TXMarchingMadness87654

It was also very exciting for Haltom, having made finals in a BOA contest for the first time since 2007. Having had a bus breakdown on the way there and other such challenges, including the ferry/lunch that was planned for Friday being canceled, Haltom gave two stunning performances and were beside themselves getting to be a part of the finals retreat. It was great seeing both Texas bands make finals and I was personally thrilled to not only sit behind some awesome Blue Springs band parents but also visit with some Martin parents. Not just because Haltom made finals...but this was the most overly friendly, lovely BOA event I've been to in 6 years. I hope Haltom goes again. (and I'm exhausted! lol Band kids are the hardest working kids in high school and Band parents are the hardest working parents! Congrats to all bands!)

Thanks! Haltom is heading out tonight! Charter buses, trailers, band kids, instruments, parents, and loads and loads of Gatorade and water...what a trip! Can't wait to see them perform on Saturday. Wishing all participating bands the very best, especially to our fellow Texas band, James Martin! Keep the Spirit!

Two Texas Bands competing in this mega-regional. Good luck, Haltom and James Martin! Friday, October 17, 2014 9:30 a.m. - Box Office Opens 10:30 a.m. - STADIUM GATES OPEN 11:00 a.m. - Tahlequah Senior H.S., OK 11:15 a.m. - Lincoln Community H.S., IL 11:30 a.m. - Parkway North H.S., MO 11:45 a.m. - Fort Zumwalt East H.S., MO 12:00 a.m. - Collinsville H.S., IL 12:15 p.m. - Francis Howell Central H.S., MO 12:30 p.m. - Saint James School, AL 12:45 p.m. - Parkway Central H.S., MO 1:00 p.m. - Blue Springs H.S., MO 1:15 p.m. - Parkway South H.S., MO 1:30 p.m. - Jefferson City H.S., MO 1:45 p.m. - Rockwood Summit H.S., MO 2:00 p.m. - Fort Zumwalt South H.S., MO 2:15 p.m. - Fox Senior H.S., MO 2:30 p.m. - BREAK 3:00 p.m. - David H. Hickman H.S., MO 3:15 p.m. - Lindbergh H.S., MO 3:30 p.m. - Union City H.S., TN 3:45 p.m. - Fort Zumwalt West H.S., MO 4:00 p.m. - Illinois Valley Central H.S., IL 4:15 p.m. - Wentzville Holt H.S., MO 4:30 p.m. - Normal West H.S., IL 4:45 p.m. - Paragould H.S., MO 5:00 p.m. - East Peoria Community H.S., IL 5:15 p.m. - BREAK 6:15 p.m. - Plainfiled North H.S., IL 6:30 p.m. - Fort Zumwalt North H.S., MO 6:45 p.m. - Grain Valley H.S., MO 7:00 p.m. - Kickapoo H.S., MO 7:15 p.m. - O'Fallon Township H.S., IL 7:30 p.m. - Blue Valley H.S., KS 7:45 p.m. - Union H.S., OK 8:00 p.m. - Belleview East H.S., IL 8:15 p.m. - Camdenton H.S., MO 8:30 p.m. - Nixa H.S., MO 8:45 p.m. - Preliminary Competition Ends Saturday, October 18, 2014 7:00 a.m. - GATES and Box Office Opens 7:30 a.m. - Metamora Township H.S., IL 7:45 a.m. - Mustang H.S., OK 8:00 a.m. - Rosemount H.S., MN 8:15 a.m. - Blue Valley West H.S., KS 8:30 a.m. - Lemont H.S., IL 8:45 a.m. - Bellevue West H.S., NE 9:00 a.m. - Mountain Home Senior H.S., AR 9:15 a.m. - Marshall H.S., MN 9:30 a.m. - Naperville Central H.S., IL 9:45 a.m. - James Martin H.S., TX 10:00 a.m. - BREAK 10:30 a.m. - Lockport Township H.S., IL 10:45 a.m. - Lincoln H.S., SD 11:00 a.m. - Roosevelt H.S., SD 11:15 a.m. - Fayetteville H.S., AR 11:30 a.m. - Neosho H.S., MO 11:45 a.m. - Eden Prairie H.S., MN 12:00 p.m. - Lafayette H.S., KY 12:15 p.m. - Bentonville H.S., AR 12:30 p.m. - Haltom H.S., TX 12:45 p.m. - Legend H.S., CO 1:00 p.m. - LUNCH 1:30 p.m. - Van Buren H.S., AR 1:45 p.m. - Lake Hamilton H.S., AR 2:00 p.m. - Choctaw H.S., OK 2:15 p.m. - Owasso H.S., OK 2:30 p.m. - Paul Lawrence Dunbar H.S., KY 2:45 p.m. - Eastview H.S, MN 3:00 p.m. - Jenk H.S., OK 3:15 p.m. - Lee's Summit North H.S., MO 3:30 p.m. - Irondale H.S., MN 3:45 p.m. - Broken Arrown H.S., OK 4:00 p.m. - Preliminary Competition Ends 4:15 p.m. - PRESENATION OF AWARDS 6:15 p.m. - STADIUM GATES OPEN for Finals 6:45 p.m. - National Anthemn 7:14 p.m. - Finals Competition Begins

Really enjoyed James Martin's show last Saturday! Very, very well-done! Good luck on Saturday.

Cannot wait to see Hebron. I loved their show last year. Marcus is always a class act and am interested in seeing what they bring, as well. Heck...I can't wait to see as many of them as I can!!! What a fun competition! Bring on the bands...and can I just mention how much I love the crowds at competitions? It's band fever! woo

You need to re-read my first comment. I did not say that Richland Band booed Haltom's performance. I said the student section did. I also said that, while I have no evidence otherwise, there could be some rogue students at Haltom who vandalized Richland's property. That is absolutely wrong and stupid. I never claimed Haltom to be "all angels," or Richland to be "all devils." In fact, I stated quite the opposite in that Haltom and Richland bands have shown a lot of love for each other(at least most of them) over the past four years, since they traveled together to the Rose Parade. There are good kids and bad kids at BOTH campuses. I also never said there wasn't any bashing from Haltom kids, but was there loud booing coming from Haltom's side during Richland band's performance? No? Okay, then. That's my point. Just because there is a rivalry or because there are a few stupid actions by both sides, doesn't mean it's suddenly okay for Haltom BAND to be booed quite loudly during their performance. To suggest that it's okay because of vandalism, imo, is wrong. In fact, if anything, you should want to represent Richland's band as a band who expects everyone to respect the other bands. Football games are hard enough to perform at, as is these days. If the sides had been turned, I and the Haltom band would be deeply embarrassed. The band does their best to show respect to other bands when they're performing their shows...and are very upset when fans or football team members don't do the same. In fact, there have been times when two or three people are behind me at games and I've told them to be quiet while the band is performing. Bands should stick together, when it comes to performances. It's good for the district as a whole, when Birdville, Richland, and Haltom support one another...and stand up for one another. I can't be certain, but I believe at yesterday's contest, it was Birdville who cheered loudly for Haltom and we certainly returned the cheering for them. It was a proud moment for both BISD bands to make it to finals.

Highland Park did fantastic yesterday. I was really impressed with their performance. My second favorite of finals was actually James Martin. Their sound was incredible! Forney, Boswell, and (shout out!) Birdville all did very well, imo. Really great contest! I think Highland Park just knocked it out of the park(no pun intended lol) yesterday. Very long but very fun day! So proud of Haltom for taking the title again this year...and SO thankful that it didn't rain!

Haltom BAND spray painted it? Is that what you're saying? I don't think so. So because of some vandalism that was most likely done by a very few rogue people, Haltom's band deserved to be booed during their performance? Come on, now. Haltom's band has shown nothing but love for Richland's band, especially since we all traveled together to the Rose Parade back in 2010. Booing ANY band during their performance is completely uncalled for...and by the way, we've read the tweets that were sent out on the day of the game. Please...PLEASE don't act like Richland is full of perfect angels and Haltom is full of devils....k? Regardless, the booing was unnecessary and rude. On a side note: I should point out that when we traveled to Midlothian a couple of weeks ago and performed at their Homecoming game, not only were the spectators wonderful, but we received a letter thanking us for making their Homecoming even more special with our performance. That is truly a LOVELY thing to do! I would also like to say that my fondest memory from last year was traveling to Southlake Carroll. Not only were the spectators there respectful and generous with their applause, the band kids were outstanding, kind, and had a great time visiting with Haltom's band...the ones who came over. The band parents for Southlake were also SO nice! What a fantastic experience. I want to make sure that I point out the times when we encounter not only respectful fans but also awesome band members and their folks. There are truly some wonderful people in the band world!

RESULTS: Outstanding Percussion: Boswell HS Outstanding Color Guard: Forney HS Outstanding Musicality: Haltom HS Outstanding Overall Visual: Haltom HS Best Soloist: Flute Soloist: Haltom HS 10th - 74.7 - Little Elm HS 9th - 79.2 - Midlothian HS 8th - 80.5 - Boswell HS 7th - 81.25 - Forney HS 6th - 84.9 - Birdville HS 5th - 85.6 - Timberview HS 4th - 87.35 - Highland Park HS 3rd - 89.8 - James Martin HS 2nd - 90.7 - Lake Ridge HS 1st - 92.32 - Haltom HS WAY TO GO, HALTOM!!!! WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!!!!!

Very disappointed that the student section of Richland booed quite loudly during Haltom's performance tonight. So much so that our principal came over and apologized that it happened and said that Richland's principal is very upset. I understand rivalries...I really do...but that was entirely ridiculous and immature...disrespectful also comes to mind. What a shame.

And for Haltom, too. My 8th grader will be there. It's always a fun night when Haltom and Richland play each other!

Well, I think everyone knows I'm a Haltom person...lol...So I will be at the game Friday. Haltom's show is entitled "Dragon Ritual" and I think it holds quite a few surprises this year. As others have said, it is still kind of early in the year, but...Haltom is going to its first contest the following day...Mansfield's Preview of Champions, so I expect they will be as polished as possible. I haven't heard about Richland's show, but am looking forward to seeing it. We are the visitors this year, so I'm going to try to make it over to the home side to get the "full effect" of both shows. Wish me luck! I'm looking forward to seeing both!!!

Schedule for the contest on Sep. 27, 2014 Sorry! ugh It's less than a week away and there's no schedule up? I clicked on the 2014 Information and this came up, but I didn't pay attention to the date...stupidly assuming they would have a current schedule there. *sigh* Anyway...sorry everyone...if anyone from Mansfield knows the schedule, could you please post it? There's nothing on the website!

Well, Haltom is playing Southlake Carroll, Euless Trinity, Coppell, LD Bell, and Colleyville Heritage...we certainly understand being on the losing side of things, but this year looks to be even more brutal than usual. Yes, Haltom band has left in the second half of a game due to leaving for a contest later that evening or the next day. All that being said and regardless of the band's priorities, a band should NOT play when a football player is injured on the field. There are some basic things that, while the band is in the stands, they should and should not do and they are not hard to figure out. Now, if only we could figure out how to teach the football players and especially their coaches some basic rules to follow while the BAND is on the field!!! We had some real issues last year with some teams we played, including a "star" quarterback for the other team joking about knocking one of our drum majors off the rolling stand with his football. That is completely unacceptable and I would be embarrassed if our football team did the same!

Here's the results I've gotten from today:

Do they have Allen listed differently? Didn't see them on the list. Also, what's up with "Fort Worth Richland" and "Fort Worth Haltom"? They have "North Richland Hills Birdville," so I don't understand how Haltom and Richland ended up listed as Fort Worth schools. Weird. Anyway, I don't think it really changes all that much. Am looking forward to seeing the new alignments come February, so we can see who we're going to be playing against.

I just HAVE to send a special "thanks" to the Southlake Carroll fans/band parents/band kids. Haltom played our last game against their... well...amazing team. What stood out was how awesome their fans were during the performance of our show. The band kids that I encountered were class acts all around, too. The band was lined up at the end zone with their drill team(another talented group) lined up in front of them. When the rest of our "creatures" entered the field, the drill team jumped and screamed with surprise. (too cute!) The entire stadium quieted down while Haltom performed and all cheered at the end. We band parents, after such so-so, bleh experiences at the other games, all agreed that Southlake Carroll is CLASS...the best we've "met" this season. Their show is great, too! The drum majors were fun when they came to visit and it felt like they were just band kids having fun with other band kids. Sincerely impressed. Kudos to them!

To be honest, when I talk about having more judges and dropping the lowest and highest(Olympics style), I'm talking for all contests, not just UIL. I simply don't know how to make it happen in a fair way. The area competition was wacky, but that happens. I suppose in the end, it's just "the way it is" and we deal and move on.

I have actually talked with other parents about adding judges and dropping the highest and lowest scores for each band. Not sure if it would work or not, but it might help with some of the wacky disparities. Who knows for sure, though? I don't think talking about it takes anything away from the bands who medaled tonight. It's an interesting thing to think about. I know lots of people who feel the same way about the big differences that occur. Certainly, it's something to consider for the future. Anyway, for tonight, I think every band that made it to State should be proud. Every band that made the cut into finals should be elated, and each band that medaled should be ecstatic! Kudos to you all!

Wow! What an amazing two days of bands at their best! Congratulations to all of the bands that made it to State. What a wonderful, memory-making accomplishment. For those who made finals -- way to go!!! Thanks to the Daniels for their VERY long weekend of live bloggin' & keeping all of us "in the know." Very sad to see this marching season coming to an end. It's been GREAT!!! Good luck at GNats, Texas competitors! You make us proud!

I 100% agree. It's an eye-rolling experience for the rest of us. We cheer, yell, clap, hollar, etc. for our kids. Shouting chants that, frankly, go on and on and on, just screams "we think we're better parents than you because we've got this little chant going." ugh I also think something's been lost in the etiquette of contests. Yes, you're proud of your child and some contests even have "shout outs" for the purpose of naming your child(which is fine to me), but unless there's a scheduled "shout out," I wish people would stop with the "Go, Sarah!!!!! We love youuuuuu!!!!!" business at the contests. That group of kids on the field is a TEAM. No one should be singled out by the fans in the stands, with the exception of the aforementioned "shout outs," which are done by staff at the contests. I wish there was some training on contest etiquette. Like I mentioned before, I was verbally accosted by a parent at a contest that I was volunteering at because he and his wife chose to stand at a gate and try to talk over the band that was performing on the field. Contest etiquette...just sayin'. Once the band is on the field, there should be ONLY clapping at "high points" in the show. Let the bands get the attention...not you...because of your incessant screaming during the performance or talking over the band. ugh Would love to know how the kids feel on the field when some of this happens. I know the chants that occur are most likely a tradition and maybe the kids like it. However, just so ya know, the rest of us loathe it. lol Anyway, let's get the focus back on those amazing, hard-working kids!

I still think Ms. Drinkwater has something extra up her sleeves. Charmed has potential. I mean, their soloist plays a snake instrument! What?! I wouldn't count them out just yet. I'm sure they'll use the results at SA as a learning tool. The Woodlands show is amazing! Looking forward to seeing them medal at GNats.

Seems Haltom is often forgotten in these lists. Guess winning at Mansfield, placing fourth at Duncanville and tying for 22nd (a move up over the last few years) at BOA SA matters not? Yes, I'm a band mom there, so I'm biased. However, we have had a lot of face-to-face compliments on the show this year. There was an audible gasp of excitement at BOA Friday night and a very nice standing ovation from those in the stadium. Plus, you can't beat the two Daniels' compliments on their live blog, plus the three pictures that were included(thanks, guys!...and yes, the kids like the Zerg references!) Haltom had a big change when Mr. Matthews and then Mr. Maughmer left and went to LD Bell, but what the new band directors have accomplished over the years is pretty awesome and I believe w/o a doubt we are on the rise. The "21-25 respectively" should actually include Haltom, at the very least. Those kids work just as hard as the others on that list and should be recognized for it. Again, my kid is in the band and so I'm letting my bias show. My apologies if that offends someone. I know that there are Haltom kids who check this forum and it would be nice if once in a while one of these lists of "could haves" included them, too. If there had been a semi-finals and it had been the top 25-30, these are the bands that would've gotten to perform again: 15. Leander 84.55 16. Spring 84.10 17. Vista Ridge 84.05 18. Flower Mound 82.90 19. Anderson 82.40 20. Mansfield 82.25 21. Keller Central 82.00 22. Haltom 81.75 22. James Martin 81.75 24. Plano East 81.55 25. James E. Taylor 81.30 26. Winston Churchill 80.80 27. The Woodlands College Park 80.75 28. Keller 80.60 29. Hendrickson 80.00 30. North Shore Senior 78.25 How fun!

I think the bands that made the top 30 would've been great to see again. (Of course, I'm a tad bias in that Haltom tied for 22nd ) It would be interesting to see how it would play out with a second run through for those 30 bands. What fun!

Have to agree. I think some are in denial of what those early times do. Haltom won the title at Mansfield and came in fourth at Duncanville and 22nd out of 64 in BOA SA. In BOA DFW, they were the first band. Had to be at the band hall at 5:30am Saturday morning and had no practice/run through time before heading to Allen. They placed 16th. No matter what people might say, an early performance time where there is no opportunity to run through the show before, makes a difference. It obviously did at BOA SA. The Woodlands show is amazing. Kudos to them and I wish them the best at GNats! On a side note: Can people not be happy in making finals? That's quite a feat! A LOT of really amazing, talented bands didn't make it to finals yesterday. Maybe it's just me, but for those who did make it into that top 14, you should be beyond thrilled, no matter the outcome. Also, I agree with others who have said maybe it's time to have a semi-finals at BOA SA. Just think about having all those amazing bands performing again. It would give them another chance to see what they can do and it would be SO fun to see!