Q: What made you join color guard?
A: Lake Central’s open guard winter show, called Aftermath, in 2011 when I was in the 8th grade. Their skill level and the excitement they had while performing made me want to join.
Q: What is it like being a senior on the team?
A: Being a senior on the team is fun because you already know all of the skills and requirements, so you mainly focus on helping the underclassmen and excelling at more advanced tricks.
Q: When are color guard competitions?
A: [The competitions are] primarily on Saturdays during the night, but during [Bands of America] it is more scattered since we draw what time we play from a hat for the days that we compete.
Q: How many people are on the team?
A: This year we have 21 high schoolers and 18 middle schoolers [on the team].
Q: How long does the team practice for?
A: During the summer [the team has] preseason and practices [that] run from 1-6 [p.m.] or 1-5 [p.m.], then we have Band Camp which is two weeks long and ten hours a day. School practices on weekdays are three hours and four days a week. We also practice on Saturdays from 8-5 unless we have a competition that day.
Q: On average, how many times do you drop the items you throw when you first begin?
A: When I first started spinning rifles, I was either bear hugging the gun or it was on the ground.
Q: What does it take to get on the team?
A: To get on the team, it takes a willingness to try and an eagerness to improve.
Q: What schools are your top competitors?
A: [Our top competitors are] Homestead, Avon and Carmel [High School].
Q: How often do you run into band members during practice?
A: At the beginning of the season we practice with the band two days a week and slowly move up to three, four, and eventually everyday we practice. At first, you collide with them quite a few times, but as you learn your drills, it becomes more rare.
Q: Which item is hardest to throw?
A: I have to say the saber. You do two different primary tosses with it and it tends to hurt the most so people are scared of catching it.
