My colourguard

WE had a good preformance at Friday nights football game. Much better then anticipated, or much better then they had preformed at the mornings pep assembly. Our season is winding down now. Next week we play cross town rival high school. incidentally the high school I used to teach colourguard at. I am sure I will see a few old boosters and I know the new band director there. I keep hearing bad things about this high schools band now. Messy, loud, rude, arrogant. Anyway I feel I have a few things to prove this coming Friday and my one hope is the guard preforms the way they did at NAU.

I am almost embarrassed to post this picture, not because of what I took a pic of, but the quality of it. I am usually more of a perfectionist then this and normally would have tossed this one without much thought BUT and this is a big but....I have to explain what happened. I was plain and simply shaking with excitement....telephoto lens - zoomed almost 100% and hand shake DO NOT work well together.

This is the only picture I have of my daughter, who is captain of my colourguard, her co-captain and the 2 drum majors for our band accepting awards this past saturday night.

This picture was made all the more sweeter and special to me because just moments after it was taken, my guard was awarded outstanding auxilliary for their division. So you think this piccie is bad, you should see what I tried to shoot when they announced their award!! Can't even tell what it is.

I am very proud of my colourguard team this year...they worked so very hard, put up with a new instructor (me) changes, upheavel, drama you name it. This team was mediocre at best last year and when I accepted the job as their instructor I made up my mind that I would not tolerate mediocre any longer, we were going to step it up and bring it all forward...indeed they did just that. I have rarely seen a guard cleaner, brighter, smile more, project amazing attitude,preform nearly flawlessly in my time as a guard instructor ( been doing this a long time) I would pit this group against any college instructed guard any day. I have had a ball working with these girls and was so moved to see the tears on their faces Saturday night. Especially on my seniors faces. These girls have spent the entirity of their high school career in colourguard and have been yet to win this award, they have been pushed back as almost an embarrassment to the band due to their mediocrity. They had a lot to prove and I had a lot of noses that needed to be rubbed in things that have been said about them....Congratulations Cibola High School Colourguard....truely an award winned colourguard.

Sand Dunes, Imperial California

Oh my where has the time gone? You know when I started this blog I didn't want to be one of those people who just blogged once in a while, once a month or a few times a year...I really did have good intentions. People who set up blogs and then rarely post to them really bug me...and here I have become one of them. Appologies to me and to you. I really need to do better and I hope that I do...this is my effort to try.

Things have been speeding along in my life. Emmersed completely with the colourguard. We are off to Northern Arizona University tomorrow for our first competition. The girls are preforming beautifully and I am very proud of them. No matter what our score, they will always deserve the highest honour in my heart. We have faced some upheavels, changes, and shakeups since we started back in mid July and they have handled it wonderfully, rarely complaining and rising to the occassion. I am excited for tomorrow for them. They look amazing in their uniforms and makeup and they give lots of attitude when I prod them a bit. The routine is flawless in most places and a little shakey in just a few, but all in all they should give a good solid show. The band is a little shakey in its music, much more confident in their showmanship and some of the little things they have added to dress it up are very effective. I have many reasons I want this band and guard to do well tomorrow, mostly for the kids and a little for a few eyes that will be watching us.

I am off to Florida on the 22nd of Oct to photograph a wedding...I am nervous and thrilled to do this...could be a step in the direction I ultimately want to take with my life. Wish me luck