My Season as a Color Guard Director

Tuffree during parade season.

    Hello! I am back to write yet another story about color guard. I teach at Tuffree Middle School. I am currently finishing out my second year. I was in color guard all throughout middle and high school. I actually attended the school I teach at now, which makes it more special to me. In the fall we march parade with the band, in the winter we go solo for our indoor performances.

    Last winter guard season I registered my guard in the lowest division, JHAAA. Which was perfect for us, because it was the year right after COVID, none of the girls had performed in person before and I was new. We ended up becoming WGASC bronze medalists. WGASC is the local circuit we compete in, stands for Winter Guard Association of Southern California.

Posing with 2022 bronze medals!

Since we were extremely successful in our division, we were promoted to compete in one division higher, JHAA. After so many ideas running through my head of show ideas, I chose to make our show to the song Car Wash. Specifically the version from the movie Shark Tale, I just felt it was more fun!

With the song picked, I moved on to decide what costumes they would be wearing. I needed to make them look like they were working at an actual car wash. I found the perfect costume to mimic overalls.

We couldn't have a car wash without a car. So I had my brother in law build us a 2D car that I painted. Throughout the season, some of the girls’ dads provided upgrades to the car such as wheels, and metal handles. The girls loved seeing this car for the first time!

Our car with a fresh paint job. 

Our first competition was interesting to say the least. We had our music cut out! About one minute of our three and a half minute song actually played. However the girls continued to perform without the music! It was extremely mature and professional of them to do. I was so proud. Despite the mishap, we ended up getting first place!

Our second performance was pouring rain all morning! This is a huge inconvenience for many reasons. One, the car is made of wood and we transport it in the back of a pickup truck. Two, warm up time is usually outside for all shows. This school had little to no awnings for the girls to hide under, leaving us limited space and no room for tosses. Three, the floor they performed on was wet due to the rain outside. All these factors worked hard against the team and ultimately stressed them out. Even though it was a rough run for them, they placed second.

1st at Pacifica HS!

Our third performance was everything I could ask for! It was a perfect day, it was the first day of spring break for the girls. The energy was up, the performance presence was strong. They counted and did everything right that day. This would be the last performance before championships, we placed first!

After every high comes a low. Since the girls had a week off for spring break, they came back sloppy in terms of skill, energy, and motivation. People were missing practice, no one seemed to care, everything was rusty, and it felt as if no one wanted to be there. At the same time, I felt this sense of arrogance from them. Since they won the last show, they believed they wouldn’t need to try for championships, it would be handed to them. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I had to have a talk explaining to them that this is the time most teams push through, make improvements, and gain points. If they wanted to get a medal they needed to work for it. 

Posing with our 2023 bronze medals.
 (Yes, I matched them). 

This talk seemed to get through to them. It was like hitting a switch. I had the old team back. It was amazing. Due to their hard work and dedication we became bronze medalists for the second year in a row. Next year we will be moved up to the next division, JHA. I can’t wait to see what that season brings us. Continuing to climb the ladder!

This year has taught me so much. I had so much fun. The team teaches me as I teach them it is a great relationship. I am so thankful they give me the opportunity to continue my passion as a director. I can't wait to see who the people I teach grow up to be. They are all so amazingly talented!

I <3 Color Guard.