What the job actually is.
The person in the booth plays warm-up music, introduces the lineup, fires a horn and a short song when their team scores, adds brief music in stoppages and breaks, and plays something fitting at the final buzzer. Most of the skill is timing: music when the play stops, silence when it's live. The step-by-step version, from setup to the handshake line, is in How to run music at a youth hockey game.
When to play music, and when not to.
Start music as soon as the whistle stops play, and fade it before the restart. Never play over live action. When the other team scores, play nothing. In a lopsided game, drop the horn and the call-outs, because everyone already knows the score.
| Moment | What to play |
|---|---|
| Warm-up | High-energy songs back to back until the puck drops |
| Lineup | Each player's name and number, with music under it or on its own |
| Your team scores | The horn right away, the scorer's name, then a short goal song |
| The other team scores | Nothing. Fade anything that's playing |
| Penalty | A short clip while the player goes to the box |
| Faceoff stoppage | A few seconds of music, stopped before the puck drops |
| Between periods | Music while the ice is cleared, faded when the teams return |
| Final buzzer | A victory song after a win; something calm after a loss, a tie or a blowout |
Ringette is similar, with no faceoffs: play restarts with a free pass, so stoppage music is a short clip that ends on its own. See ringette game music. Good habits for fairness are in Good sportsmanship in game-day music.
The equipment you need.
A phone or tablet, a connection to the rink's sound system (an audio cable or adapter, or Bluetooth where the system supports it) and Do Not Disturb, so a text never plays through the arena speakers. Check the volume during warm-up with the stands filling up; an empty rink sounds louder. Streaming needs a signal, so anything you can't afford to lose, like the horn and the names, should be saved on the device.
Choosing the songs.
Pick songs by moment, not as one long playlist: warm-up, goal, penalty, stoppage, break and final each need something different. Use clean edits only. A streaming explicit filter helps but misses songs that are wrong for a kids' game, so check what you add. Start with the best goal songs for youth sports and what clean music should really mean.
Horns and player announcements.
A goal lands best as a sequence: the horn the instant the goal is scored, the scorer's name and number, then the goal song. Learn how to say every name before game day; a mispronounced name over the PA is the mistake kids remember. Give every player the same call, whoever their parent is.
Apps that do the work.
A general music app makes you search and fade by hand. Sports DJ apps put the horn, the names and the music for each moment on a few buttons. They differ a lot: some are soundboards you build yourself, some focus on baseball walk-ups, some follow the game. The best youth sports DJ apps, compared sets out which fits whom. Sideline DJ is the one we make: it runs youth hockey and ringette games from an iPhone. See every feature.
Questions volunteers ask.
What does the person running music at a youth game do?
They play warm-up music before the game, introduce the lineup, play a horn and a short song when their team scores, add brief music during stoppages and breaks, and stay silent while play is live. A good booth volunteer also keeps the music clean, keeps the volume sensible and treats every player the same.
When should music play during a youth hockey game?
Play music when the play is stopped and stop it before play restarts. That means warm-up, the lineup, after a goal, during penalties and faceoff stoppages, between periods and after the final buzzer. Never play over live action, and fade the music as the teams line up.
What equipment do you need to run music at a rink?
A phone or tablet, a way into the rink's sound system (an audio cable or adapter, or Bluetooth if the system supports it), and Do Not Disturb turned on so notifications never reach the speakers. Ask the rink or your team manager how its PA connects before game day.
What music is appropriate at a youth sports game?
Clean edits only, chosen for the moment: high energy for warm-up and goals, short clips for stoppages, something calm for the handshake line. A streaming service's explicit filter is a start, but it doesn't catch every song that is wrong for a kids' game.
Do you need a music licence to play songs at a rink?
Playing recorded music in a public venue is covered by a performance licence, and most arenas already hold one (in Canada through SOCAN and Re:Sound, in the US through organizations such as ASCAP and BMI). Rules vary by venue and country, so check with your rink before the first game.
More answers are in the Sideline DJ FAQ, and why any of this matters is in Why music matters at youth games.