While the color guard program is sometimes overlooked, it is a crucial part of the Green Hope community. They perform at every football game as well as participating in competitions outside of school.
Green Hope Junior Emily Dolle has been a part of the marching band since seventh grade. She made the switch to color guard once her mother, who participated in color guard throughout her high school years, recommended it to her.
When asked to describe color guard, Dolle said, “In simple terms, color guard is the people with the flags that stand near the band. On top of just flags, we have a weapon line that spins rifles and sabers. Obviously, they are both made of plastic, but it adds more depth to our routines.”
The students involved in color guard must be dedicated to their activity as there is a rigorous schedule they stick to. They practice on Mondays and Wednesdays as well as Thursdays, which are full ensemble days. Full ensemble is both marching band and color guard on the field practicing together.
Through the season, practices have different setups depending on the upcoming events. “Before football games, in practices we go set by set, which is us breaking down each step of our routines, or if it’s the beginning of the season, we learn new choreography,” Dolle stated.
To explain the breakdown of full ensembles, Dolle said, “On full ensemble days we go outside onto the football field with the marching band and learn new drill, meaning we learn our placement on the field, or we will put our choreography that we learned on Monday and Wednesday into practice.”
The practices paid off because Green Hope sent the marching band to Nationals this year. “Going to grand nationals at Indianapolis and that was extremely cool to be a part of. Also, our winter guard program is going to Nationals in Dayton, Ohio,” Dolle said.
Dolle is not a part of winter guard as she would rather focus on her other hobbies such as dance. She also wishes to turn her attention to her academics as being a good student is her number one priority.
Looking back, Dolle thought of her favorite experience in color guard. “I liked lunch during band camp because the color guard is able to interact with other sections and get to know the rest of the people in other sections of the band,” she said.
Social interactions are a key part of Emily’s life. She considers herself a people person and overall loves to be involved with her peers.
“I stay motivated in all aspects of life by surrounding myself with amazing people. The people are the main reason I continued color guard past freshman year. I made connections with people and I came back because I decided it was worth it after realizing my attachment to the community,” Dolle recalled.
Dolle credits color guard for shaping her into the person she is today. She will always look back on these memories fondly and is proud of how far she and her team have come.
