Here’s a fun craft that probably only a guardie will understand! We all know how valuable those metal washers are. You know the ones we use to hold the bolts in the end of the flag pole when weighting our poles? Now you can turn them into a wonderful, wearable piece of art! MATERIALS: All [...]
Back when I was a performer, we had a guard mom who was also a seamstress. And while altering uniforms, applying sequins and spangles (yes, it was that long ago) and mending flags, she had a great idea – create miniature versions of our show uniforms, put them on adorable teddy bears and sell [...]
Hello all! Well… it looks like we owe you a couple weeks of FUN here. It’s been a little break in our Fun for Friday action but we’re back. This week’s idea was sent in, once again, by reader Brenda Scarpati of the State of Illusion Winter Guard from Bloomfield Hills, MI. It’s a simple [...]
When I was a freshman in high school I was on the pom squad (yes… I admit it…). We only had 2 competitions but after the first our coach gave us a tiny bear that she tied a ribbon around with a nice note. It wasn’t anything fancy but I saved that bear for years… [...]
It’s Fun for Friday again and this week’s fun idea was sent to us by Brenda Scarpati of the State of Illusion Winter Guard from Bloomfield Hills, MI. (also on facebook ). She gives her performers a strand of Mardi-gras style beads after each performance, tagged with the name and date of the competition. She [...]
[CGE team member Darcie had a bit of fun this weekend with her camera and her son's Star Wars Clones... and after laughing along with her as I watched the images flash by on her facebook page I thought what fun it would be to share them with all of you. After all, what coach [...]
This week’s fun idea was sent to us by reader Heidi Zarder, coach of the Hamilton High School Synergy Color Guard from Sussex, Wisconsin! Thank you Heidi for taking the time to share your fun idea with the CGE Community! Heidi plans a night of fun JUST for the guard parents! I think this is [...]
Well – a NEW category! Movement Monday is going so well that I thought it just might be nice to have a new weekly post to look forward to. So, inspired by Cheryl, I started to think of another important thing coaches need to think about on a weekly basis… and of course the title [...]
‘Tis the season when parents everywhere are searching and scrambling for the latest and greatest to surprise their children under the tree. YOU can help ease some of that stress! Every year I was coaching full-time I would get a few emails from parents asking where we bought our rifles or what size flags we [...]
"On each page of their drill books, besides all of the marching stuff, I have them each find a motivation quote or statement. When I first hand out their set books I usually have one quote ready. I have them put it on the first page. Then as a "homework" project, I have them look [...]
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Special Edition of Halftime Magazine – Color Guard Sectionals
If you’re a regular reader here at CGE then you probably know that we’re big fans here of Halftime Magazine. For those who may not be familiar with Halftime it is a print magazine specifically for the marching arts community. It was founded in 2007 by Editor/CEO Christine Ngeo Katzman and publishes 6 times a [...]
From the Archives: It’s all about Travel Safety
This week we pulled two articles from the archives regarding hotel and travel safety. This is it! If you’re going on an overnight trip this is one of those important moments in your experience as a coach to teach your students something that could serve to keep them safe throughout their lives – well beyond [...]
From the Archives: Can it be TOO clean???
This week’s articles from the archives: A Movement Moment #10: Too Clean? by Cheryl Myers (03/18/2010) Our resident “Movement Chick” suggests that yes… it is, perhaps, possible to be too clean… check out the article to see what she means. The ‘Winterguard Wand’ and Championships by Chris Casteel (06/09/2008) A very important article by Chris [...]
From the Archives: Planning for Championships
Earlier this month we asked for your best advice for planning an overnight trip on the facebook page. If you missed it make sure to look it up and check out the best advice from the community if you’re looking forward to your first overnight championships trip. This week we pulled 2 of our past [...]
Get Subscriptions to Halftime Magazine for only $1.00 each!
Halftime Magazine has a fantastic program we wanted to share with our readers. Directors can purchase a group subscription with copies for every student and staff member of your group for just $1.00 per person, per year. We love Halftime Magazine! And what better way to get your students excited for the next season while [...]
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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