On Saturday, March 8th, the Wauwatosa West Winter Guard placed 2nd for their first ever judged competition at Minooka High School in Channahon, Illinois.
¨We’re a very baby program compared to a lot of the other guards at the competition. It meant we had to work efficiently during our time to make sure we had a complete show to present and I’m glad to say our hard work paid off!¨ said Coach Eliza Lambert.
Color guard is a performing art where athletes complete dance routines and use different equipment to music while telling a story with their movements. The main equipment used for Color guard are 6 foot flags, swing flags (2 three foot poles, one in each hand) rifle, and sabre. Students learn basic techniques in each equipment and learn to toss them so they spin several times in the air before catching.
¨I enjoy watching the improvement over the season. It’s amazing to see students who were struggling with drop spins week 1 nail double tosses and complex choreography by the end of the season.¨ said Coach Lambert.
The Winter Color Guard program first started when Coach Lambert started her second season only as a Color Guard coach at Wauwatosa West in 2021. The regular Color Guard team has been performing with the marching band for several years now; In addition, Coach Lambert wanted to give non-band students or students who love playing their instrument during marching season but want to learn something new during the winter an opportunity to learn more about the wonderful culture of Color guard.
¨When I was hired here to coach the guard during marching band season, I saw an opportunity to further develop our program as well as a recruitment opportunity,¨ said Lambert.
Senior Myiana Perkins started off with Winter guard her freshman year with little to no color guard or band experience.
¨I feel like that was the best decision I made in high school, it’s a very good learning opportunity. And honestly, it’s really fun once you do it.¨ said senior Myiana Perkins.
Though the program is fairly small compared to other guard teams as well as limited practices, this is a huge accomplishment for Tosa West!
¨We also only practice 1-2 times a week while some of these other guards have scheduled practices daily. It meant we had to work efficiently during our time to make sure we had a complete show to present and I’m glad to say our hard work paid off!¨ said Coach Lambert
Perkins mentions she was a bit nervous for their first ever judged competition.
¨I was a little scared, I thought it was going to be really scary, because yes, we’ve done a winter guard competition before, but we weren’t judged on it last time. So this time we were judged. I have done many competitions before, like for marching band, but it’s different because that’s with the whole marching band and this is just guard, so it was definitely an experience,¨ said Perkins.
If students are looking for a new learning experience or wanting to put themselves out there, joining Winter Guard may be a great choice for them.
¨The pros of color guard is that it’s a new activity and learning experience for you, there’s new people to meet, and its overall a very enjoyable time,¨ said Perkins.
