The color guard will hold auditions for next year’s members and captains at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 28. Those students who wish to try out must create their own routine, complete with their own music and choreography. They must also prove they are responsible, organized students who are able to contribute to the group. The panel of judges will include band director Jose Ochoa, color guard tech Brooke Tant, and an outside third party.

Current members of color guard are working just as hard as those students trying out for the first time, in the hopes of being a part of the group next year.

“I have been a member of color guard since the second semester of freshman year,” junior Kennedy Swiney said. “Color guard is all about basics or practicing the show until we get called back with the band. When coming up with routines, it all starts with the music. The main goal in any good performance is making the audience feel how you feel.”

Tryouts is not the end of hard work, but just the beginning for those who are selected. Members have to attend a color guard camp over the summer to work on the year ahead. The camp gets members used to the upcoming routines and regiments color guard enforces and also gives them time to improve their skills.

“Tryouts start in April, but the real work starts in July at guard camp and then doesn’t end until November when the State Marching Contest is,” junior Abbey Brown said. “But that’s what color guard is; color guard is commitment. Anyone can do it, but you have to stick with it and you have to be determined.”

Just like any audition, it can be extremely nerve-wracking when it is time to perform. Being able to work through those nerves and put on a great show are only part of the skills needed to be part of color guard.

“I was so nervous my first audition that I dropped basic things,” junior Tori Bland said. “I tried out the first time in eighth grade. I didn’t make it, though; I let the nerves get to me, so I practiced and practiced and tried out again the following year. It was actually a lot less nerve-wracking that second time trying out than the first.”

Color guard is not just running around spinning flags. It takes hours of hard work and determination to perform in front of a couple hundred people almost every Friday night. During the two and a half years that Bland has been involved with Color Guard, that is one of the many lessons she has learned.

“We work very hard but we also have a lot of fun while doing it,” Bland said. “Being in color guard takes having a good attitude, working hard no matter what, determination, physical ability and lots of passion; if you don’t love it, why do it?”

Despite its stressful and dramatic moments, Bland has a passion for color guard. She hopes to make captain so that she is able to show everyone just how much color guard means to her.

“I’ve always love the beautiful colors of the flags and now that I’m in guard, I’m able to make every performance have color,” Bland said. “The powerful sound of the band plus the vibrant colors dancing across the field makes people cheer, I want people to remember the performances we put on. That’s why I’m trying out for captain. I want to make everyone love it like I do. I want every performance to leave an impact on someone.”