BY DANI TIETZ
dani@mahometnews.com
Mahomet-Seymour High School has a secret.
You won’t find this team’s schedule with the other sports and activities the school provides on its 8 to 18 schedule and roster service.
You probably don’t know that they compete during the winter months.
You may not have even heard that they took third place at the recent Illinois Drill Team Association State competition.
But they did.
You are not unfamiliar with this group, though.
While the drumline is providing the beat during the Mahomet-Seymour Marching Band performance and the brass is providing volume, this team is on the field telling the story with dance and colorful flags.
You know the color guard, right?
On a suggestion by Marching Band Director Michael Stevens, the Mahomet-Seymour color guard extended its performance season by competing in winter guard in 2019 for the first time in the school’s history.
“The reason we started this winter guard is to continue training,” Color Guard Coach Kari Marino said. “In the fall when we travel to competitions, the most competitive bands all have guards (and drumlines) that continue their season through the winter.”
“For MSHS, the flags have been shelved at the end of October until auditions come around in March again. In continuing with winter guard, not only were they continuing their training, but it provided them a performance opportunity.
Losing a few of the guard’s 33 participants to early graduation, moving and prior commitments, the 26-member winter guard began practice on Monday and Wednesday nights, starting Jan. 7.
Marino said adding this opportunity for her team was a no-brainer.
“While I have had many years as a performer with the Marching Bulldogs, Marching Illini, and Big Red Marching Machine at Illinois State, some of my favorite memories of color guard was the winter I marched an independent winter guard,” she said.
“As a teacher/coach, knowing the opportunities are out there, and with the committed and talented students at MSHS, I jumped at the chance to create new opportunities and memories for the students involved with the MS color guard.”
M-S holds tryouts for color guard in March. The group then works through the spring and summer seasons perfecting its technique and building the routine for late summer and early fall when the marching band is working diligently to put its routine together for competition season.
Knowing her team needed a break after nine months, Marino gave her team November and December off.
With only 20 days until their first competition, the guard began their season the way they always do.
“As with fall guard, we always begin rehearsal with basics to get their strength back slowly without injuring themselves,” Marino said. “We were on a tight schedule to be ready for our first competition, but we did not skip the basics!”
Going from a 100-yard football field to 50-foot basketball court, the color guard had a few adjustments to make.
“On the football field, the performers are a bit removed from the audience. Specifically, the guard judge at a marching band competition sits in the press box. That judge could easily be 50 feet away. Whereas on the basketball court, the audience as well as the judges are significantly closer.
“They also had to be prepared to enter the court from any entrance, and unlike marching band competitions, they had to be prepared to perform to either side of the court. The IDTA uses both sides of the court with two judging panels, so the group that performs before you do performs to the opposite side you do. This took a bit of practice to get accustomed to.”
Adjusting their fall routine a bit, the Bulldogs used “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons for their Tall Flag.
“This routine told the story of being radioactive, similar to the field show in the fall where the guard was infected throughout the show. However, they were already “infected” for this routine.”
By using the same costumes and flags, the guard was able to save money, but it also gave them a familiar piece to begin with.
Winter guard teams also perform a lyrical routine in IDTA competition.
Marino chose to add “Battlefield” by Lea Michele into the group’s performance arsenal halfway through the season.
“Because we had a very short time to put this one together, I used only seniors and anyone that had marched fall guard for 2 years. We competed it with 13 performers,” she said.
“This routine told the story of a young girl understanding that the relationship she is in is not healthy, and despite the desire to stay in that relationship, sometimes understanding that it isn’t healthy, it’s best to walk away. This group put this routine together and competed at state with only six hours of practice.”
While many winter guard teams compete in three or four competitions as they hope to qualify for state, the M-S winter guard only had two competitions scheduled before IDTA state.
“Both (of our) routines qualified the first time out,” Marino said.
Mahomet-Seymour performed at Mattoon High School, placing second with their performance “Radioactive.”
Then on Feb. 2, the group traveled to Highland High School where they placed second with both “Radioactive” and “Battlefield.”
Marino wasn’t surprised at what was about to come.
In its first year competing, Mahomet-Seymour took third place at the IDTA State Competition with both “Radioactive” and “Battlefield.”
“This is a very hardworking group of ladies and gentlemen. It did not surprise me that they were able to qualify for state the first time out. They are technically well trained, hardworking, and can turn on a performance.”
Marino said the group is already looking forward to 2020.
Because IDTA is geared more towards dance, the Mahomet-Seymour color guard may compete in Winter Guard International (WGI) in the near future.
“Color guard uses dance as well, but WGI focuses on the growth of the performers in color guard (flag, rifle, sabre). Most likely we will be competing in the Midwest Color Guard Circuit which is based in the suburbs of Chicago. WGI is similar to the Bands of America competitions the marching band travels to in the fall.”
