A Passion for Performing

Have you ever been in a class with a member of the color guard? You know, the girls who walk around school with a long red satchel flung over their shoulder housing their famous white wooden rifles?

They are asked more than enough times by their classmates to perform the “rifle trick” where they spin the heavy rifle around their wrist, keeping students mesmerized as they attempt to keep up with the twirling weapon.

Senior color guard officer Paige Allinson is a pro at all the tricks of the color guard, having been a member since her freshman year.

“During my freshman year my friend did color guard,” Allinson said. “I spent the night at her house one night, and she took me to practice with her the next morning. I thought what they were doing was really neat, and I wanted to try it, so I joined.”

After the color guard girls impress their classmates with the rifle trick, they are often asked, “can I try?” by a few who think the trick involves just an easy move of the wrist just to have the rifle plop on the ground in front of them…evidence that all the color guard tricks are harder than they look.

“Once you understand the basics which can be really hard to learn, you can get just about anything else down,” Allinson said.

And of course learning these basics take time. The color guard starts practicing one month before school starts, sometimes rehearsing eight hours a day. Once school starts, they practice along the band four days a week for three hours after school, preparing for marching season.

“It has taught me a lot of discipline and how to work with others because, in order to do it, you have to be able to work as a team,” Allinson said. “No one can do it on their own.”

But Allinson sticks with color guard for more than just good discipline and teamwork skills.

“I love performing,” Allinson said. “I also love how close you become with the members of the guard. You become like a second family. It helps to know that there is that many people there to catch you when you fall.”

Allinson truly has a passion for color guard and hopes to use what she has learned in her future.

“I thought about applying for some color guard scholarships because I have done it for four years, Allinson said. “I have also considered looking into a drill core which is a big group of people who practice over the summer and then travel the US performing all over. Also, because I want to be a teacher, I have talked to my instructor and have learned that even though I want to be an elementary school teacher, I could still direct color guard in high school. I would like to, and I want to try.”