With every marching band comes a color guard. While color guard is less widely known among students, that does not take away any of its importance.

“Hanging out with the band, I really like listening to the music and I really like hearing the drum line, and it’s just fun to spend [time] with everyone in that huge group,” color guard member Tayleigh Shirtliff said.

From the outside it appears the only job of the color guard is to twirl flags and other props. Although the color guard does both of those things, they also work hard to learn formations and match the timing of the marching band.

“I just like hanging out with the band, and competitions are really fun,” Shirtliff said.

Paying attention to surroundings is necessary when it comes to how much space the color guard and marching band take up when performing together. If one person were to trip up, it could mess up everything. That is why countless hours are put into color guard practices; dropping props during performances is definitely risky.

“I’ve been spending [time practicing] since I was in ninth grade, and we practice for two hours a day.” Shirtliff said.

For information on joining the color guard contact Steve Hendricks in room 1826.