Color Guard: 

Half time performances are something that happens every football game, and something that takes a lot of time, people, and positions. The Color Guard adds something to the band that not many people can. 

“We give the band a little bit of color and they give us something to spin to,” said freshman Emily Didion. 

Sophomore Kayleigh Shaw agreed and said their title is only fitting. 

“I think the color guard is important to the band as a needed visual,” she said. “Like the name says, we add color and flair to the band show. Color guard draws the eye to those in the crowd.” 

Shaw said she started flag twirling in high school. She started marching band her freshman year but didn’t find her true happiness until the following year. 

“I started marching band my freshman year of high school as a clarinet, but during rehearsal my eye was always drawn to the flag twirlers,” Shaw said. “I love to dance and I knew some baton, so I felt flag twirling would be a fun adventure. The second semester of my sophomore year I joined winter guard and have been in love with flag twirling since.”  

Freshman Alicia Magyar agreed.

“[Color guard] gets more people involved in the band that may like to do different things,” she said. “I like to constantly move and talk and smile, so playing an instrument would not cut it for me.”

Although color guard may be known for their work with flags, they also do other things with the band. 

“We do not just spin, but we use auxiliary equipment, too,” Shaw said. “In Captain America we use hoops; Spider Man we dance; and for our new song for next weekend, Trombone Rag – senior feature – we are using canes.”

For Magyar, she said she started twirling at AU because it would help her branch out. She said that she enjoyed color guard in high school and wanted to continue throughout college. 

“I hoped that [color guard] would help make my transition to college easier since it is something I have been doing for so long and I was right,” she said. “I love the people and the activity. It’s a great way to get me out of my room every once and a while and talk to people that I may not have before.”

There are currently 13 girls on color guard. Practices are held three times a week for an hour and a half and also the morning of the games. 

Freshman Rachel Swartz said most people underestimate the hard work put into shows.

“It is a lot harder than most people think,” she said. “We learn a new show for every game.”

Didion said her favorite part of being on color guard is the friendships she’s formed. Although she isn’t quite used to all of it, she said she still enjoys it. 

“Ashland’s marching band is very different from my high school band but you still make strong bonds with the girls you twirl with because we all love to do it,” she said. 

Magyar and Shaw agreed.

“My favorite part of color guard at AU is all the wonderful friends I have met,” Shaw said. “My teammates are going to be my life-long friends. It is so much fun to dance and twirl with them three times a week.” 

Magyar said that although times are fun on color guard, they aren’t always easy. 

However, she said this hasn’t changed her experiences.

“It’s always challenging,” she said. “I’ve been on three teams total varying in different levels and I’ve loved each one. Every team was a new experience where I made friends that have the same passion as me.” 

Majorettes:

When it comes to Ashland University’s band, many members make it successful. Two members in particular, Madisen Fletcher and Kayla Shaver, are the two majorettes for AU, and Fletcher said she had always wanted to twirl in college. The junior environmental science major couldn’t twirl her freshman year because no twirlers were needed.

“I really wanted to go to college and twirl because it’s always been a dream,” she said. “And when I found AU I didn’t even care I couldn’t twirl because I loved it here.” 

Shaver agreed and said that the importance of the school came before the desire to twirl. 

“I loved the campus and I loved the environment so twirling wasn’t a big factor,” she said. “It’s just a bonus.” 

The two girls tried out to be majorettes when Fletcher was a freshman and Shaver was about to start her freshman year. Both girls practice with the band, but also practice on their own and said the time constraint isn’t bad. “To be a competitive [twirler] it’s very time consuming because you have to practice almost every day,” Shaver said. “But a field twirler, you really just practice when the band practices, and then if you are struggling with something you practice on your own. But it’s maybe five hours a week total.” 

Fletcher and Shaver have experience with competing, since they both have been twirling since age five. Although they don’t compete as a group with the AU band, or as much as they used to, they both still do some competitions now. 

Both Shaver and Fletcher have been twirling for about 14 years each, and they plan to continue twirling until they leave Ashland. Having had years of experience, they said their favorite part of being a majorette is the thrill of performing.

“I like performing because I like to hear the crowd’s reactions,” Fletcher said. “And then all the little kids that are like ‘I want to be just like you.’”