Color Guard, Band, Dancing, New Students, Extracurricular, Friendships
Who makes up Central’s color guard? When you think of color guard, do you envision their stunning makeup? Or maybe their entrancing flag spinning and graceful dancing? Behind all of that, they’re just students like you.
Central’s color guard works hard to be as amazing as they are. Whether it’s bringing a rifle home to practice tossing or learning their choreography. They work countless hours to stay in tandem with the band, so their routine appears seamless.
The color guard’s room is located in the band room and is quite cozy. It houses their costumes, equipment and bags. In the corner, they also have their band opossums, which is a tradition of theirs. Roadkill the Marching Opossum has his own Instagram account where he shares his band adventures with the world.
The Color guard captains are sophomore Darby Brown and senior River Cox. Darby spins her flag with grace and glamour; you will never see her without a beautifully flawless makeup look. River flips her sabre through the air with the sharpest precision, her focus never shaken.
Darby has been on the team for one and a half years. River has been on for three years. Both of them are incredibly passionate about guard and can take on any challenge that comes their way.
Color guard has many rewards that come from it. It not only looks good on college applications, but you make lots of friends too. You have a chance to meet people in different grades, which can be helpful because they may be more knowledgeable about Central than you are. Not to mention, you also get to perform every Friday at the football games.
Color guard is more than just a team, it’s a support system. When one girl was struggling with the 45 flag toss, another stepped in and helped. With a mix of skill, effort, and some tough love from her teammates, she was able to do the toss. They rushed her, throwing their arms up and cheering in celebration.
As rewarding as color guard can be, there are some downsides. Such as the balmy hot practice days, bruises from accidentally nailing yourself with the flag, and blisters on your hands from your sabre/rifle or flag. You can prevent these by drinking ample water, reapplying sunscreen, wearing knee pads and padded gloves. Make sure to take care of yourself out of guard as well, have a hot shower and relax!
Team captain Darby Brown, when asked to give advice to new members said,”Have patience. Patience is a big one, just practice and you’ll get it eventually.” Which is wonderful advice to people that want to join guard or are new to guard. Never give up on something even if you don’t think you’re good at it, you can always get better.
“Color guard is difficult, but takes practice just like everything else,” said freshman Anastasia Galvas. Ana has just joined the color guard this year. She’s currently on weapon line and does flag spinning. She loves weapon line, but her weakness is over the head tosses.
“I play saxophone but I also do winterguard and do color guard in my free time,” said junior Simone York with a glowing smile,”I absolutely adore it and I grew up with someone who used to be a captain on the color guard, and I’ve wanted to be on the team ever since then.” Simone also helps other students practice before try outs. Color guard is a great place to meet someone amazing like her.
Color guard is a great activity here at Central. They are very kind and welcoming people. In Darby’s words,”Try out and see what it’s about, it’s just a lot of fun!”
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