Spirit

I was a grand nationals in 2014 with my daughter’s high school, and saw that program win it all. The show was fantastic!

I wanted to thank everyone for your commentary. I have really enjoyed following along. Special shout-out to @Tubalord11. I greatly appreciate your positivity, knowledge, and excitement in everything you have to say. You always make me smile with your enthusiasm. Congratulations to all the Texas bands - each of you represented well, and we are so proud of you! Way to go Hebron on winning a medal! I know it wasn’t the eagle, but this is a tremendous accomplishment nonetheless, and one you should be very proud of! Everyone gave it their all and left it all on the field, and that’s all you can do. After that it is up to the judges. Be very proud of yourselves today! 👏🏻

I don’t understand this comment. What does Wakeland have to do with any of this??

I love that they came to Texas as well! I wish more would make the trip. But there’s zero incentive at this point for them to spend that kind of money when they don’t have to.

I think Avon came down one year (or was it Carmel??), and got (again, bad memory and too lazy to look it up) - I think 3rd? I know someone will correct me if I am wrong. 😉 And that was only amongst Texas bands. We are a powerhouse state in Marching band, which is why it has been said that BOA SA is the “second,” or the “other,” Grand Nats. It would be very interesting to see, with all things being equal, how well we’d stack up if any band from Texas who wanted to attend, financially could.

Apologize for the long post upfront, but this has been on my mind… I always thought it would be nice to not always hold GN in Indiana every year. Those bands never have to worry about raising the exhorbitant funds to travel to attend/compete there. Instead, they can put most funds into their shows. Do they travel out of state to attend other competitions? Absolutely. But competing at Grand Nats is a tremendous financial undertaking they do not have to worry about, and therefore get to attend this prestigious competition as a “local show.” Likewise, I’ll go out on a limb and say that just to attend the state competition, and/or BOA San Antonio, is a huge financial undertaking most bands in the state of Texas have to undertake, that the Austin and San Antonio bands don’t have to worry as much about raising funds for as well. Bands like Wakeland I’m sure would love to be able to go to Grand Nats, but just to get down to San Antonio already takes everything they have. Now that state is every year, that’s going to be even more of a financial burden. Forget about GN! Crucify me if you must for this post, but I do hope that the San Antonio and Austin area bands realize just how lucky they are. They can put the vast majority of their travel funds towards going to GN. That’s why you see them in Indianapolis far, far more often than any other bands in the state. Except maybe the TW, Coppell, and Lewisville ISD 6A bands. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Unfortunately, GN will never be a “traveling” competition, because I don’t think there’s another facility in the country that has been built specifically to house and host this competition. I’m not even sure the state comp in Texas could be moved. So, it’s a really unfortunate set of circumstances for the great majority of bands to have to deal with every single year. My daughter was very fortunate to be a member of the Wakeland band the one time they did get to go to GN, and we are so extremely grateful she got to experience it. Our band director fought for years to make it happen, and OMG the fundraising was on another level! State and sometimes BOA is our Grand Nats. Not that that is a bad thing… we are very very thankful they get to do that! But it is also a reality the vast majority of bands have to face. With that said, it isn’t lost on us up here in the DFW area that there are some good BOA competitions locally that we can compete at, so we consider ourselves fortunate in that regard. It is what it is!

I’m from Frisco, and have been since the boom started here around 2001. When we moved here there was exactly ONE high school, so there has been NO ‘conversion’ of schools to make them smaller. I would kindly ask you to not spread misinformation about a situation you know nothing about. Frisco made a decision from the get-go that we wanted a ‘smaller’ school model, and we have continued to maintain that since the start. It gives our kids far more opportunities to participate in things, and there’s absolutely NOTHING whatsoever wrong with wanting that. Frisco ISD isn’t the only school district with three high schools in finals. There is another school district that has fielded three bands in finals, and that district usually ends up sweeping the medals. Why are you focusing your ire at Frisco?? Why is there any ire at all for any program??

There’s been a lot of debate about big bands vs smaller ones, but honestly, it’s a formula with the right combination of things. Not all big bands are good. Even money to buy the best shows and equipment won’t work if you don’t build a successful program from the ground up that I believe quite frankly starts in the feeder schools. You can throw all the money in the world at a program, but size and money are not the be-all end-all, and do not automatically equal success. With that said, success definitely begets success. And you’ll have that when you have a fine arts department committed to building a program (and yes, willing to recognize the value in spending some money to do it), when your staff is willing to spend the effort in time and sweat equity to get there, when you’ve earned the support of the community, and when you are also able to attract and inspire your students to work hard to achieve. Then, success will come. Commitment + Staff + Hard work + Support + Money.

Yesssss! This has been an amazing year for our district!

Ah! I totally spaced on that! Thank you! My old brain isn’t what it used to be… 🤪

Wow!! This certainly was a competitive and fun competition! I am a former Wakeland parent, and I am SUPER proud of them for cracking that LISD state sweep juggernaut. Also very happy for Lone Star and their highest finish ever. Their show was fantastic! And (correct me if I am wrong someone) Lebanon Trail’s first finals appearance! Their future is very bright. Three Frisco bands in finals is amazing for us, and I’m extremely proud of my district! I feel like every band in this competition had amazing runs, and everyone should be so proud to end their seasons on such a fantastic note! Of course I must congratulate Cedar Park on yet another title, and Rouse for the silver! Y’all’s bands are absolute beasts! LISD is the standard all districts should aspire to. Frisco is certainly trying their best. 😉 And Forney!! Wow!! @clarinetistkai05 you must be on cloud 9 with that finish! Congratulations!! Wishing you all the best in all your future endeavors after you graduate!

Very much appreciate that you are sharing with us. Thank you!

Congratulations to all the bands who made finals! I’m actually quite shocked Aledo isn’t on that list. I feel bad for them. Special shout-out to @clarinetistkai05 and Forney… so happy you get one more performance tomorrow. Nice way to end your high school band career!

Schools will ultimately choose what’s right for them. Kudos to Vandy for going out on a limb and trying something different and blazing a new path! Admittedly though, I’m more of a traditionalist, and would hate to see schools abandoning Colorguard on the whole. I love the overall immediate visual effect and impact that colorguard conveys and adds to the show. If marching bands decide to move more towards an exclusive dance team I will definitely still enjoy it, as I love watching dance. I would just be very sad to see the Colorguard go. It is close to my heart, as my daughter was in guard. It was an activity she could do that if she hadn’t been training a good part of her life for, she could still pick up, learn, and be a creative part of something great. Perhaps there could be some sort of hybrid where both are included. I think that would be fantastic!

Absolutely! I have been a “lurker” here for years, just reading what everyone has to say, but I had to sign up to say something in this case. I could not let that stand for all Wakeland supporters. Glad to hear your other experiences with them have been more positive. Best of luck today to all the LISD and FISD schools, as well as to every high school competing. Every one of them has worked extremely hard to get here. What an absolute HONOR for them all to be competing at the Texas State Marching Band Competition! I was not fortunate to get this far as a student-performer, but my daughter was, and they are memories she will always cherish (as will I).