Many changes take place between your senior year of high school and your freshman year of college. New opportunities are on the horizon and you’re exposed to a wide array of activities, organizations, clubs, and sports from which to choose. Where does color guard fit in? How can you incorporate your favorite high school pastime [...]
So, winterguard certainly started in the USA, but where else in the world can you find it? Well, you know those five flags that hang above the World Championships banner at Dayton every year? They’re a good start! You have the United States, Canada and Japan… and also the flags of the Netherlands and the [...]
For many performers the hardest part of the performance is controlling the nerves you feel prior to and during the performance. Here are ten tricks of the trade for preparing yourself for the best possible performance and keeping your nerves “in check”. 10. Do your homework… for color guard that is. You know best [...]
Here is a quick sectionals article I wrote for Halftime Magazine with tips for “fitting in your fundamentals” throughout the season, even when the focus starts to shift towards cleaning the show. Check out “Daily Training for Color Guard” on their website!
Here’s a short article I wrote in Halftime Magazine’s May/June 2008 issue with tips for avoiding and dealing with fabric sails when spinning flag. Check it out on their website! Sail Away .
Here is an article I wrote for Halftime Magazine on how performers can tighten up their transitions to add a look of professionalism to the show. Check it out on Halftime’s website and check out their other great articles as well! Help support this new magazine which celebrates our favorite activity!
Your conduct off the field/floor is as important, if not more important, than your performance. As members of a competitive ensemble, you are ambassadors of your school and community. Your individual performances, sportsmanship and conduct both on and off the field will shape the impression others have of your entire organization. It is important to [...]
Here is a sectionals article I wrote for Halftime Magazine on Recovering from Drops . Please visit their website and support this exciting new publication that showcases our very favorite activities!
“Use a highlighter to mark the 50 yard line and hash marks across your drill charts. You will be amazed at the time you save searching for these important reference points when setting forms!” – Catina Anderson, Broad Run High School Guards
During band camp you are faced with a very large amount of information to learn, memorize and keep track of. It can be just a little bit overwhelming! There are a few ways that you can organize the information to make this task more manageable. The first is to set up your own personal drill [...]
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This has got to be the simplest Fun Friday craft project yet! It’ll only take you minutes (beyond gathering the supplies) but you’re sure to put smiles on the faces of your performers! ‘Flag’ Candy Canes Materials needed: Craft Felt Glue gun Sheet of paper Candy cane Instructions: Using the sheet of paper, cut a [...]
Remember in kindergarten everyone would gather around the teacher for story time? Everyone loves listening to stories, even high school kids! In our guard, we have ‘story time’ and it is connected to the development of our team core values. One of our values is to ‘Be good people’ and treat each other with respect. [...]
Materials needed: 20” x 50” fabric 2 x 80” pieces of cording Puffy paints, buttons, ribbon, bows, etc for decorating Cut 20” x 50” piece of fabric (you can alter the size to meet your needs). Fold in ½, right sides together. From top edge, mark 2” down. (Fig. 1) Using ½” seams, sew below [...]
This is a fun activity the entire band participates in! During marching season students create spirit bags for their own sections, for every performance. Spirit bags contain a few treats and some fun baubles from the dollar store (a glow stick, mardi gras beads, lip gloss, etc). Coaches and directors sometimes add a little note [...]
September is typically a tough month for kids since they have so many responsibilities, homework, the social scene of high school, and it can take some time to figure out the balance between life and marching band. It’s always the toughest time for my kids, even when they know the expectations of the guard. Once [...]
This has got to be the simplest Fun Friday craft project yet! It’ll only take you minutes (beyond gathering the supplies) but you’re sure to put smiles on the faces of your performers! ‘Flag’ Candy Canes Materials needed: Craft Felt Glue gun Sheet of paper Candy cane Instructions: Using the sheet of paper, cut a [...]
ON THE WEB: Band Saves Lives and Fundraises at the Same Time
We thought this was an interesting/unique approach to both service and fundraising – check out this New Jersey marching band that saves lives while also earning some money for their program. Win/Win!
ON THE WEB: Podcast about starting a brand new WG program
Episode 47 of the Marching Roundtable podcast series (posted December 12, 2011) is an interview with Tim LeBlanc – a guard instructor from TX who has also been a participant in the CGE community on Facebook – about his experience starting a brand new winter guard at a new school. Check it out! Episode 47: [...]
Remember in kindergarten everyone would gather around the teacher for story time? Everyone loves listening to stories, even high school kids! In our guard, we have ‘story time’ and it is connected to the development of our team core values. One of our values is to ‘Be good people’ and treat each other with respect. [...]
Budget-Conscious Costume Transformation
Being involved in the color guard world, we all know what it is like to be on a budget. Some of you are probably thinking, “What budget? I wish I had money to budget!” This year I needed to allocate more money for flag fabric since we purchased 2 shaded-silk swing flags for each member [...]
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