Mid Season

One one hand it feels like we just started this winter guard season....on the other, I realize we are only 5 weeks to Circuit Championships come Saturday. How does it go by so fast?

This Saturday will be the MS Guard's first competition. They are excited and I am really looking forward to seeing them compete! Should be a great morning.

After the MS is finished with their performance the HS will be having camp. We have a lot of adjustments to make but nothing they cant handle. Its 2 weeks until the STL Regional which is what will place us for WGI Championships!

So many thoughts and emotions build up by this time of year. Am I enough.....can I give the kids what they need to be what they can be? Can I fully use their potential and push them to be the absolute best I know they can be? I feel it every day.....that pressure......but I grow and learn....and the season continues.

Stepping up our game!

Last Saturday was the High School's first winter guard competition. The group did not have a very good run and we knew we needed to chat with them about it at practice on Tuesday. The kids were very nervous and scared during warm up and I did not anticipate them being like that! I talked to them about what warm up is for and why there is no need to "freak out!"

To sum up what the staff said - We are stepping up our game!

The biggest thing we need to change is how we rehears! We will be holding all the kids accountable to do every single rep full out! So often they mark through choreography and then when we do run throughs at the end they do things so differently then what they practiced that it really effects them. This was the same thing that happened during their performance.

We jumped right in on Tuesday after our conversation with this more intense and more accountable rehearsal. I wasn't sure how they would react to it.....if they would get mad or frustrated.....but I was very impressed when we kept pushing and pushing and the kids just did it! No one was frustrated when they left rehearsal and everyone really seemed to understand why we were adjusting the way we were doing things.

Very exciting to be able to do something like that and not have a bunch of friction and reluctance from the kids. Means we can keep making them better and they wont make out right away!

Still a long road.....we will keep taking one rehearsal at a time.

Season is Going

2 weeks from tomorrow will be the High School's first competition. I think we are in a good place for their first performance and I think they will do well. Almost the entire show is done....not completely filled in, but ideas are mostly complete and the concept should be clear. We get to complete with one of our biggest competitors right off the bat with this first competition. It should be fun how the 2 stack up against each other.

Next week is our big Spin-A-Thon fundraiser. The girls will stay up all through the night spinning flag, rifle, and/or saber for donations. This will be the first time I have done this type of fundraiser so I hope it goes well. It should be pretty fun!

The Middle School is doing well...they have a little more time before their first show. They have about 2/3 of their show done and the keep improving every practice, which is what we need that group to do. I think they will end up having a great season.

UCM is ahead of schedule with their show so we are really excited for them to perform. Some of them have never done winter guard before so I look forward to seeing them experience their first competition.

I am crazy busy working with the 3 groups as well as now planning a wedding....but its great! Its what I always thought I would be doing. I am lucky to get to work with such a great group of kids and have such a wonderful staff to help me out when I need it.

Performance Night for Spin Clinic

Saturday was such a fun experience. The kids were GREAT and energetic and learned their routine really fast!

There were some giggles.....which really made the morning. Along with dancing and spinning flags they got to have lots of cookies and juice. We played games and had an all around good time. I think the kids were probably really worn out when they went home....which I am sure the parents were happy about!

Tonight they perform at the HS Girls Varsity game.....for half time! A pretty VIP performance slot Id say! : ) They will do great and look cute.....of course!

Ill post a video of the performance this week!

First Ever!

Tomorrow with be the first ever Odessa Color Guard Spin Clinic for students in 3rd - 6th grade!

When I first decided to do this new fundraiser I really didn't know what to expect. Working at both the Upper Elementary I knew I could get the word around well. At OUE I showed the 2008 Odessa Winter Guard show to each of my classes and at the Middle School I put an announcement in. I made the best effort I knew I could....but still didn't know how many kids would actually be interested enough to come in on a Saturday and learn to spin flag.

We ended up with 40 kids signing up for the clinic! A few more than I had anticipated for the very first year. So much so, that there wasn't enough fabric at JoAnn's or Hobby Lobby or Michael's when we went to get poly china silk to make little flags for the kids. Chris had to go down town for me and get full bolts of fabric! But, it was worth it because it was EXACTLY like the High School flag silks and I know the little kids will love that.

The first time is always pretty scary! I am really not sure what to expect tomorrow.....but I know the kids will be excited and CUTE! We have a hand full of High School kids coming to help so that is good. Parents are bringing snacks to make the time even more enjoyable. And my mom will be there! : )

Check back for pics of the clinic!

Glimpse of the 2 Shows

The Middle School show is titled "Birds on a Wire"

And the High School show is titled "Protectors from Above"

Look for more details about the show in the next few days!

A recap about the Fall season

This has been a crazy summer and fall. I wanted to write more about the progression of the Odessa group but things became very hectic very quickly. But it was good! I’ll go through a little bit of what happened this summer and fall and then we can start thinking about the upcoming winter season!

The summer started a little slow. It took some time for the guard staff to really lock into their rolls and get use to each other on an instruction level and not just friends. The girls also had a LOT of adjusting to do. A completely new staff with a director with a very different style and approach than they were use to. Practices were quiet and somewhat tense at first. I wanted to focus a TON on movement, which was something they were not use to and a part they didn't seem to like very much. By the end of June we had probably around 16 different across the floors for the girls to do every day. More than 1/3 of our time was focused on movement and there were some practices that we never even picked up equipment.

The weapon lines had a good start and I made sure to start slow to allow for girls who ever spun weapon to get the basics and try out. Doing that added a couple girls to the line who never would have made it if we had jumped right into triples and quads. The girls who had been on weapon for a year or two had to learn some patience, but I think they saw the benefits. We also had to really look at the technique of the rifle and saber line. Most of the sabers were spinning their sabers just like rifle. So, we broke down the difference between the 2 pieces of equipment which has been very beneficial to both lines. Our “A” lines didn't do anything higher than a triple for the first 2 months and the “B” line focused on doubles. Once we pushed it up a notch the girls were amazed how much easier it was then they originally thought it would be to do the “bigger tosses”. Now, our “B” line is doing pretty well on quads and they never thought they would be able to say that.

Near the end of the summer our band director got an offer at a different school and decided to take the job. The staff all knew it was the best choice for him and his family and we wished him the best of luck! The former assistant at Odessa applied for the new opening and ended up getting the job so there wasn’t much adjustment for that. We just had to push band camp back a week to allow for interviews and all that. But, the transition went really smooth and we headed on into the school year.

Once school started everything started flying by. The guard had Monday and Wednesday sectionals and the full band and guard had Tuesday and Thursday evening rehearsals. We were a little behind on music memorization and drill and we have been playing catch up the entire season. So practices had to move quickly…but luckily the guard was always right on top of things.

Our last competitive performance we were at UCM for the Festival of Champions. I was really looking forward to seeing how the girls would perform after months of practice and training. It was an exciting day and a little bit of a sad one as well. Fortunately I think the girls were very pumped up about the winter season so they weren't real sad to see the fall end. 

Now we are on our way with the Winter Season! The Middle School group has 22 girls on the team and the High School has 15 girls and 1 boy! Tomorrow will be our first camp so I will post more about the shows after that! 

From the other side.....

It is so weird when you get to the point in your life when you are working with one of your "idols" and not just learning choreography from them. That is what these past Kim Kamps have been like for me. A very surreal couple days.

While I was on guard down at MSU I always wanted to be just like Kim when it came to guard things. When I aged out, I dreamed of the day when I had a guard and could bring her in to work with them. Still trying to learn from her. Well, now at OHS I have the opportunity to bring her in to work with the girls. I think they learned a lot from her and I am having a wonderful time being around her on this side of things.

The guard has been able to learn the beginning skeleton of the Density Study. I really cant wait to see what it will end up looking like. The summer is progressing and going by fast....we still have a lot to learn but they are improving each week.

Kim Kamp

Kim Kamp was this Friday and I think the day went VERY well.

Our first session was from 9-12 and we spent the ENTIRE time on body. I told the girls we wouldn't do our work out Friday morning since Kim was there, so they were very excited about that; however, I don't think they expected to spend 3 hours on movement.

Movement is always a BIG focus for me with the guards I work with because most guard girls don't come in having a ton of dance background AND movement is super important in the guard activity. Our girls on the ODMOCG are just like very other guard....not a lot of dance background.....so the 3 hours on movement was very helpful! I think they had fun, worked hard, and improved a very noticeable amount.

For the second session, running from 3-6, we worked with the weapons. We spent some time on technique and then the girls learned a 16 count choreography phrase. By the end of the day we were able to pick the weapon lines and those lists will be posted before practice on Tuesday. I am very excited for our Rifle and Saber sections this season. I think they will be very impressive.

This summer is going to be hard work for the ODMOCG girls. They are still young, but eager to do some challenging things. Its not always "fun" to work and work on the little details, but it WILL make them more successful in the long run and I think they know that. I just cant wait to see what this team will look like when school starts. They have already improved so much in these first few weeks.

A new place...

Wow! It has been a WHILE!

A lot has happened since I started the winter guard season with Park Hill South. The group did a wonderful job and I had a great time working with them. Around the end of the season I had a decision to make....a guard position had opened up and I needed to decide if I wanted to "throw my hat in the ring" for the job or not. I ended up applying for the job and was selected for the position.

I am now the new Color Guard Director at Odessa High School!!!

ODMOCG has already had their auditions for fall and have been working hard during their twice a week rehearsals. It is an adjustment period right now...the girls are learning about me and I am learning about them! First, I am (obviously) evaluating who can do what....picking out the rifle and saber lines. Also, the girls are starting to learn the technique that I am wanting to group to use....as well as starting to understand what I hold to me most important! MOVEMENT!!!

We have also started our Work Out. The girls were really excited at first, but that excitement wore off when they realized how intense the work out was actually going to be. Once they do it for a couple weeks I think it will get easier and they will enjoy it more. And they will enjoy it when they start to see their strength with equipment and endurance grow.

I will be posting more on here, because another exciting thing going on is our photographer and webmaster at Odessa is creating a NEW color guard website for the groups. My blog will be linked to that so the girls can read additional information. It is going to look awesome I just know it!

The thing that I think I am the most excited about right now is my staff. I get to work with 2 wonderful women! We have so much fun together and they are teaching the girls amazing things! I am looking forward to seeing our relationships grow as well as our team.
 

That's about all for my update. Check back for more later!

A New Season!!!

A couple weeks ago the Park Hill South guard opened up auditions for the winter guard season. We were looking to grown in numbers of course.....but I was also looking forward to finding some new talent.

We had 10 girls return from the fall...the same girls to marched with us in our competitive shows and we ended up having 10 new students audition. It was very exciting to think that we might have a chance to DOUBLE the group in the course of 5 days...very exciting!

When auditions were over we ended up taking 17 into the winter guard...10 returning members and 7 new! We even have 1 boy on the guard, which the girls were very excited about.

Since auditions we have had 3 rehearsals, focusing on training and giving all the members a good foundations before we start in on the show. The first night we literally stayed in the dance room for the full 3 hours! : )

Last night we taught a 16 count phrase that will be in the show and this Thursday we start on staging! I am super excited about this season...I look forward to seeing how the kids grow and improve. I have seen so much come out of them already. I cant wait to see what they look like on March 3rd!

Ill keep posting on our progress....and even post some videos of our new exercises we are doing. Should be FUN!

PHS Eye Make Up

Ok girls....found a video on how I want your eye make up to look. I have the eye shadow to make this happen but if you have eye shadow colors that are VERY close to the ones the girls uses in the video than you can use them. It needs to be dark remember, because we are performing far away from our audience!

First, here is the eye shadows I have that you will be using.

This color we will put all over the lid. It needs to be a light (maybe even with time shimmer to it) shade of purple.

The second color is the middle one your see in the picture below. It needs to be a dark purple and will be applied to the outside half of the lid and the crease. The third color needs to be a super dark purple or a midnight blue like the bottom color you see in the picture below. This will be applied to the outside triangle. The last color is the High Light color...the top color you see in the picture below. We will put this in this inside corners of the eye and right below the eye brow.

Again, if you have (very) similar colors then use them. But watch the video a couple times and practice it on your self before Friday. Hopefully we will have a few of you who can do this VERY well and can help the others. Here is the video....



I am also adding one more video! Something I thought you might like for the eye liner!



Its simple but cute.

Oh! And don't forget your lip stick! I needs to be darker than what you would usually wear!!!

Eventually I think Id like for everyone to start wearing fake eye lashes! So, Ill get you a video on that soon!

PHS Sock Bun

Hey girls! Hope this helps since I wont be able to be there for your game on Friday! I know my blog has music and it might make it hard to hear the video...so just scroll all the way down to the bottom of my blog and pause the music.

Both girls use tube socks for their buns.....and since a lot of you have LONG hair and had a lot of hair to wrap around the bun last time, maybe a longer sock would help. So, if you have darker hair get a pair of black tube socks and if you have blonde hair get a pair of white tube socks. Those of you who have really long hair you might want to double up the sock like the one girls does in the video....those who have more of a medium length can probably just use one.

If you didn't have a lot of hair to wrap around your bun the last time then you can probably just use the sock you did last time.

Ok, here are the 2 videos. Remember! For our guard hair we are doing a LOW SIDE BUN. The part must be on the left and the bun must be on the right. As low as possible and as much to the right as possible. It should be very close to your right ear.

Notice how smooth their pony tails are before they even do the bun. we will have NO bangs out and everything should be smooth and pulled back. It is important that we all look the same and the hair is as clean and neat as possible. We will not braid the hair....looks like it might cause more bumps and we don't want that.

Finally Back

It has been a WHILE since I have been able to post. But I am back....Finally!

Since the last update...winter guard for Willard was just crazy busy and the season flew by. Both the Middle School and the High School had great seasons.....both finishing 2nd in their class and receiving the Silver Medal! I hope the girls were happy with how the season finished up....I know I was very proud of both groups.

After the winter guard season the decision for me to move to KC was made.....which made things even more frantic and busy. With the move coming up I really didn't have a guard lined out to work with so I didn't have much to post at the time. There were a few programs that may have had openings, but I just had to wait till I was actually up in KC and could meet with people.

During the summer I spent my time moving.....one on my least favorite things to do. But I also was able to work with Lindsey Hansen on a couple of her guards. I was able to help her out with the Blue Springs Color Guard and the Webb City Color Guard....which was more fun then I even anticipated! Lots of energy and enthusiasm working with a designer like Lindsey, I hope to do it again next summer!

I also worked with the Salem Color Guard again this summer. This was my 3rd season with them. Each year gets better and better and I am looking forward to seeing how they are next year.

By the end of the summer I was asked to come on staff at Park Hill South to help with their color guard. The band director there has been there now for 3 years and is taking them in a great direction. I am having a great time working with him as well as the color guard sponsor.

The girls are great as well....energetic and willing to work! I have high hopes for them and some big dreams for their future seasons!

That's about it for now. Good Luck to all the Marching programs and their seasons this fall!

4 Days and Counting...

We have 4 days till our next competition! Super excited!

Practice went really well this morning for the High School girls. We finished our new ending and also worked the beginning.

We are trying to work our way through our big moments of the show this week. Making sure those are as strong as they can be for the weekend. No big changes with the snow hitting the other week and cutting out 6 of our 8 rehearsals.

The Middle School will be adding on their ending today as well. Then we will work through the show and try to detail as much as we can....without maxing out their brains!

MS Guard this Friday

For the first time the Middle School Winter Guard did a full run through of their 2011 show! We still need to add on the ending and fill in a few transitions....but it is still pretty full!

I'm so proud of them! They are doing a great job!

This coming week we will just get the girls more and more comfortable with the show, clean up some transitions, teach Bethany (the girl that walks through the diagonal) her solo, and put on the ending.

I cant wait for the Parkview show! Wish them luck! : )

Crazy Week!

I meant to video the Middle School's run through last night.....but I have been all over the place this week and my camera died 1 minute into the show!

With all the snow days and Late Start days.....I just cant seem to get back into the swing of things. I don't normally "forget" to do thing. I plan things out and get the job done, but this week I have dropped the ball on a couple occasions!

We have MS rehearsal tonight so I will try to video their run though, again! It is super cute! There are a couple empty ish places, but I don't want to max them out, so we will probably leave them that way for the Parkview show. Wish them luck!!!

Dedication

A couple weeks ago something that has never happened to me, as an Instructor, actually happened. A girl on my guard was injured! Like....really bad.

It is a long story, one that I feel like I have told a million times because everyone wants to know what happened. But to make a long story short, one of our best middle school girls broke a growth plat while she was doing the splits. Crazy!

This girl is nothing like I have ever taught before in my life. I am going on 8 years of teaching color guard now....and she is amazing. Completely fearless and dedicated to the team and the activity. She practices all the time and after only a couple months on rifle...can throw a quad. And not like what you might be thinking...were she just chucks it up in the air. She has perfect technique! Perfect.

She had a solo in the show....a nice triple, very exciting for a Middle School show. So, we had to have someone else step up and do it while she is out. But, one of our 7th graders rose to the challenge.

I know is she bumbed out....having to be out of the show...but she comes to all the practices and cheers on her team! Like I said....she is unlike anyone I have ever taught before in my life!

Extraordinary at the age of 13!

Here she is, the first practice after getting hurt!





And the entire team cant wait to have her back. They were all very worried for her, I know.





Every day we have rehearsal, I look forward to seeing these 25 girls. They are wonderful to work with and practice so hard. We give them a 10 min break, they take 2 and then practice on their own. I look forward to seeing how they will turn out by the end of the season. It will be great, I'm sure!

Another Hair Video

Here is another hair video.....it goes into how to do the hair style a little bit more than the others. I like how far forward the braids are in the other video I posted....but maybe this video will help you more.

Hair Style for HS guard

Hey girls. On your day off how about you try this hair style for our "show hair" this year!

I really liked the look of Sam's hair that one day at rehearsal.....so I went looking on youtube.com to find a tutorial to teach us all how to do it.

I found 2 links...

This one I like the most. But once you get the double braids to hold back the front of your hair DO NOT put the hair up and back. We will leave the hair down.....with some teasing to give it some volume.




Here is a second video that just goes into where and how to make the braids.....the braids are not holding back the front of her hair so I dont like it as much.





This looks like something we can do very quickly and easily. It didnt look like every one's hair could do the "Gabby poof" (and look mostly the same for all of you) so we need to find something EASY that everyone can do.

Feel free to text me if it works or if you think you will need help with this style.