After months of rigorous practice and dedicated performances, the Winterguard season has finally come to an end. Both JV and Varsity teams worked hard to show off their abilities, competing fiercely to earn awards.
“I decided to audition for Winterguard because I have been a member of Colorguard for a year and a half now,” JV member Lydia Damian, sophomore, said. “It’s pretty fun.”
During the season, many team members worked to improve not only their physical skills, but their mental skills as well.
“I improved my communication skills,” JV member Jose Casas, freshman, said. “I learned that I do need help sometimes, and it’s okay to ask.”
While Winterguard partially consists of the individual members working to show off their own skills, they are also working as a team, showing off how they can bring each other up to show off their abilities through teamwork.
Overall, Varsity Winterguard placed 7th in state, and JV Winterguard placed 1st in championships.
“This year puts us on a new bar of standard of excellence,” Winterguard director Theo Harrison said. “Before, with varsity, it was like, ‘We do well, we do okay,’ but now it’s like, ‘No, now, while Varsity still goes to state and we have to uphold that, JV is at the top of our class.’ Both teams did really well, and now it’s just a matter of keeping that higher standard going.”
No matter how teams rank and how much individuals struggle, members of the team do find that they enjoy being on Winterguard, working through highs and lows to create a beautiful show that everyone can enjoy.
“From my experience, joining Winterguard was honestly the best decision I made,” Casas said. “I had a lot of fun with my team, and I can’t wait to try out Marching Guard.”
Winterguard has many exciting moments, whether it comes from seeing costumes for the first time, or developing their skills and being able to show off everything that they have learned.
“There were a lot of exciting things, but for JV, it was when they realized that they were good, when they realized that if they work this much harder, and apply this much correction, they’re really good, and I loved to watch them flourish and begin believing that they can do it,” Harrison said. “For Varsity, something really exciting was watching them achieve really hard things, and understand that they can be entertaining, highly competitive, and have fun, all at the same time.”
As the season closes off and the teams bask in their glory of accomplishments, the desire for well-deserved recognition begins to surface.
“I wish people within the community and school system understood how cool these teams are, and how much they accomplished,” Harrison said. “We’re not like soccer, and we’re not like baseball, we’re never going to get those awards, but we won a championship, so I want some respect put on our name. We’re out here doing it, and it’s not easy.”