Color Guard Perseveres, Does Well at Competitions

JOYCE LAM

Staff Writer

During this school year, there have been many significant achievements. From Girls’ Varsity basketball taking home the Almont League Championships to Drill Team, All-Male and Orchesis placing at competitions. Each team has contributed to AHS’ accomplishments.

For Color Guard, this season has brought them plenty of memorable changes.

“[Color Guard] was very fun. I was able to meet new people and I [got] to experience a new form of art,” said team member sophomore Stewart Rydman-Espinosa.

The group has developed a stronger bond than the previous  years and have greatly improved their performance.

Consequently, they have placed well in several competitions, including first place at Saugus HS and Eastlake HS.

“This year was [much] better than last year simply because the guard members have grown so close [and] we’re just like family. All of us went through [the long, exhausting practices] together,” said  Co-Captain Whitney Chung.

They won second place at a competition at Redlands HS. Color Guard also placed fifth at the Southern California Winter Guard Association Championships, which was a major accomplishment and turning point for the team.

“We improved by having a new coach come [to] help us out. She often brought [along] her friends to assist us to improve on different things,” said Chung.

The success of Color Guard this season could be attributed to the members’ long practices.

“The hard work paid off. We were able to accomplish our goals by having five hour practices three days a week with no breaks in between,” said Chung. “Towards the end of the season, we had Saturday practices, practices during spring break, and we sacrificed our time and practiced approximately 9-10 hours a day at South Courts.”

The team worked diligently to achieve their goals and will continue to  practice just as hard for next year.

“We will work [more intensely] to accomplish what we really want during fall season and winter season,” said Co-Captain Vivian Quan. “We would love to do [more collaborations] with band [next year] and we are going to try our best to place in the top three category [in order] for Winter Guard to get a medal next year.”

With a dedicated coach and notable improvements, Color Guard is ready to take on the challenges to come in the future.

“We will push [ourselves] and work harder during the summer and throughout the rest of this year and [the] next so we may have a chance at [becoming an excellent team],” said Quan.