Category: Team Management

Candy Cane Flag

| December 16, 2011 | 0 Comments
Candy Cane Flag

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 [...]

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ON THE WEB: Band Saves Lives and Fundraises at the Same Time

| December 15, 2011 | 0 Comments

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!

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ON THE WEB: Podcast about starting a brand new WG program

| December 14, 2011 | 0 Comments

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: [...]

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Color Guard Storytime

| December 2, 2011 | 1 Comment
Color Guard Storytime

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. [...]

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Budget-Conscious Costume Transformation

| November 30, 2011 | 2 Comments
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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DIY: Drawstring Bags

| November 18, 2011 | 0 Comments
DIY: Drawstring Bags

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 [...]

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When your band director says the “B” word… Budget

| November 9, 2011 | 0 Comments

Few other words evoke such a visceral reaction. Sweaty palms, increased heart-rate, feelings of entrapment, loss of control, arguments with family members or partners into the wee-hours of the morning… and now your band director? Seriously!  You were hired to put on an epic production of guardliness not crunch numbers. Isn’t that what the sallow-skinned [...]

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Spirit Bags!

| November 4, 2011 | 0 Comments
Spirit Bags!

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 [...]

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“Raking in the Dough!” (or… a leaf-raking fundraising idea)

| November 3, 2011 | 0 Comments

For the past 9 years my team has conducted a popular and successful fundraiser raking leaves for local homeowners in exchange for donations.  We’ve never earned less than $1,000.00 with just 2 days of work. Getting the Word Out The first year or so we advertised by stuffing a flyer in each teacher’s mailbox at [...]

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Guard Room Organization and Inventory

| November 2, 2011 | 5 Comments
Guard Room Organization and Inventory

When my husband was hired as head band director of a school in Tennessee, I was so excited for him, but even more excited to start working with his colorguard. I came in to meet the girls and learned that their program had been struggling in recent years with no consistent director or guard instructor. [...]

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