It’s normal for athletes to use music to hype themselves up for training or for a competition, but Noel Scott uses it as a form of expression, too.
LSU is the West Coast native’s latest stop after transferring from the University of Texas in Austin and joining an elite lineup of tennis players.
“A lot of places I’ve moved have been for training,” she said. “I’m always trying to find the best fit for me.”
Her parents played tennis for fun when she was a child, but with a fashion designer for a mother and a professional photographer for a father, Scott picked up creativity as well as athleticism. The film-media arts junior writes songs when she’s not training with the LSU tennis team.
“I’ve been playing tennis since I was 4,” Scott said. “But I’ve been making music and stuff since I was about 14.”
At age 12, her first computer, an old-school desktop Mac, along with her love for No Doubt, kickstarted her interest in recording music. The Mac arrived with the audio-sequencing program Garageband pre-installed, which she still uses to produce songs today, along with a keyboard she got at age 14.
“I was crazy about No Doubt at that time — like crazy,” she remembered. “I was messing around. I wasn’t serious about it, but I still felt like it would be so cool to be an actual musician. I didn’t get good at it though for a long time — a few years.”
She also picked up more musical influences and interests while living on the West Coast and moving around 
for college.
“They play stuff on the radio [in Los Angeles] that you would never hear in other parts of the country,” she said. “When I was in Austin, they had such a huge indie-alternative scene. It’s pretty awesome.”
During her time moving around, Scott started listening to bands who use newer technology in their recordings, specifically MGMT, Grouplove, Foster the People and Crystal Castles.
“They all implement electronic sounds and keyboards into their music, so that influences me too,” she said. “I’ve wanted to be a professional tennis player since I was six, but I really would like to do something with music. That’s like a huge goal of mine — to get signed.”