Five girls spin flags of brilliant colors and seem to float as they dance across the gym floor. The coach yells, ?cut? and they gather to discuss the final improvements on a routine they have practiced for months for their final competition a week away.
The winter guard team began with eight girls, only two of which had participated in color guard before.
“I love color guard because it is so fun to perform in parades and local competitions,” captain Breanne Gandalfo, ’07, said. “I enjoy seeing the other schools and hope in the future that FC can have a big group. We have grown so much as a family and had a lot of fun this year. We all have learned a lot of unique techniques and our routine is really fun.”
The girls believe developing relationships with each other may help them overcome impending obstacles.
?At the beginning of the season, we had more girls, but our team got smaller as we went along,? Chris Rice, band director, said. ?The freshman and the senior leaders have risen to the challenge of having a small team and all have improved.?
The team replaced instructor Jessica Gulley with Kim Done and Alexandra Boetger and learned another routine in the span of one month. The new coaches both attend California State University Fresno and instruct schools in multiple divisions.
?Learning the new drill has been really hard, but we?ve accomplished a lot,? Alyssa Quenzer, ’10, said. ?The practices (more than three days a week after school), have been strenuous, especially since most of our participants are new to the sport. However, we placed 4th in our last competition, which made us feel accomplished and proud.?
The winter guard competes against larger schools in higher divisions like Redwood High, Clovis East and Exeter High. They placed 4th at their competition at Buchanan High on March 17 and will perform in the Winter Guard International Championship at Clovis West High in the Regional AA division on March 30.
After steady improvement throughout the season, the group hopes for their best performance of the year.
“I think we’re ready for our last show, because we have had more time to refine the new routine,” Sarah Barnett, ’10, said. “We really want to place in the top three, since we made it to 4th last time. It’s good to keep improving from your last performance.”
Winter guard participants seem to not only battle the struggles of new routines and inexperience, but the emotions that come along with putting on a show.
“At the competition, I really want to put my best into it, to succeed,” Hannah Wilhelm, ’07, said. “We all get nervous before a show, but that really bonds us together as guards. We’ve pulled through a lot of discouraging times.”
For more information, check out Claire Kister’s Feb. 14, 2007, article, Color guard requires continual preparation.
