DeKalb Baron Brigade Invitational… It was a HOT one!

This past Saturday, September 18, 2021, the Spirit of Woodlan competed in the Baron Brigade 2021 Invitational at DeKalb High School. And let’s just say… it was a HOT one! And as the famous song says, it felt like “7 inches from the midday sun”! The blazing sun and sweltering heat provided a great challenge to not only the competitors, but the spectators as well! It was a scorcher!

The band and guard started their Saturday of Week #2 bright and early again at 8am, with a morning full of practice. They were hard at work practicing all their new visuals to be revealed as they competed this weekend. I heard several of them say what a grueling week it was and how their legs were so sore from all those new moves! Practice makes perfect!

After morning practice, the students enjoyed a Taco Bar lunch complete with Roy’s famous guacamole. Now I understand why it has the reputation it does… it’s so good! They ate up every little bit! After another 1.5 hours of practicing, they loaded up the buses and headed to DeKalb.

The buses arrived well ahead of time at DeKalb, and no one wanted to be in their full uniforms any longer than was necessary in that heat (did I mention it was HOT?!?!). So, the students played a game of Ninja and had a great time. It’s so nice to see them having fun together and enjoying the day with their friends.

Eventually, it was time to don their uniforms and get ready to compete. The students all do a great job of helping one another to get ready and look their best. It’s really a great feeling to be around so many great young people that are always willing to help one another (and the adults) with whatever work needs done (unloading and loading equipment, zipping this up, velcroing that, doing hair, doing makeup, etc). They are such a great group of kids!

Time to get serious and get ready to warm up. After their first place win last weekend, and shiny new visuals to add to the show this week, they took the field with some confidence in their steps. And boy, did it pay off! They put on a fantastic show that included so many exciting changes from last week. They looked and sounded amazing!! A few students commented on how it felt different to march on a natural grass field, as they are used to the springy FieldTurf that most of the schools have now.

They did a great job with their new visuals!

This part looked so great with the new visuals!

After their performance, they rather gleefully changed out of their uniforms (because, you know, it was HOT!!!). Many of them enjoyed dinner from the concession stand and cooled off with a Kona Ice. What was almost as bad as the heat were the BEES! They were out in great force and it seemed impossible to get away from them!

For the Awards program, Drum Major Brock Fuller was joined by Katie Chlebek and Katy Gilbert from Color Guard. They had an awesome, Cleopatra-inspired, acceptance salute! They all did a great job and made us proud! They accepted caption awards for Best Visual and Best Music in Open Class D. They finished the night by accepting the award for 1st Place finish in Open Class D. Way to go, Spirit of Woodlan! Another 1st Place performance!

Katie, Brock, and Katy did an awesome job with their new salute!

Great job Spirit on your performance in Week #2!

Next up for these incredible students will be a full performance of their show during half-time at Woodlan’s Homecoming football game against Jay County High School on Friday, September 24, starting at 7pm. They will not have any competition this next weekend, but will use their Saturday for morning practice, individual and group photos in uniform, and the annual mattress fundraiser. Hope you can come out and support these great kids!