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From Rod Wave to Frank Sinatra, how practicing DJs are keeping NFL teams up to date


CINCINNATI – While Cincinnati Bengals the players waited for the weather to delay at the start of training in training camp in August, Sam Staley took the opportunity to create some good vibes.

As a storm moved away from the training grounds, Staley pressed the play button on his iPad under a tree and began Frank Sinatra’s version of “New York, New York,” copper notes radiating from the sound system below. a black tent with orange color. cut.

The Bengals’ defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo of Staten Island, New York, smiled and gave a thumbs up in Staley’s direction. Defensive assistant Mark Duffner, standing alone in one of the back yards, swung his legs slightly as if he were in a kicking lane.

Soon, the players began to reappear to begin practice. Staley went back to the sound system, turned off Sinatra, and shot Money Man’s “Big Money”. Solving the Bengals’ Defensive Problem DJ Reader Nodding along to the rap, the head moves about 77 beats per minute.

It’s time to get serious.

Officially, Staley is one of the Bengals’ assistant equipment managers. Unofficially, he holds another title – practicing DJ. Like many others around the league, he has an important responsibility. The background music people are in charge of playing the right songs to help NFL teams have a focused practice session before gameday. The work is approached in a variety of ways, from playing playlists of the players’ – and coaches’ favorites – to more scientific methods of synchronizing the minute-per-minute beat of each track with the stages. team specific. Playing music while practicing is becoming more common during the tournament, and hitting the right notes can help you hit peak preparation for the week.

That responsibility is not lost to fellow DJs like Sarah Hogan, who runs the music for Atlanta Falcons and recall a day when the energetic and energetic vocals from Meek Mill energized the players.

“They were very tense towards the end of the warm-up period,” Hogan told ESPN. “We had the best practice session. And I said, ‘I feel like I impacted the practice.” I was very excited about it. “

Setups across the NFL are continuing to grow. When Kyle Shanahan takes over San Francisco 49ers‘coach in 2017, assistant Nick Kray went viral for carrying an exploding boombox “Swag Surfin” by Fast Life Yungstaz on his way from the locker room to the field.

First year Miami Dolphins Coach Mike McDaniel – who was on the payroll with Shanahan – treated the workout list as a bonus, giving the players an orange jersey for the day and allowing them to choose songs. Pittsburgh Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin also increased his team’s use a year after widespread acceptance Chase Claypool openly wondered if music could help with practice.

“I think it really makes a difference,” said the man behind the Bengals Mike Hilton, who joined the team in 2021 after four seasons with the Steelers. “You get tired of hearing the pads pop out and you just want something to motivate you.”


CINCINNATI AND ATLANTA is one of the largest number of NFL teams to play music in real life, according to an ESPN survey.

Staley, 32, has been one of Cincinnati’s equipment directors for the past seven years. On the last four occasions, when Zac Taylor was hired as head coach, Staley’s role has expanded to playing music on the training ground because his taste in music is closer to what the players like.

“Players tend to move around and enjoy that and wake up,” said Duffner, who began his coaching career in 1975 and says the use of music has increased dramatically over the past 10 years. “It’s a positive thing. It’s a booster of their energy.”

Factors for practicing DJs to consider include the desired mood, whether anyone other than the player will be within earshot, and whether the music is appropriate for the general public.

Staley, whose duties include making sure players have suitable lawns or lawns to set up equipment around the pitch at training and game sessions, iPad use is restricted to clean versions of the song.

That setting can’t be changed without Staley’s password after someone has played an explicit piece of music. However, he will provide all the additions to a 375-song playlist called “Bengals” – culled from what he heard in the dressing room and what was on the “Rap Life” playlist. ” on Apple Music – once just to make sure they’re safe for the ears of fans and proprietors who are always engaged in practice.

“Our job is to make it easier for people,” says Staley. “Obviously, the coaches go out and coach. The players go out and play. But if there’s anything we can do easier, that’s what we’re here to do. .”

When Hogan started playing music for the Falcons in 2016, the team’s assistant executive coach repeated a limited list off the iPod. That changed one night in 2017, when she picked up the brains of a DJ filming tracks in her hometown of Long Island, New York. Six years later, she has a library of 1,000 songs that show how complicated the process is.

“There is a whole method to madness,” Hogan said.

Using mp3poolonline.com, a subscription-based resource for DJs, Hogan plays everything from Billy Joel and The Notorious BIG to Young Dolph. Songs that don’t repeat for three weeks, are labeled 1 to 5 based on beats per minute.

The higher the number, the faster the song. One and two are reserved for slow sessions such as special groups and tutorials. Fours and fives, pushing around 95 BPM, are for competitive stages like 1-on-1 and team drills.

Players and coaches have taken note over the years. Former Atlanta coach Dan Quinn gave Hogan a black Falcons #1 jersey with “DJ Giggy” on the back, in tribute to Gigantino, her maiden name.

“For me, I just don’t want to be a detriment to the practice,” says Hogan. “I want to be someone who has a positive impact on it. So I take it very seriously.”

Amilcar Hill, who accompanies DJ Milk and is one half of the two-player band Buffalo Billssays the daily playlist depends on the emotions of that day and the intensity required for certain drills.

Like Hogan, Hill and Yousef “DJ Yes” Jackson will shoot various tracks. When present Giants in New York Coach Brian Daboll is Buffalo’s offensive coordinator, who regularly puts Mobb Deep’s “Shook Ones” in the mix, one of Daboll’s favorites. But whether it’s repulsive hip-hop or MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This,” the reaction is the same.

“You’re partially responding to what the team wants to hear,” Hill said. “And at the same time, also try to channel the energy the coach is looking for in that workout.”


SONG SELECTION However, it is not always possible to press the ear in the right place. During Cincinnati’s preparations for the January AFC pre-season playoffs against Tennessee Titans, Staley chose a number of JAY-Z fallbacks. Less than 30 minutes later, Moneybagg Yo was played instead.

During an early August training session, Staley took a risk. The whole team had a full body workout today, part of a demanding training camp.

As the group tensed, Staley chose to play a song by Rod Wave, a 23-year-old artist known for singing over hip-hop instruments.

While some coaches accused Staley of getting into his emotions, the players’ reactions justified the song choice.

“I understand it’s a well-cushioned workout,” says Staley. “Everybody wants a squeeze. But sometimes Rod Wave gets you pressed, man. You never know.”

Whether it’s in Cincinnati, Atlanta, or elsewhere in the league, music remains an integral part of practice and an extension of a long-established basic routine.

“Even the seven dwarfs whistle when they go to work,” Duffner said.





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