Drake Hayes (left) & Sean Carey (right) The Xavierite
With the abundance of student athletes on campus, the curiosity arises on what they listen to as they prepare for their games.
For this instance, four student athletes were asked about their warm up songs. Three were chosen from men’s volleyball and one from track and field. All were asked what their warm up song was and their reasoning behind their selection.
The first athlete to be interviewed was volleyball player, Kegan Olig, who shared his warm up song to be “HDMI” by the artist Bones. When asked why he picked this song, he said “it makes me feel powerful through the bass and dark beat.” This seems important when preparing for a game since everyone needs to be in a zone to achieve athletic performance.
Just as of recent, SXU Athletics reported Olig had a seasonal high of 10 kills in the teams play against Viterbo in Feb. where Olig also scored 10.5 points and had a total of 3 aces. His warm up song proves how much it prepares him as he always gives his all for every game.
The second being volleyball player Sean Carey, who admits his warm up song to be “Rich Baby Daddy” by Sexy Red. When asked the question about why this song, Carey responded with “I think Sexy Red is such a talented artist, her music really speaks to me and it just fires me up.” In Carey’s perspective, it’s about feeling a connection with the artist to feel the best for a game.
For Carey, the hype got him to score 13 points in the team’s Jan. game scoring against Indiana Tech, 9 kills playing Mount Mercy, and 7 digs against UC Merced as reported by SXU Athletics. Carey’s vision of having a song that speaks to him allows for him to feel an emotional connection to both the music and the court.
Volleyball player, Caydann Cox, shared his output on warm up music from a different perspective. He doesn’t believe in a specific song for a warm up, but instead prefers a specific genre of music. Cox replied that “tempo music with good beats is what helps me get fired up for a match.” Cox also notes that he feels “ready to go” after listening to a genre such as tempo.
Cox proves that not just one song has the energy he’s ready to bring to the volleyball court. He has been mentioned as 4x GPAC attacker of the week, GPAC player of the year (2024), and NAIA all-American third team (2024). With a record such as that, it’s clear that tempo music does well on Cox’s athletic performance and he picked the best genre of music to influence his preparation.
Track and Field athlete, Drake Hayes, also shared his input on his warm up song being “Kakarot” by Errol Allen. Hayes explained that “this song never fails to get me amped up for his next track meet or when I have to write sports articles for The Xavierite”.
Hayes is known for his place on the throws division for track & field. His warm up song has allowed him to feel his best as he prepares for shot put for indoor field events where he is notoriously known for his lengthy throws and charisma both on and off the field.
When thinking about warm up songs, they’re all special to the individual and what their athletic goal is. When thinking about these four athletes, winning is on their minds and the music they choose helps them get there. All four athletes show how the right song can influence your emotions to perform your absolute best.