The color guard will hold a clinic for children in grades K-8 to recruit and encourage them to join the color guard. The event will be held in the main campus gym on Dec. 7 starting at 8:30 a.m. Early bird registration has ended, but at-the-door and online registration costs $50.
“This year is the first [K-8 grade] clinic,” color guard director Christopher Josey said. “[They can] learn dance, spin flags and [have] a fun day of enjoyment learning a new activity that is not as prevalent as cheer or dance [clinics are].”
There will be two groups separated by age. The first group will be for kids in grades K-2, while the other will be for third through eighth grade.
“The first group [isn’t] going to be spinning real equipment,” color guard officer Shreya Sharma said. “They’re going to be swinging something called a swing flag. The second group will dance and spin six foot [flags] — the same flags we spin in high school. Both groups will end their day with a parent performance and a routine they learn in their class.”
Josey said the current number of color guard members is a healthy amount. The event would be preparing the students for marching season, where many of the skills they learn can be put into practice.
“I know schools from other places in Texas have programs for elementary schools and middle schools to get them prepared for the marching season,” color guard officer Kendall Kost said. “[Our school] does not have that, so [we] don’t get a lot of traction from younger [kids] because not too many people know about [us]. This [clinic] will help get the word out there and grow the program.”
Those who registered before Nov. 15 will receive a T-shirt. The event will also provide food and water for the children while they practice. The first group’s showoff parent performance will be at 10:30 a.m. and the second will be at noon.
“[To some kids,] this could just be for fun,” Josey said. “If the kids are already in dance or cheer, it can be another activity for a fun day. If they’re a sixth, seventh or eighth grader who’s thinking of being in color guard in the future, then this gives [them] a small glimpse of what we do and gives [them] an opportunity to see it in high school.”
