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Trail stays in step

Off the Bench with Adam Roberts

They had already completed a full practice, but as they exited the bus it was clear, game time was approaching. They put on their uniforms and picked up their equipment.

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After a concise warm up, complete with full body stretching, the coach began to preach about staying focused.

“Have fun. Make this count. I have all the confidence in the world in you,” the coach announced as she lead the team to the field at Crestwood High School on Sunday, Oct. 25.

They took the field and the crowd cheered for the Lackawanna Trail Marching Lions.

Coach or band director Katie Bower was leading her high school band, which was ranked seventh in Group 1 for the Atlantic Coast Championships, into the Chapter 7 Championships.

The chapter competition, which includes much of Northeast Pennsylvania is the last event before the 13-state Atlantic Coast Championships in Hershey on Sunday, Nov. 1.

With the energy and adrenaline that comes with any high level competition, the band and color guard united for their amusing performance of “Alice Unraveled” led on the field by senior drum major, David Stark.

This level of competition combines dance, athleticism and music. So, stamina and showmanship are standards.

While in other sports a person can sneak a foul past a referee; bands are judged by 10 people, some of whom are actually on the field.

Each judge records their comments on a particular element while the band performs their nearly nine-minute set.

After the performance, the band’s staff is able to listen to the comments, and then talk to the judges later.

With so many eyes watching the performance each person needs to be in step with their movements and their music. Xylophonist Brandon Foster, junior, explained that there are no second string musicians who can take the place of someone who is having an off day.

With four or five competitions a year, the judges’ comments help the show evolve. Bower explained that the color guard’s show changes the most, but tweaks are made across the ensemble.

Learning and relearning a routine seems tedious, but senior euphonium player Zack Travis explained he takes a, “wipe and replace,” approach to compartmentalizing new material. Travis says they try to forget the old routine in order to memorize the changes.

Jesse Morvan, sophomore trumpet player, added it takes repeated practice to erase the old movements and enact the new ones.

After a competitive evening at Crestwood, the Marching Lions joined the other schools in the stands for the announcements of the winners. The scores out of a possible 100 are tallied and three individual awards, high drum major, high percussion and high auxiliary are given.

Lackawanna Trail earned 85.05 points for fourth out of five Group 1 bands. Stark, who portrays the Mad Hatter in the Alice in Wonderland themed show, received High Drum Major honors.

The finish was enough for the Marching Lions to make the top 25 cut off for ACCs.

They will now spend the week adjusting the show and perfecting their moves in preparation for their last show of the season.

With the intensity of their most important show less than a week away, the Marching Lions are prepared to put in the work.

“This is an activity where you only get as much as you put in,” Travis said.

They’ve put in the reps and are ready to reap the benefits.

Adam Roberts is a staff writer for the Abington Journal he can be reached at aroberts@theabingtonjournal.com