The Battlin’ Bear Band performed at the Region 10 UIL Marching Band competition on Nov. 21. The band earned straight 1s for their superior performance, qualifying them to advance to the Area competition to be held this Saturday, Dec. 5.  The band will travel to Lindale High School for their performance.  This achievement is nothing out of the ordinary for the band.  

This year’s show is titled “Be Someone.” The name and show were both inspired by a bridge which happens to be one of Houston’s most iconic landmarks. Band Secretary, Marian Perkins, played an integral role in the design of the concept.   

“We wanted this show to be an uplifting show,” band director Jose Ochoa said. “It was inspired by the ‘Be Someone’ bridge in Houston, Texas.”  

 The band has likely faced more obstacles than its competitors. Hurricane Laura and Delta forced the band to miss several valuable weeks of not only class time and practice time, but also performances. Covid continues to pose challenges. Students have become ill or had to quarantine. This becomes a problem because each member is the only person who occupies that particular position in the show. There are no alternate players or replacements.  

“I was very unsure after Hurricane Laura that we would be able to salvage the season, “Ochoa said.  “The only thing that kept me motivated was the drive of the students to succeed and to have a ‘normal’ fall season. We pushed through some difficult weeks and have rebounded well in my opinion. This is all credited to the students and their resilient nature. We move forward as best we can. This has been a struggle at times, but we just have to continue working hard and learning our individual parts. We leave spots open for the people that have been out and hope that they can catch up once they return.”   

In 2018, the band placed 7th for the entire state of Texas.  With the success comes the pressures to continue the tradition.   

“Our success and traditions built this program,” Ochoa said. “There is so much honor and pride in this organization. We are all thankful to be a part of it, but know our responsibility is to try our best to uphold those traditions that built the LCM Band. We try to make it our goal to find ways to improve and learn from every season. We want to make sure we are giving our students the best experience possible and pushing them achieve at a high level. We always strive to give the best performance possible, regardless of ratings or outcomes.”  

 “Our main concern at Area is simply to have our best performance, “Ochoa said. “They are working hard and staying focused, so we are hoping to accomplish that goal Saturday. We always strive to give the best performance possible, regardless of ratings or outcomes.”