The thick smell of sweat and old gym clothes hung in the air of KHS boys’ locker room. Anxious basketball players sat on the benches with their heads down and ear buds in. The familiar beats of Waka Flocka, Drake and Gucci Mane penetrated the silence and could be heard playing from across the room. Focused on the game, Clark Randall, junior and varsity basketball player, sat on the bench with his iPod turned up to the max.

“I listen to music before all my games because it gets me going and gets my mind right,” Randall said. “I’ve listen to the same songs before every game for a couple of years now. I listen to ‘What You Know’ by T.I., ‘Many Men’ and ‘Hustler’s Ambition’ both by 50 Cent.”

Many athletes have pre-game rituals and Listening to music is probably the most common pre-game ritual according to Zach Hawkins, senior and varsity water polo player.

“Everyone listens to their iPod before their game warming up,” Hawkins said.  “The only time someone isn’t listening to their iPod before a game is if they forget it at home.”

Some associations do not agree with this practice. The National Basketball Association (NBA) notified the Toronto Raptors’ shooting guard Vince Carter in 2004 that he could no longer listen to music on his iPod during the 20-minute warm-up period before a game. The NBA justified their enforcement by announcing that iPods and mp3 players are a violation of the league’s rules on proper attire.

The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHAA) disagrees with the NBA’s ruling on iPods and permits the use of iPods during pre-game warm ups for all sports but one.

“The only sport that addresses wearing an iPod or mp3 player during warm ups is volleyball,” Dr. Kerwin Urhahn, member of MSHAA, said. “It is part of the volleyball layer equipment and uniform rule 4.”

Some volleyball athletes have mixed emotions about this decision.

“I think listening to my iPod would personally help me focus but might be a distraction to the team,” Megan Miener, junior and varsity volleyball player, said.

Music will continue to be part of student athlete’s warm-up routines. However, the athletes participating on the KHS volleyball teams will have to listen to music on their own time.