Color Guard made their first appearance on Sept. 20 at the Homecoming Football game and provided the audience with a stunning performance to entertain the crowd. Despite the smooth performance, it didn’t start that way.
Eris Sindler (12) said, “Half the team was in the bathroom, and one of our members, Annsylee, ran in saying, ‘Erika got the time wrong, we have to go now.’ We ran over from across the field, and we thought the gate was locked but it was jammed and we booked it onto the field. Then we saw the band running on and we’re like ‘oh shoot we’re late,’ and had to immediately get into our performance.”
Fortunately, the skills gained from being in color guard, enabled them to react quickly. Dexterity and having a proactive attitude are just some skills that are attained in color guard. Guard members learn specific movements and tosses, allowing them to know how the flag would drop down and if the wind affects it. Furthermore, awareness is a skill that is utilized frequently. Knowing your location and the location of your flag in relation to everyone else on the field is important.
Tierney Weems (12) said, “I remember for flourish exercises, where the flags goes up and down, right in front and behind you. I’d hit myself every time, you need to learn how to move with the flag.” She further mentioned the importance of the ability to dance with an object, and not just dancing.
Although the group experiences their difficulties and struggles, they continue to maintain a family-like relationship with each other. Together they come up with parties or hang-outs to help build the morale and bonding within the team. The guard maintains a fun community that supports each other, with the goal of winning, however they try to keep it light-hearted while still performing at a high level. Sindler recommends it to everyone, explaining how the community supports everyone, giving standing ovations to every color guard team because of how difficult they know it is to perform.
Not only does the color guard perform with the marching band, but they also have their own winter season where they are able to show off their talents inside without having to worry about the weather.
Kaitlyn Bishop (12) explained the difficulties of being outside, “You have to focus on the wind, because it will blow your flag, and it gets cold.” The inside aspects of winter guard provides an opportunity for the team to best hone and enhance their skills so they can “show-off” to the other teams.
To experience the full performance of the band and guard, join the band at their friends and family performance this Saturday, September 28 at 6 p.m. at the Pine Creek Stadium. To join the winter guard, talk to Mrs. Margrave in the band room.
