TWO CLAPS AND BIOHACKS

It was summer of 1997 in Arizona. Prescott, AZ. So at least the air was cool at night and brought some semblance of sweet relief to the slightly seared skin from the scorching high desert heat. Prescott is a town in the desert, surrounded by forest, where confused ecosystems mingle and saguaro cactus share spaces with ponderosa pine as they vie for the red dusty soil in a silent competition for survival. Inside the field house at Yavapai Community College the scene of competition was similarly staged in a hot, humid, sweat stained, air condition-less hardwood sanctuary where me and a hundred other highschool basketball campers from the surrounding region gathered. A week of skill work, competitive games, team building and inspirational lectures for the annual summer basketball camp. I loved the games with my team and I loved the skill work but it was a particular lecture from a Yavapai assistant coach that stood out on that auspicious July night. The first day of camp had ended and the coach was debriefing individual's' accolades of the day. Then it happened, after complimenting the coach or player he would yell out "...let's give 'em two claps", and in unison "CLAP! CLAP!" from most of the crowd echoed through the gym as our rookie Santa Fe High School group gawked in awe of the synchronized camaraderie. It didn't take long for us to enthusiastically join in the "gimme two claps" command as the week went on. It gave a certain engagement to the lectures that we all yearned for, and it provided a pleasing, thunderous, chime. “Give 'em two claps” stuck with me and got me wondering why it struck such a chord?

But before we unpack the wonders of this phenomenon, it's worth delving into the less heady popularized version of the “two claps". During a 1985 WWF wrestling promo the one and only Ric "Nature Boy" Flair declared himself...“the Rolex wearin’, diamond ring wearin’, kiss stealin’, wheelin’ dealin’, limousine ridin’, jet flyin’ son of a gun” before stating “and I’m having a hard time holding these alligators down”, followed by his famous "Woo!". This is only made relevant here because in 2015 during the Indianapolis Colt’s playoff run Sergio Brown went viral for reenacting this Ric Flair quote while his teammates made the familiar "Woo!" sound effect after each self proclamation until the dramatic finale where he added the "gimme two claps and a Ric Flair!" 👏👏 Woo! History. Thank you Sergio Brown.

But I digress. It turns out that two claps is more than just a gesture of praise or a team bonding behavior. The action has been studied and proven to provide a reset cue, allowing players to quickly let go of mistakes and refocus energy. The rhythmic, physical ritual provides sensory input that pulls focus away from negative thoughts and stress. Mental edge...weird rhythmic ritual...hidden subconscious advantages? This is a secret biological hack! Therein lies the chord that was struck.

While watching games week in, week out and noticing general player tendencies, I couldn't help but recognize how many respond to a mistake with a despondent, single assertive clap followed by a choice explicative or "my bad". Unaware that they are likely encouraging the very energetic patterning they hope to curse away. What hooper hasn't experienced the frustration of making a mistake which leads to more bad play and pretty soon you're angry, forcing shots, turning it over and you just can't get back on track? Is the solution as simple as two claps? Science seems to think so, maybe we should too. So next time you miss an open shot or make a costly turnover, try giving yourself two claps and sprinting back on defense. It couldn't hurt. ​

On to the lucky week 13 recap:

Monday night's Open Gym continued to be well attended and all involved created a wonderful, fair, competitive atmosphere. Thank you! Please be sure you sign our release of liability sheet and get on the next available game with the gym supervisor. This Monday 5pm-8:30pm at Desert Sage Academy we'll be back again and every Monday moving forward through the winter!

On Tuesday, the kick this off, 6 o’clock comp league game almost gave us the upset of the season as Dad Bodz (0-8) jumped out to a 47-38 halftime lead on Blakes Lotta Buckets (5-3). Only to fall 81-75 in a heartbreaker for the still winless Bodz. Jermaine Wilkins led Lotta Buckets in scoring with a valiant 28 pts after suffering a vicious ankle sprain and playing through the pain, but it was Eli Dawson's 19 pts, 16 rips, 9 dimes, 2 cookies and one Mutumbo that kept the ship steady and thwarted any whisper of an upset. Josh Jarrett also double dipped his chip to help the Blakes cause with 12pts and 12rebs. The ready, steady Jeremiah "Reezy" Jacquez led his fray with 24 pts, 9 rebs and 4 dimes for the Bodz.

Upset city did come to town for the 7 o'clock game as Team Nuevo (3-3) came from the north and edged an injury decimated Mob (5-3) 79-75 behind 37 pts from sharp "as a samurai sword" shooter Josh Salazar and 21 pts from Matt "built like a brick shithouse" Brito who added 7 rebs and 3 dimes. Mob got strong play from their inside game as Marcus Williams muscled his way to 24 pts and the league's leading rebounder Matt Jackson played inspired ball with 17 pts, 18 rips and 8 dimes but Mob’s struggles from deep and depleted bench were too much to overcome on this night.

The primetime game featured our most anticipated matchup of the season with undefeated Santa Fe Style (7-0) vs. the dangerous Killer B'z (6-2). The lethal buzzers hung tough behind a balanced team attack led by Sidiki Mudada with 18 pts but in the end fell 72-82. Cody Garcia continued his MVP form and put on a clinic, going for a 30 piece with 11 reb, 7 dimes, 4 gimme those and 2 Mutumbos in tow. High flying Angel Parra complimented that line with his own version of double trouble, 24 pts, 11 rebs, 6 dimes and 2 thefts. After this night we're not sure anybody is gonna be able to steal one from this Southwest styled squad.

Rec league action continued on Wednesday night with some high quality hoops. Flash Flood (7-2) and Matt Brito's 28 pts and 5 dimes led the charge as they took down the always tough and ready to rumble IPS (2-5) 73-65. Teammates Alex Gutierrez and Greg Trujillo were doing everything they could to cause the upset with 19 and 18 pts respectively but in the end it wasn't enough to survive the flood. Big dawg Luis Alvarado chipped in 18 pts, 7 rebs and 3 thefts for the Flood.

Eli "This Ain't " Dawson "Creek" was back for Blakes Lotta Buckets (4-2) in the 7 o'clock contest and posted another near triple double with 18 pts, 9 rebs and 7 dimes. Southpaw slinger Jeremy Romero was absolutely dialed in from deep and it seemed everything he shot was going in on his way to 18 pts on 6-11 from beyond the arc. That was all the punch they needed at this party as the hapless Hoopers (4-3) never found a rhythm and struggled from everywhere netting only 51 points to Blakes’ 61. Diego Ortiz was the only Hooper to get two claps with 21 pts, 12 rebs and 3 thefts.

It was quite the opposite offensive output for the 8 o'clock game as Nothing But Net (3-5) out gunned Dad Bods (4-4) 97-89 behind Xavier Padilla's 27 pts, 13 rebs, 6 dimes, 2 thefts and a Mutumbo. He wasn't alone as both Isaiah Bustamante (19 pts 11 rebs) and Zack Valencia (15 pts 11 rebs) posted double doubles, in addition to veteran Martin Ortiz standing on business with 22 pts, 8 rebs and 6 dimes. On the other side of the line, three Dad Bods had a 20 ball led by Justin Trujillo's 6 threes and 22 pts. David "Spider" Jaramillo and Jassen Lopez followed suit with 21 and 20 pts.

Thursday night 35+ tourney play kicked off and we are set with our final four finale next week after two of our six teams were eliminated. In the first game we saw (6 seed) Meyers Bros limp out of the season after getting absolutely shellacked by (3) Nothing But Net 77-33. Brian Fairchild did the most shellacking with 27 pts while captain Nick Rivera also added some shellack with 17 pts. For the shell shocked Bros, Paul Vigil managed 13 pts and Jerry Archuleta hit double figures with 10 pts. Thanks for the season Bros, sorry we couldn't get you in the win column.

In the 4v5 battle of the Elite's matchup, (4) Zia Elite managed to move on with an 85-63 twamping on (5) Santa Fe Elite. Jassen Lopez showed the touch with 28 pts and Oscar "De La Hoya" Nunez delivered the knockout punch with 26 pts and sent SF Elite packing. Dennis Lopez led the KO'd with 15 pts and Bobby Richadson jabbed his way to 13 pts before he hit the canvas and called it a season. See you for the next one SF Elite.

Alright, we've made some updates to the website so please give us a click and now see archived games from seasons past and current. You can also now access all our past weekly recaps conveniently grouped for you to peruse seamlessly.

You can also register your team for the upcoming seasons Summer Sessions "The League" and in less than a month 35+ new season.

Respect the game, Santa Fe Swish