Socks?  Check.  Waterbottle? Check.  iPod?  Check.  For many athletes at the school, music is as critical to a successful workout as a good pair of sneakers.  It’s been commonly studied how music affects the human brain, and it comes as no surprise that music is what helps athletes across all types of sports push past mental blocks and be the best they can be.

“It keeps me going even when I don’t have the energy,” junior Mike Nikulin, a member of the boys crew team said. “The music opens up a barrier I can’t break without it. It’s motivational.”

Junior Tyler Patterson, power forward on the boys basketball team, said that music is key to focusing the team members and preparing them for the game.

“I guess it’s really the same for any sport,” Patterson said.  “The biggest thing is it just kind of gets you in the zone and thinking about what your role is, what your job is, and how you need to play in the game.”

However, the exact type of music being played can be just as critical to having it be effective.  Nikulin said that electronic and rap music is best to erg (an indoor machine used to simulate rowing) to.  He also happens to be one of the athletes who controls the playlist at practice.

“Generally we’re very into music, so we just choose stuff and people usually like what we play,” Nikulin said. “We have a good feel of what will keep us going.”

Nikulin said that music is most critical during difficult pieces that are timed, such as a 2k or 6k test.  Because of this, the team has a set playlist that they blast during these periodic erg tests, and that is when the most intense music gets brought in.  The order of the songs is designed to match up with the waves of adrenaline that will get the athletes through the test, so their playlist goes ‘Tsunami’ by Dvbbs, then ‘Centipede’ by Knife Party, followed by a lot of dance and house music by artists such as Mammoth.

“‘Centipede’ is perfect for the sprint at the 600m mark or you’ll have ‘Tsunami’ going through and it’ll just really hype you up a lot,” Nikulin said.  “So there’s not really any argument over that, because people usually get really successful results.”

The basketball team has a set playlist to walk onto the court to as well.  The playlist includes ‘The Second Coming’ by Juelz Santana, ‘I’m Shipping Up to Boston’ by Dropkick Murphys, and ‘Encore’ by Jay Z.

“It’s kind of just something we figure out at the beginning of the year.  I told a bunch of guys if they come over to my house we could make a playlist and put it on my phone, and then plug it in before the game,” Patterson said.

According to sophomore dancer Helen Murray, it is not just in team sports that music is important to the athletes’ success.  In independent sports, music is what makes the workout or performance personal for the participant.

“Music is a lot of what dance is- the dance is based off the music,” Murray said. “If the music and dance are a good fit for each other, they mingle and mesh together really well. So sometimes when I’m listening to music, I have a little dance in mind- I’ve been doing dance for so long that the music and the movement are linked.”

Murray said that not only does the music set the mood and tone for the dance, but that she will also listen to music to get pumped up before a performance, not unlike how a team may listen to certain songs as a pre-game ritual. She also said she listens to the music that will be playing during her dance routine in order to get into a rhythm.

“When I was in the Nutcracker I got a copy of the music I was supposed to dance to, and I listened to that even when I wasn’t practicing, just because it really helps to prepare you,” Murray said.

 Both Murray and Nikulin agreed that music with a strong beat is important to keep one focused and motivated while active, and that workout playlists can be a great way to discover new music.

 “I’ve been exposed to a lot of cool classical music, but I really like more alternative stuff,” Murray said.  “The Glitch Mob is very instrumental and has a lot of good beats, and I’ve been getting really into Metric.”

 The fluid relationship between music and sports keeps athletes motivated and striving to reach new goals.

“When it comes down to the really important stuff, the music really affects you,” Nikulin said.

Hannah Lowenstein can be contacted at [email protected].