Megan Bomba
Sports Editor
With lacrosse season in full swing, feelings of spring, hope and anticipation are arising among the players. Both the Messiah Women’s and Men’s Lacrosse teams are looking to improve on their record from last year with relatively yo
ung rosters.
A new season brings together a new team, new strategy, and also a new warm-up tape.
The music played during the warm-up period before games is key to the preparation of a team. It sets the tone for the players and helps them get into the right mindset. The player chosen to construct the tape carries a heavy burden of finding the right balance between the taste of individual members and his or her own preferences.
For the women’s team, Junior Courtney Wagner put together the warm-up for the 2018 season. The men’s team chose Junior Quentin Johnson to have the responsibility of building the tape. Both credit their distinct interest in music for being the reason they were selected.
“I think it [getting the job] comes from always playing music around your team, whether in the locker room or elsewhere, and having a good balance of taste of music,” Johnson said.
Wagner explained further, “I make a Spotify playlist that’s like a hype playlist and play it in the locker room before practice or games, and my team can follow it.”
With the tape lasting around 40-45 minutes, there is a particular strategy for how to put songs together. Although the tapes of each team vary, the formula for the creation is the same.
“About three-quarters of the songs are general and everyone likes them, while one-quarter is specific to your team and gets your team excited,” says Johnson of his work on the tape. He adds, “Our warm-up is 41 minutes, and I build it off of what is happening during warmup.”
The men’s team has a specific song that plays while walking onto the field. From there, the songs change depending on whether the team is stretching, donning gears or scrimmaging. The “walk-out” song for the men’s team is by the Killers.
The women’s team also has a walk-out song: “The Greatest Show” from The Greatest Showman movie. The clip of the song ends with, “This is the moment you’ve waited for,” as an added dramatic touch.
Wagner took a different approach to her team’s tape. She took suggestions from teammates and added in her own songs to fill the time. The women’s team has a few team favorites that were on last season’s tape.
“I used some of the same songs from last year because it’s a joke on our team and it gets everyone hyped up when they hear it,” Wagner said. One of these staple songs is “Nobody to Love” by Alex Newell.
The goal is for the home team to enjoy the warm-up playlist, but it is always rewarding when visiting teams like the mix as well.
“I like to see the other team bouncing around to the songs; then I know I made a good warm-up,” revealed Wagner.
Check out Wagner and Johnson’s hard work by coming out to a home game and catching warm-ups. To hear a preview of the lacrosse teams’ warm-up playlists for the 2018 season, click below!