Peace…but it’s weird to associate “diamond” with “world peace” to me…and Mr. DiCaprio…but whatever). While the name may be a little ironic given the fact that he once jumped into a crowd to beat up an opposing fan, it may come as a comfort to know that he is also famous for having drank Hennessy cognac at halftime in the early days of his career.

When mentally preparing for the second half, some people like to stay quiet, keep their thoughts to themselves and focus. Others prefer to talk with their teammates, discussing attack plans and highlighting what went well (or not so well) in the first half. When taking a psychological approach, it is important to avoid distractions. Keep focused on your goals for the second half and ignore everything else. If that one heckler on the sideline has been chirping you all game, just block him out (and get him after the game in the parking lot). If Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake are performing, it’s probably best to ask for a recap later.

When it boils down to it, though, the moral of the story, regardless of the approach you take, is to drown out anything that is going to stop you from achieving your goals. Hear that sound? It’s that damned referee blowing his whistle again. Now put down this article and get your head in the game – we’re counting on you to get that W.