Halftime air swirls through the field as the band plays with pride, and large flags grace the busy air with colorful beauty.
The unseen contributors of the band, the Bowie Color Guard, once again show off their carefully rehearsed moves and steps complimenting the band perfectly.
“First semester we are with the Marching Band.” Color Guard Director Daniel Riley said. “Which is part of the Outdoor Performance Ensemble.”
Riley is in his third year of directing the Bowie Color Guard and has aimed to improve and grow the program since the COVID-19 Pandemic.
“If you’re someone who needs to work a lot it’s not going to offer that schedule for you,” Riley said. “Just someone who has a flexible schedule and time to give is someone who’s going to be better for the program.”
The program which suffered in 2020 during the pandemic and online school has grown substantially since in-person learning began again in 2021, more than doubling the amount of students in the two years since.
“We had 16 kids when I first started and now we’ve grown to 34,” Riley said. “With this number, we are looking into starting a JV team.”
During the fall semester, the Color Guard competes along with the band on both district and state levels, in the winter the Color Guard competes by themselves in the Winter Guard.
We separate so we’re now by ourselves,” Riley said. “We compete locally and nationally as well, just like the band does.”
Senior Kennedy Kilday has been in the Color Guard since her sophomore year and has competed numerous times with and without the band.
“Last year with the Winter Guard we placed third in state,” Kilday said. “We get to compete in front of some pretty big audiences, everyone is very passionate about it.”
On top of her massive commitment to the color guard, Kilday also gives her time to various other Bowie programs including being the Vice President of the Bowie Choir program.
“I am here at school for so much time all of the time,” Kilday said. “ But I feel like I know so many people, especially within other grades and I’m much more involved.”
Not only does color guard amp up her already impressive college applications but it’s given her ample opportunity to make friends and become part of a group here at Bowie.
“My favorite part is the team,” Kilday said. “I feel like I know so many people, especially within other grades.”
Being part of the team is a huge part of color guard, each member needs to be a team player, Lily Flanigan a junior at Bowie is already part of the weapon line of color guard, where instead of flags they toss plastic rifles.
“I love competitions and football games when we take the bus rides to and from that’s when you like Get to know your teammates the most,” Flanigan said.
The intermingling of grade levels is part of being in high school level sports and events, in Bowie Color Guard each member is given equal opportunity despite their grade level.
“It’s been a great way to make a community within Bowie and that’s how I made most of my friends coming into Bowie,” Flanigan said. “I made it onto a weapon line this year.”
Color guard is welcoming to all levels of skill and members often come in with no actual color guard experience.
“I would recommend it to people with a dance background, but maybe don’t want to do Silver Stars,” Flanigan said. “Color guard incorporates a lot of dance techniques along with the flags.”
Each member of the Color Guard puts forth a profound amount of time and effort into Color Guard along with balancing grades, jobs, family life, and so much more, according to Riley.
“We are always putting in lots and lots of work and hours, and for them to be able to keep up with grades, and be engaged with their family, and then also do this, it’s a lot so it’s amazing to see them succeed,” Riley said.
