As one of the largest teams on campus, Arcadia High School’s (AHS) Colorguard is full of dedicated and hardworking students. During the fall season, Colorguard is the visual component to band performances, consisting of dancing and the tossing of various props. The team meets every Monday and Wednesday, on top of occasional weekend practices. These weekly after school practices are typically four hours long, with much of the team not returning home until late at night! 

Colorguard practice is a complex routine with many activities.

15 minutes prior to the start of practice, the athletes grab their belongings and change into all-black outfits. This change of uniform is to allow for clear distinction from the AHS band, who wears contrasting white t-shirts. Then, the team makes their way to the CTE building.

Practice begins with stretching; the students partake in a series of splits, wall stretches, and more. About half an hour later, the team starts their warm ups. To get accustomed to the more advanced moves they will do later, Colorguard breaks off into groups and works on their more general skills: drop spins, starts and stops, and tosses. These warm ups involve the use of their flags along with their weapons, meaning rifles and sabers. 

Once the team is all ready to go, they dive right into their choreography, or “choreo” for short. The intricate field show, as seen at the halftime show of school football games, is broken up into chunks. Part by part, the team either learns a new choreography or brushes up on what they have already learned. The students begin rehearsing the end of their routine first, to ensure that the show has a strong, satisfying finish.

Sometime later, for more in-depth training, the team splits up by section again. Each student is either on flag, rifle, or saber. At this point in the evening, the members learn new tosses and go over more and more choreography. This process can be quite redundant, but this meticulous kind of training is needed so that the show is as clean and technically skillful as possible. Count by count, the students revise their forms and perfect the little details of their movements. Colorguard alumni called “returners” assist the team.

“When we split into sections, it provides the returners an opportunity to shine rusted skills and it helps the new students acquire new skills for their equipment,” elaborates AHS sophomore and Colorguard team member Kristyan Caces.

Towards the end of the night, the team does full runs of the show with music, and to conclude practice, the coach and team captains give closing announcements. They provide words of encouragement, as well as constructive criticism to make way for improvement.

On Wednesday nights, practices are more eventful with the addition of “across the floors” and time with the band. During across the floors, members take turns jumping, leaping, rolling, and turning in the CTE Building. These fundamental dance skills are a crucial part of the show’s choreography. Dancing is even more prominent during their winter season, called “Winterguard.” 

At about 6:30 p.m, Colorguard joins the AHS band on the football field. Like on Mondays, the show is broken up into parts, so that each step of the routine is carefully rehearsed. Now with the field as their location, the team is able to figure out their coordinates during the show, using yard lines and “gacks” as reference. Gacks are markers made of blue tape that help track movement. 

Following a couple full runs of the show, the ensemble of students does hydraulics, one of the most exciting parts of the night. To conclude a long evening of hardwork in a fun way, students march back to the band room as the band plays upbeat tunes. Colorguard and each section of the band has joyful chants with accompanying dance moves to go along with the songs.

“Colorguard practice is very tedious, but having friends, learning, and repping tricks with them makes practice more enjoyable,” says AHS sophomore and Colorguard team member Lyann Chu.

“Although long practices are mentally draining, the roar of the crowd on performance night reminds me that this is all worth it,” adds AHS sophomore and Colorguard team member Grace McCloskey. “When we finish our shows, I feel a sense of relief, as well as accomplishment.”

Make sure to catch the AHS Colorguard at home football games and upcoming parades!

Photo courtesy of AUSD.NET