Drumming up school spirit
An inside look on the drumline
The school’s drumline has been rehearsing since August in order to maintain their skill level.
Things are looking dreary by the time the third quarter arrives. Down by six points, the football team and student section has lost its usual upbeat attitude. But then they hear it, they hear the drums. The students explode with noise as the school’s drumline makes their way down the sideline towards them.
The drumline plays on the sidelines, at pep rallies and in the morning on the days of football games. The line consists of four different instruments—Tenor, Bass, Snare and Cymbal. Senior Tenor player and drumline captain Zachary Porter has been involved with drumming most of his life and believes that it provides a fun spirit to the crowd.
“Being on the being field with the rest of the drumline is something that I will never forget,” Porter said. “It is so much fun for us to play for the student section and I’m glad they enjoy it so much.”
Junior snare captain Jackson Lightfoot agrees with Porter, and said that playing on the sidelines is one of his favorite things about being in band.
Senior Ryan Branum has been on the drumline since his freshman year.
“Drumline is definitely an essential part to football games,” Lightfoot said. “We practice almost every day in order to sound as good as we do.”
According to Lightfoot, the drumline started been practicing the first week of August.
“I keep both the drumline and front ensemble in check,” drum specialist Loreeta Main said. “It makes me proud to see how hard both groups work and to see them achieve so much.”
According to Main, being on the drumline takes a lot of dedication, individual and group practice. Most students started on percussion while they were in junior high.
“I’ve been on the bassline since my freshman year,” senior bass captain John Lawrence said. “It’s a really fun organization and a really tight knit group of friends who just like drumming together.”
Senior Nicholas Mikolajchak, an active participant in the student section, is a big fan of the schools drumline and said that they only add to the spirit the students already have.
“They always get the student section really hype,” Mikolachjik said. “The games just wouldn’t be the same without them.”
