As you may have heard, the 1234A State Marching Band Championship was cancelled last Saturday. Our students were ready to go in the parking lot at Hutch CC—we had ponchos over our uniforms and had just set up all of our equipment in the cold rain when lightning delayed the event by 45 minutes. Two bands had already performed, and our band was chomping at the bit to perform, despite the cold and wet conditions. One of the most important lessons my students learn through band is how to adapt, overcome, and push through difficult obstacles in order to achieve their goals, and that’s exactly what they were ready to do. It made me incredibly proud to see the months of training and years of culture-building culminating in this moment.
Unfortunately, the lightning delay had just expired when it was suddenly announced that the remainder of the competition would be cancelled, and we were given this information knowing that there were no plans to reschedule the competition. You can imagine the disbelief and heartbreak of our students when I told them the news, and there were many tears, especially from our Seniors who didn’t get this chance to march their final show. For many of them, this was supposed to be the very last time in their lives they would get to march on a field.
It’s a very hard pill to swallow, knowing the potential our band had that day and having it suddenly taken away just moments before. Months of preparation had led to this moment, and just like that, it was over.
Here was my message to the students once it was confirmed there would be no reschedule:
You had an incredible run that very well could have ended in winning a State Championship. Two band directors at state told me their students were looking forward to seeing your show. You have helped build this band’s reputation alongside its strength and tenacity. You have proven yourself multiple times this year, and that is something we can all be very proud of. An ending like this to such a great season isn't fair, but if there's anything I hope I've taught you all, it's that life is full of obstacles and struggles. Things aren't going to go your way all the time, and it's up to each one of us to make this decision: Do I wallow in bitterness and dwell on what could have been? Or do I remain proud of our accomplishments and push forward, focusing on completing our next goal to the very best of our abilities? I'm choosing the latter, and I hope you will, too.
We still have many opportunities for outstanding performances this year! Keep your chins up, and let's focus on nailing our upcoming Veterans Day performances!
To view more accomplishes of the LHS Band go toLHS BAND