As the fall sport’s season comes to an end, so does the Hillcrest Marching Band. Included in the marching band is the band, the flag girls, and majorettes.

We are now getting ready to perform in our last football game for the season, which is Senior Night, on October 21. I, as a flag girl captain, know that the weeks leading up to a game are very crucial. Not many people know how much it takes to be in a marching band. A lot of hard work and dedication goes toward making up shows and routines. Marching band could be considered a sport!

Flags and Majorettes hold their try-outs in April, then start their season in June. Band then comes in July, and then we all get together. That’s when all the work begins. The band and girls endure long weeks of practice at what we call ‘Band Camp.’ That’s basically a boot camp that everyone in the marching band must go through to be able to be a Marching Hawk. We learn the fundamentals of marching & dancing. Everything we learn is essential to know while being in a marching band. We always have at least two parades in the summer that we must prepare for.

We don’t just perform at the school and for games. We travel a lot to invite performances. We go to junior highs, parades during the summer, colleges, and even marching band classics. We went to Governors State University to perform at their fall pep rally. In September, we went to the Indianapolis Circle City Classic. We were a part of the parade that went throughout the city. Then after, we went to the football game to watch the halftime show between Central State University and Kentucky State University. It was a fun experience.  We often take trips outside of school just to get well known and to get more support from others.

As we begin to go our separate ways after this game, we all won’t be apart for long. We will come back in the spring to practice because we have another big trip. We are going to a trip in Branson, Missouri for a competition; a few members from the band, flags, and majorettes were selected to go. There’s the band, 5 flags and 5 majorettes going. This break will be well needed, but it won’t last for long.