On Tuesday and Thursday of every week, music is heard projecting from the baseball field. A sense of livelihood is created as the members of Marching band rehearse their show tunes for upcoming football games. The sights and sounds marching band displays under the friday night lights do not come together over night.

Marching band practices outside in the scorching sun. In order to prepare for their halftime performances, the band practices hours at a time.

“We do more than people think that we do because its physical activity and its really hot,” junior Madison Fields said. “What we usually do is stretch a little bit, do basics, and then we will Learn our drill, which is where we have these little sheets, called dot sheets and it says where we go on the field. Each movement is a different set, so we have to set each chart and run through it piece by piece, like we will do two or three at a time and then we will start running the show and that’s how it all comes together.”

Although marching practice can be a tedious at times, there is still room to have a little fun,but determining when the fun ends can be a challenge. As a drum major, senior Kerri Ernest leads the band throughout practice and constantly has to set a good example which can be difficult when everyone is watching you.

“Even when I am in a bad mood or if I have had a bad day, I can’t show it,” Ernest said. “I have to be in a good mood and i have to be happy because the enthusiasm comes from leadership and not from the band.”

Every step and movement must be in sync. At marching band practice students must practice how to walk from their spots,but that is only the smallest detail of what goes into preparing for a halftime performance at a football game.

“It all starts from day one back in june,” sophomore Kenneth Victoria said. “Usually we have a June first practice where everyone meets each other and music gets passed out. Then we have band camp during mid july and we start marching fundamentals, rehearsing music, and set drill. When the school year starts we get deeper in the antalictics, and everyone starts to take their positions seriously and that’s when you have to put in specialization.”

Each marching band member has their own job to fulfill. It takes a village to put on memorable halftime performances.

“Being apart of marching band is like doing a group project,” sophomore Samantha Jacoby said. “Everyone gets graded for it and the process to get to the final project can be hard, but once you finish and present your project, you just feel so proud.”