One important aspect of music is its ability to inspire a variety of people. Especially before a big event, music can lift spirits and spark motivation. More often than not, athletes use the almost magical qualities of music for a pre-game pump-up.

Stern sophomore and baseball team member Sal Cammusuli loves to blast music at full volume and jam out before his games. His music choices range from intense electronic dance music to Travis Scott. Some of his favorite songs to listen to before games include “Late Night” by Scott and “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver. 

“Both songs really get me in the right mindset and ready to play,” Cammusuli said. “They relax me and pump me up at the same time.”

Gallatin sophomore and women’s swimming and diving team member Tessa Lechleider prefers to listen to a playlist that includes a combination of throwbacks and current hits.

“I like to to dance and jump around behind the blocks to get hype,” Lechledier said.

Her favorite song to listen to before races is “Shake It” by Metro Station. She thinks the song is fun and upbeat, the perfect thing to help her loosen up before she swims.

Reiko Johnson, a Stern freshman and women’s basketball player, also loves to listen to throwback music. Some of her current go to’s include “It Girl” by Jason Derulo and “Right Now (Na Na Na)” by Akon. 

Music can also bond teammates together as teams often build rituals around specific songs.

For CAS freshman and men’s soccer player Jake Velvel, there are a few specific pregame songs that he listens to alone, but listening to music with the team is more important to him.

“Most of the time the team has a speaker on the bus, someone takes the aux and we all vibe together before the game,” Velvel said.

Although, some athletes do find music to be distracting. For example, when it comes to preparing for her tennis matches, Stern freshman and women’s tennis player Anna Maria Buraya said that if it gets stuck in her head, she cannot focus on playing.

Nevertheless, whether athletes listen to music or not, student athletes all have different ways of preparing for competitions.

A version of this article was published in the Monday, Feb. 20 print edition. Email Tori Bianco at [email protected].