There are many aspects that go into creating the magic of “Friday night lights,” one important aspect that goes into creating this setting is the marching band.
The marching band and colorguard have dedicated countless hours to perfect their show for football games as well as their own competitions.
“We start marching season at the end of July, for the first week it was just the guard and then the band joined us later and then we go marching from July to the first day of school for camp,” Senior Cologuard member, Ilsa Sanchez said.
While the band started preparing the show months in advance, the hard work doesn’t end there. They are constantly adding new choreography and learning new parts each week.
“It takes from the end of July to the end of mid-October to get the whole show prepared,” Sanchez said.
Even though marching band takes a lot of hard work and dedication, for members such as Satvika Parthasarathy, it’s worth the hassle.
“We rehearse for two and a half hours, three days a week and then we go to a football game and then we go to a competition. It does take a lot of time, but it definitely is worth it when you see the results,” Parthasarathy said.
However, there are aspects that pose challenges to members of marching band.
“[The most challenging part] is probably time and scheduling,” Sanchez said.
The marching band also spends countless hours rehearsing in the heat, so weather can be just as difficult for members as scheduling.
“[My least favorite thing is] when it was around 150 degrees outside. That was pretty bad,” Senior band member Roman Enriquez said.
But despite the challenges, for many members, the connections and memories made outweigh the difficulties that are faced.
“[The best part of colorguard is] probably the environment and the friends that you meet,” Sanchez said. “We do have socials. We do gatherings a lot and I see the guard as my second family.”
As well as marching at football games, the marching band also participates in competitions, placing fourth at Gulf coast and eighth at their latest competition on Thursday, Oct. 12.
“The competition, I honestly think it was a pretty good run,” Enriquez said.
In the competition world there are many other good schools the band faces off against.
“Brook, Pearland, and Dickinson are probably the three [biggest competition]” Enriquez said.
Once marching season is over, the band also has a concert season, and Cologuard has their own individual competition season.
“I definitely like how close I am with everybody in marching season,” Parthasarathy said. “I’m just so close to everyone because we spend so much time together and then in concert season, I like playing the more difficult pieces of music. I also like full orchestra where I can spend time with my [orchestra] friends.”
With marching season coming to an end, senior members end a chapter that they have held dear.
“I think I’ll just miss the family that I created because everybody was just so close during marching season because we spent so much time together, and I’ll miss competing because the competitions are just so fun,” Parthasarathy said.
The school sends a big thank you to the marching band and color guard for everything that they have contributed. Only sending the best of wishes in future endeavors and for the rest of the year!
