Hundreds of kids are in the stands, all covered in white. The roar of the student sections is loud, “Go!” A crowd of students then yells back, “Jays!” but they don’t quite drown out the noise of the banging and clashing of the drums. On September 26, during halftime at the homecoming football game, you can hear a wide range of beats and melodies. They played the first three movements of their show titled “Changes” at the last football game. And this fast-paced beat caused the students to all cheer and pump their fists in the air.
Every morning before school, the drumline is out on the football field, not just for Friday night games but also for competitions. They have rehearsals every morning and most weekdays after school in the evenings; some students, such as senior Greyson Horwitz, even make sure to practice every day, calling it a “time sport,” so he says just practicing and making sure people smile when they hear him playing the drums is the most important thing to achieve.
On Saturday, Sept. 13, the drum line participated in the “Drummit at the Summit” competition at Lee’s Summit High School. As a team, they all arrived there at 11:00 p.m. and got to prep and wait until their team was called. Each school had a specific time frame and was also required to transport all its own equipment.
Their performance started at 3:45 pm and lasted three minutes. They played Movements 1 and 3 of their show titled “Changes.” While the judges record and made comments whilst they’re playing.
“I remember the judges told us that the frontline needed to look up and check in with each other more,” sophomore Kallen Brier said.
This is an annual competition that consists of judges and schools from all over the district. And after all the performances are over, the awards are announced later that night. The drumline makes sure to hype each other up before important competitions like these. And overall, they placed second in the competition, beating out all the other schools.
“The competition went really well. I was really happy when I heard we got second place in our division, and I feel like we played to the best of our abilities. I’d say it was one of our better runs. And, we got some really good feedback from the judges,” junior Rollins Pyle said.
The drumline really makes sure to connect in order to perform to the best of their abilities together. When drumming, everyone must be in sync and go with the same flow and rhythm, so it’s important to do so. They make sure they go out and have team dinners, as well as forming long-lasting friendships and practicing together before they go out and perform, like the Lee’s Summit competition.
“My favorite thing about drumming is that it’s really a team sport when it comes down to it. You’re as good as your weakest link, and so it’s just all about lifting up your friends and making sure that as a team, you’re really strong.” Horwitz said. ”As a team, we did really well. I was really proud of my peers, and it’s just an all-around great experience.”
Up next, the drumline has an upcoming competition on Saturday, Oct. 11, it’s a Lee’s Summit North marching invitational. The drumline has been doing a great job, and you can buy tickets for their invitationals if you want to check them out and see them play. To check out more information, go to @bluejay_pridebands on Instagram.
