Color guard was a huge part of me becoming who I am today. I spent countless hours after school practicing to do a good performance. Anyone who was in Color guard would recognize all of these things

1. Left is always first

You never step off with your right foot. That is the biggest no-no. It is always left foot first

2. You are a slice of bread

We are told this so we stay inside our ‘toaster’ (personal space) and make sure all the movements are fluid. If we go outside our toaster we become burnt toast.

3. Say hi to mom

This is when we do a toss. We keep our hands up in the air to catch the flag like we are waving to our parents in the stand.

4. Blood, sweat, and tears

This is not a metaphor for us guardians. We put this into our practice all the time. Just DO NOT bleed on the silks. Or if you are like the best color guard male on my old team “DON’T PUKE ON THE FIELD!”. During band camp at about day 3 or 4 is when we all have had our mental breakdown get pissed but put that anger and frustration into our work.

5) You are protective of your gloves

Gloves protect you from the bitches that are known as rifle tosses. They also help with cold metal flag polls in rain and sometimes snow performances. These things become your best friends on the field. You can recognize their oddly distinct smell and instantly are ready to perform once they go on.

6. Be a chicken

It’s not Jazz running, It’s being a chicken with it’s head cut off. You need to get from one 25 yard line to the other? You best believe you squat and run as fast as your little legs can carry you while being as graceful as Jesus walking on water.

7. Songs become hits

It’s not “I’m on top of the world HEY!” it is now “I’m on top of the world HIT! Da da push it out now, up down and around.” I actually couldn’t think of the actual lyrics to this song while writing this even though it’s been three years since that show.

8. The counts are diffrent

You cannot rely on what the band is counting because their count goes till 8 while ours is 28. You better be able to keep count on your own and you better count loud during practice to help your team.

9. Practice is earlier than the band

For the band after school practices start at 6. For the guard, practice starts at 4:30. This is because we not only need to learn our spots but we need to perfect the choreography for the show as well.

10. You make a family

Spending that amount of time with people, you end up getting close with one another. Guard bonding is something everyone got excited about and is a valid part of performing well. You have to know how to get in sync with the others. I have color guard to thank for two of my best friends, Jade and Sandra. Along with some of my other very close friends.