WATCH ABOVE: As Canadian athletes get ready for the FIFA Women’s World Cup, Quinn Phillips highlights the loved ones who helped get them here.
EDMONTON – Before every match, Canadian captain Christine Sinclair make sure her cleats are clean and her boots polished.
And she listens to the King of Pop.
“I have to listen Michael Jackson’s ‘Man in the Mirror‘ before ever game. It started in college,” Sinclair said.
Defender Marie-Eve Nault puts everything on right side first. And if she has a good game, she ensures she repeats her routine.
Midfielder Kaylyn Kyle also dresses right to left. “And then if I have a good game in a tournament, I’ll wear the same sports bra, which sounds gross but I won’t change my sports bra for the tournament.”
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Forward Jonelle Foligno used to put her left boot on before the right but says that’s gone by the boards. “I just need to go out there and get the job done.”
Defender Carmelina Moscato likes to mix it up, rather than tie herself into a routine. “I just try to stay present,” she said.
Midfielder Sophie Schmidt says she doesn’t have superstitions but listens to “super-mellow” music before taking the field. Classical or something “Bob Dylan-like” does the trick, she says.
Striker Melissa Tancredi says she likes anything with a good beat but has recently taken a liking to the ’90s dance music thanks to defender Robyn Gayle, whom she calls the team DJ and “good mixologist.”
Forward Adriana Leon also helps set the musical tone for the team.
“I know how to make a pretty mean playlist.”
“I tend to sway towards the techno music but a lot of the girls can get tired of that pretty quickly. So I’ll throw in some stuff for Kadeisha (Buchanan). She likes to do her whip … It’s a dance move.”
Buchanan, a defender, likes to listen to reggae, but also music she can move to.
Leon, who has made a World Cup playlist, has one superstition. She drinks coffee before every game and before every training session. For those wondering, she takes it with a little milk.
Kyle likes pre-game “pump-up” music, usually techno or dance. Avicii is a fave.
WATCH: All four Group A teams are now in Edmonton to kick off the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Quinn Phillips is at the airport for Team Canada’s arrival.
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