For those of us band kids, we all know the ups and downs of band camp. Whether you're laughing because your section leader made a funny joke, or crying because you rolled your ankle in one of the thousand holes on the practice field, one thing is for sure: Band camp is always interesting. For those of you who have never gone to band camp, don't worry; it's nothing at all like what is shown in movies or TV shows. Now, being that I am a guard girl, my perception of band camp is probably different from the trumpets or percussion, but there are many things that are the same. And when it comes to band camp, everyone knows:
1. Always bring water!
Water is key to not passing out. And one little 16oz bottle is not enough to get you through the morning. It may not even get you through the first hour.
2. Bring water
Water is so important it deserves a second spot on the list. But really, if you run out you better make friends with someone really quickly, or you'll suffer for a long time without it.
3. Sunscreen!
Burns hurt. Nobody wants to be a lobster first week of school.
3. Guard girls do some weird stretches.
Band kids do the basic calf stretches, arm stretches, and maybe one or two others. Guard girls get on the ground and stretch, stand and stretch. We look crazy sometimes, depending on how flexible we are. But we don't want to pull a muscle, so we do what we have to do.
4. The weather is always an extreme.
One day it's 98 degrees and no shade, the next it'll storm, the next it'll be 60 degrees and overcast. Sometimes, all three happen in the same day. You always have to be prepared to pack up and run to avoid the rain, be ready to sweat away 10+ pounds, or be so cold you hope you run it again just to warm up a little bit. Expect the unexpected at band camp.
5. Never lose your drill.
Drill is your life out there, so you don't cause a band kid pile-up. Never lose it! Even if it's the last week of the season, you never know when your director will say to pull out those tattered drill sheets and check the form. And you don't want to be caught without your paper when they do.
6. Watch out for loose flags and weapons.
Tosses on guard equipment usually goes okay. When wind is involved, however, you have to be conscious of where the guard is so you don't get smacked in the head. But don't worry, as long as you're following your drill you should be out of the line of fire.
7. Holes are everywhere.
Band practice fields are not nice grassy areas. They're basically dirt clods with a sprout of grass. And holes are everywhere, so falling occasionally happens. And it's never fun when you do fall.
8. Squeeze your butt when back-marching.
Squeeze your buns or risk rolling back on your heels and falling. It's so much easier to stay up on your toes when you squeeze your butt muscles. Plus, by the end you could have a nicely toned butt, and who could say no to that.
9. Band kids jazz running for the first time is hilarious to watch.
Most new band kids have never done jazz running before. If you're a guard girl, you learn this skill day 1 because drill writers love writing the guard sets with a 4 to 5 step size. For band kids, though, jazz running is not common. So when they're taught it, they don't always understand it. And when they jazz run they roll step (heel, ball, toe) instead of point step (toe, ball, heel) which just makes me, as a guard girl, laugh.
10.One more time doesn't always mean one more time.
Band directors are notorious for saying "let's run it one more time" when they really run it five or six more times. So when you hear that phrase said for the first time, don't believe it. Rarely ever do you do it only one more time.
11. The feeling everyone gets when they're released for the day.
When they finally do mean it when they say "one more time" and they say time for announcements, all band kids give a collective sigh of relief because they know they're done for the day. And there's nothing quite like going inside an air conditioned room and lying down after a long, hot day at band camp.
12. It's a once in a lifetime kind of experience.
I just finished my eighth year of band camp, and no two weeks have ever been the same. We laugh about different things, get mad at different work we can't quite get down, make new friends. Sure it's stressful and long, but I wouldn't trade those weeks of band camp for anything in the world.
