One would have thought Arizona State football coach Kenny Dillingham brought his 4-year-old son Kent's playlist with him rather than what his team normally hears over the loudspeaker throughout its practices.
When the Sun Devils started drills in the Verde Dickey Dome on Aug. 10, they did so to the tune of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," "Mary Had a Little Lamb," "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "The Wheels on the Bus." "Now I Know My ABCs" was thrown in for good measure.
The tunes were modern, up-tempo versions of the classic nursery rhymes. Assistant defensive line coach Vince Amey busted out a dance move or two, as did a few of the players.
Still.
Even the representatives of the eight NFL organizations in attendance appeared a bit
confused.
But it was all just Kenny Dillingham being Kenny Dillingham.
"I'm just trying to get them uncomfortable," he said. "You don't know what environments you're going to play in; the environment doesn't set the temperature; you set the temperature. I wanted music that was just not motivating and boring, like kind of annoying, just because we listen to music and it's great, but like I said, the environment shouldn't affect the temperature. We should be the team that turns the thermostat whatever way we want."
It's not the first time Dillingham has used practice music as a psychological tool. Last year, when the team took to the field for the first practice, "We Are the Champions" played on loop throughout the two hours. The Sun Devils had unexpectedly won the Big 12 title in 2024, and Dillingham wanted his team to get sick of hearing it so they would move on and focus on the coming season rather than the past.
Dillingham said the choice of music was not in response to a few skirmishes in the previous practice.
The veterans were not surprised by Dillingham.
"I can't lie, it was annoying hearing that over and over again," said running back Kyson Brown. "It kind of gives a laughing-stock spark in the team periods. It's not as bad as it sounds. It gives more of a humility vibe. He's doing it, so we have to bring our own energy, so it allows us to know he wants us to lock in. Nothing he does surprises me anymore."
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why ASU football was blasting toddler songs at practice
