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John Armistead Interview
Featured Athlete | Men's College Football and Lacrosse
The Warm-Up
March 06, 2024
Athletes and Sports Enthusiasts,
Before we get started we want to take a second to promote a cause that is very close to our and John Armistead’s heart. AthletesTogether is a platform John is building to support student-athletes’ mental health. This is what John had to say about this mission and platform:
“During my time as a two sport division 1 athlete, I noticed the severe lack of adequate mental health resources for student-athletes. I wanted to use my experiences and knowledge in the field to create something that can help thousands of athletes on a daily basis, so we created AthletesTogether - a mobile app to promote mental wellness in athletes. AthletesTogether is set to launch in fall 2024.”
Check it out here:
Instagram: @athletestogether
Back to the regularly scheduled program:
For this week’s newsletter, we are bringing you a very special interview with John Armistead. John is a dual sport athlete who played lacrosse at the University of Richmond and football at USC. John was able to give us not only great insight into his love for music, but also the challenges of mental health within college athletes and his mission to support athletes everywhere. John discusses the difficulties of a dual sport athlete and what led him to create AthletesTogether. Check out full detailed interview and his playlist below:
JOHN ARMISTEAD INTERVIEW
TWU: First off as a dual sport athlete do you think that your music taste changes for the different seasons? If yes, what type of music do you listen to for football and then for lacrosse?
Personally I keep a consistent playlist across both sports - I think my approach before games is relatively similar where I want to focus and not get too high or too low on my emotions. I usually listen to rap before games, but sometimes balance it out with R&B or occasionally country.
TWU: How important do you think music is within sports and for athletes?
Incredibly - I think it can do anything from helping you get in the right mindset to bringing a team closer together. I always use music as a way to regulate my emotions before games and practice so I’m entering with a clear mindset and I’m able to focus on playing.
TWU: Can you give our readers insight into AthletesTogether and what has led you to create this wonderful platform for athlete’s mental health?
AthletesTogether is a mental health app for athletes that I’ve been working on for the past 2 years or so. My own experiences, as well as my friends and teammates, led me to want to create a platform that could support athletes and give them the proper guidance to face their mental health battles. The app features a list of expert-built resources, habit building exercises, and real time support - all focused on athlete lifestyle.
The app is currently in the development stages and is set for a Fall 2024 launch. Check out our website for more!
TWU: What do you think are the positives and challenges of being a dual sport athlete?
Luckily, I was only a dual sport athlete for one season when I went from my senior season at Richmond into my fifth year season at USC. This definitely presented a lot of challenges, but a lot of good also came out of it. For positives, being a dual sport athlete has allowed me to be around and learn from some of the brightest minds in both football and lacrosse. I've been apart of two vastly different cultures, but both successful. I've taken different approaches and learned how to adapt quickly.
There's obviously a ton of challenges that also go with this, both physical and mental. Physical challenges are a little more obvious - being in-season back to back in contact sports is incredibly hard on the body. Prioritizing recovery and general wellness is necessary to be successful. Luckily football and lacrosse have a lot of crossover when it comes to lifting and conditioning programs, but getting skill work in and balancing everything between the two is a time management challenge.
There are also a ton of mental challenges, as well. Having to know two different playbooks and schemes while also being a student was challenging. Also being able to flip the switch between the two sports was difficult at first. Lacrosse is more of a marathon than a sprint (although there are certainly "sprint" moments) while football is a collection of sprints back-to-back. The game itself is different so the mindset changes in small ways between the two.
TWU: What is your favorite song to be played in the stadium during a game?
If it's in the stadium during a game, I like songs that the crowd gets into and creates a fun atmosphere. Lacrosse - I'm so Paid (Akon and Lil Wayne) and Football - All I Do Is Win (DJ Khalid) <- This is a staple in the Coliseum for USC during games.
TWU: If you had to choose one genre to listen to for the rest of your life which one would it be?
Country
TWU: Do you have a go to song after a win?
TWU: What’s the atmosphere like in the locker room? Is everyone headphones in listening to their own music, or is there music playing over a speaker? (or both)
Both locker rooms actually had music blasing over the speaker with about half the guys listening to that and the other half had headphones on listening to their own thing. In both cases, I was in and out of the locker room a ton pregame, either slowly warming up, going over steps and scouting reports, or just prepping for the game in other ways. At Richmond, we always threw on Joker And The Thief and timed up our exit from the locker room with the guitar solo. It was an awesome way to lock in and give us a countdown that got everyone excited and ready to go. USC football was not like that since people were coming from different meetings, walkthroughs, taping, etc. as we were heading out so it was more people listening to their own stuff leadnig up to it. Plus we had different groups going out at different times which made it more sectioned off.
TWU: What song is always making your pre-game playlists?
TWU: Besides listening to music, do you have any other pre-game rituals or superstitions? Does it change for different sports?
At both USC and Richmond, I would go to the field an hour or two before with cleats on and headphones and walk on the field. This helped me visualize what it was going to look like as the game started and put me in a prepared mindset. I'd also tape my own wrists and write "Team French" on it somewhere - which is a tribute to Todd French, my lacrosse coach growing up who passed away from cancer when I was in high school. It was a gentle reminder that I'm incredibly lucky to be playing the game and to just go out and have fun - something he would've wanted me to do. At Richmond, I would also go over our scouting report again and read through the entire thing. Shoutout to Coach Richards for putting together a great SR every game to help us get prepared.
TWU: What are 3 artists that are always on your pre-game playlist?
Kanye West, Mac Dre, and Jay-Z
TWU: How important is music to you when training in between seasons? Do you change up the playlist for that?
One of my favorite parts of playing college sports is the team lifts we do with music blasting in the offseason training sessions. I usually keep it pretty consistent with what I'm listening to in-season because I like to be able to train like I play (meaning keep a consistent playlist and schedule so it feels the same as in-season).
TWU: If you were stuck on an island what 3 songs would you choose to listen to?
This is gonna be so chaotic and vary a lot from my pregame stuff but I'd go with Chasin' You by Morgan Wallen, Come and See Me by PARTYNEXTDOOR, and Forever by Chris Brown. Huge country and R&B fan.
TWU: If you had to recommend 1 song to a friend what song would it be?
TWU: What do you think was the biggest challenge of going from Lacrosse to Football?
I think the biggest challenge was having to go back-to-back seasons with a whole new team, whole new scheme, and whole new system. The consistencies I had at Richmond were gone when I got to USC because everything was run differently, the expectations varied and then playing football again after 4 years of only playing lacrosse was a challenge in itself.
TWU: Is there anything else you would like to share to our readers?
Would love it if everyone checked out AthletesTogether, both the website and follow our Instagram page @athletestogether !!
TWU: Awesome! Thank you so much for doing this!
JOHN ARMISTEAD’S PLAYLIST
Here are a few of the songs from John Armistead’s Playlist. Check the full playlist with the link above:
Until Next Time,
The Warm-Up Team