BY LEANNE WILSON

Copy Chief

Students are used to seeing the color guard and the drumline on Friday nights during halftime, but these teams’ activities extend beyond the football field.
Both teams prepare routines and compete in indoor competitions during the winter and spring months. Both teams compete in the same types of competition. The color guard uses flags and sabres, while the drumline performs with the stationary drums and the front ensemble of the band.
The teams are both currently in a rebuilding season. The indoor guard team lost about 10 of its senior members last year. The team has 15 members this year, thanks to new recruits.
“We had a lot of girls step up. There are many new girls who have a lot of potential. This is a rebuilding year to get us back together,” senior Shaye Babinger said.
The team has had to reconfigure some of its choreography ideas this year to aid the lack of members.
“It’s difficult because it’s a smaller group. You really have to use the floor so there’s no empty space. The choreography has to be really big to fill the room,” sophomore Robbie Miller said.
The team has not let the size difference hinder its performances. They scored 59.41 and earned second place in the first Tournament Indoor Association competition on Jan. 30.
“As a group, we all want to put on a stellar show every time we step out onto the mat. We’re ready to add more to our show to give it a ‘wow’ factor,” Miller said.
Their song this year is “Come Sail Away” by Styx.
The indoor drumline, meanwhile, also suffered the loss of a few seniors this year.
“We lost some of our key people, basically the leaders of the drumline. This is more of a teaching year, because most of the people have never had their instrument before this year,” senior James Stumpf said.
Stumpf, senior Robbie Cortese, and sophomore Cory Berger have stepped up as the leaders of the group this year.
“It’s weird transitioning from being in pit to being a leader, but it’s slowly getting better,” Stumpf said.
The indoor drumline practices once or twice a week, and has a country theme this year, differing from the fall season
“There are a few gimmicks in these shows, small stuff. But you won’t see marching patterns or drill for an indoor show,” Stumpf said.
The less regimented routine in indoor shows creates a completely different environment for drumline members in the indoor season.
“It’s less pressure, a lot more fun, and we can do a lot more things than in marching band,” junior Jaz Wicks said.
The indoor drumline’s largest competition will be the TIA Championships, which are held at Baldwin This year’s competition will be held on April 23.