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Description
Passion is something people don't expect from marching band kids. The truth is marching band has the most passionate kids in it, even more so than football players. They need passion; they crave it and strive to do everything in their power to be perfect in every aspect of their show.

In Hudsonville, Michigan, there were ninety-nine dedicated high school kids. Their marching band was one of the weakest in the state. Though they made it to state championships every fall, they placed in the bottom levels of the competition. This was the year where everything would change.

The director was Craig Vanderwall; he was the only one willing to take this band to the next level as well as the ninety-nine kids who made all the difference. All of them were there to play music and to be a small part of a much larger picture.

Practice began shortly after signups were done; Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday after school 3:30pm to 6:30pm. We stared with marching basics; pointing our toes to the sky, rolling our feet, standing up straight but slightly curving forward, and staying on the balls of our feet. At first it was a challenge but eventually we were able to do everything.

Once school ended, we had gotten basics down enough that we were able to use able to use our instruments too. Practices were almost every day from 9am to 5pm. They were hard, hot and long days. We wore a lot of sunscreen and by the time we were ready for band camp, we were all as red as lobsters.

For band camp we went to a campground and stayed in bug infested cabins, filled with ants, cockroaches and beetles. We still had practice every day for a weeks and a half. We were up from 7am till 9pm, lots of hard work with a lot of attention time, but our breaks were the best; dinner was my favorite.

At dinner there were contests, snacks and everyone was able to go over how the day went for them. I drank a lot of hot tea at dinner and there was this one tea that I really liked; it was called Refresh and it was a minty, green tea. One night I was drinking it and my friends asked, "Why do you like that tea so much?" I shrugged and kept drinking. They kept bothering me until I let them have a ship or two. Ashley was the first one to try it and she instantly said her tongue was numb. Abby and some other people tried it and had the same reaction. Nikki wanted to try it, but we knew if she even had a ship she would be psycho, so we said that she could sniff it. She sniffed it and almost instantly she became this insane person. It was really funny and she loved it so much that she took some packets home and sniffed them on the bus ride back. It was the worst idea we ever had.

The bus ride back wasn't anything exciting, except that we were all stocked for our first competition. We were ready and roaring to go. Our first competition would be at Allendale, we took third place behind Reeths-Puffer and Jenison. That's where we started the state-wide battle of marching band. We were filled with joy and excitement because it was the best that Hudsonville had done in the longest time.

We started off the year great, the whole town was very proud of us. When we came back to school, parents were there to greet us and make sure we knew that we did a good job. Every time we came back from a competition they gave us these papers that said the name of the competition and a candy bar. I saved a few for a scrapbook of my past adventures.

The one competition that rang in my mind like a finely tuned note was the Hudsonville Invitational. It rained all week right up until the competition, but marching band plays rain or shine. We went to the competition, warmed up and could see lightning in the background while we did. The rain held off until we entered the field, then it started again and so did the show.

We could barely see two feet in front of us; we had to trust that everyone was in their spots. All I could see was the rain dripping off my shako, my breath fogging in the air and the water dripping into my horn, but I kept playing and marching my heart out for the roar of the crowd echoing through my ears. I loved the sweat dripping down my brown and into my eyes, my fingers gripping my saxophone to keep it in position, my feet sliding on the soaked ground of the sacred football field and the challenge it brought me. The rain was almost as loud as our music, but we powered through and later our band director told us that every time we hit a big chord, a strike of lightning would slash through the sky behind us. At one point, in the middling of the closer, I was back by a mud pit in the middle of the field. I saw it and there was no way to avoid it, so I walked through it. The mud clung to my shoes; I slipped and almost fell but made it back up just in time. I t was a good thing too, because our pants were white and mud would have ruined the whole outfit.

When we played our last note, the 3,000 people in the stand stood up, shouting and cheering for us. All we could do was smile as we walked off the field and inside. We jumped and screamed with excitement and amazement. We hugged each other with tears of happiness pouring from our eyes, soaked to the core by the rain but warmed by the companion of others.

Our band director came in and said, "If you play like that at every invitational from now on, you are going to win." While he went to receive our scores from the judges we sat and talked amongst ourselves about how well the show went, how close we came to falling in the mud, and the lightning that sliced through the sky and the thunder that rumbled with our chords. When Vanderwall came back he acted grim and said, "If we weren't the Exhibition tonight, we would have won first place!" We went nuts with the news, turning to each person at our sides and screaming. Everyone could hear us screaming on the buses on our trip back to the high school. Vanderwall then bid us goodnight, told us to sleep and be ready for practice in the morning. We all groaned but left with smiles on our faces and high spirits.

Practices came and went, along with other competitions; soon we were on our way to Detroit Michigan for the state competition. We were going into state in fourth place, but we had earned it and so far, we had done better than all the previous marching bands from Hudsonville.

The bus ride was really fun, even if it was on a big, yellow school bus and there was nowhere to sleep. Unlike coach buses, sleeping on the floor of a school bus is not comfortable or really safe. On the way there, my friend, Abby, ate a whole bag of candy, she looked at the nutrition information on the bag and all of a sudden she yells, "I ate over 3,000 calories!" Everyone started laughing, and she starts ranting about how she is going to be fat and when we came back home, she sprint for five miles.

Finally, we arrived at our hotel around ten o'clock. The hotel was really beautiful, with a big pool, pretty lobby and vegetation that made us wonder where they had obtained them. I was afraid to touch everything. We were on the sixth and seventh floors of the hotel, we were told to go to bed right away. A lot of the older kids wanted to go out to Chipotle, but our band director was against it and told them to go to bed, we have a big day tomorrow and we had to be awake by six o'clock.

We barely slept that night because of the excitement flowing through our veins and we woke up to piercing alarms. Groaning, we slammed our hands onto our alarm clocks and slowly rolled out of bed, alternating between showers and breakfast. We were told not to eat a big breakfast because it would make us sick when we marched. We couldn't afford anything like that and still, the guys went to the omelet bar and created these huge omelets, but we all know that guys never listen.

No one felt sick when we played, but there were butterflies in our stomachs as we approached Ford Field. When we arrived at the field we had to park on the street and change on the buses. There were no shades to keep out prying eyes but the parents surrounded the bus and made sure that no one was staring at us as we changed in public.

It started to rain while we walked over to warm up; it was icy cold. We had to adjust the drums so much just to make them in tune along with the horns. After an hour of freezing, some people came to take us down into the bowels of Ford Field.

They forced us into a small room that was so hot it made three drum heads break. Our instruments were so out of tune as well, because they weren't used to the warmth that was radiating throughout the room and building. It wasn't looking very good for us, but when we played part of the show, everything came together; we were ready to go.

We were led to the opening where we could see about 10,000 people, including my family. When we walked onto the field people started screaming and shouting out to us, it was an overwhelming feeling to know that so many people are watching us, listening to us and loving everything we do on that field. We could see the judges, like little ants above the bubbling, churning crowd. We turned our backs to them and played our warm up song, Fate of the Duels, a song based on Duel of the Fates by John Williams from Star Wars. Once warmed up, we turned around and walked into position.

We listened to the announcer, "Jeff Stracke and Ken Rissley, is your band ready?" Our commanders saluted and the announcer said, "The Hudsonville High School Marching Band," in a deep rumbling voice and the crowd went wild.

The show began and we did our thing, running over judges that stepped in our way. We played our hearts out to the people that filled the stadium and the intensity we played with could be seen on the faces of the audience and through our movements. This was our time and we were going to make sure they remembered it.

Playing our last note, we thrust our instruments down and our commander, Jeff, turned around and saluted the crowd while they stood on their feet and clapped wildly. I could see my family at the top holding up a sign that said "We Love You, Jamie!" It was an amazing feeling with the energy of the crowd flowing over us, giving us energy of our own, even though we were exhausted from the show. We walked out of there smiling and bursted into a teary laughter and all these emotions just flowed out of us; joy, sadness, regret, and sheer pleasure.

Waiting for the awards was a torturous experience, and when our band was called for fourth we bellowed to the crowd of our victory. It was the best Hudsonville had done in over a decade. Our group made a change in the marching band's history. Winning wasn't what was important, it was the friendships and passion we got from our time in the band. We went back home, proud of what we had crated and accomplished. We let the school and town know that we were incredibly proud. They never doubted the passion of the 2006 Hudsonville Marching Band.

Description
Passion is something people don't expect from marching band kids. The truth is marching band has the most passionate kids in it, even more so than football players. They need passion; they crave it and strive to do everything in their power to be perfect in every aspect of their show.

In Hudsonville, Michigan, there were ninety-nine dedicated high school kids. Their marching band was one of the weakest in the state. Though they made it to state championships every fall, they placed in the bottom levels of the competition. This was the year where everything would change.

The director was Craig Vanderwall; he was the only one willing to take this band to the next level as well as the ninety-nine kids who made all the difference. All of them were there to play music and to be a small part of a much larger picture.

Practice began shortly after signups were done; Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday after school 3:30pm to 6:30pm. We stared with marching basics; pointing our toes to the sky, rolling our feet, standing up straight but slightly curving forward, and staying on the balls of our feet. At first it was a challenge but eventually we were able to do everything.

Once school ended, we had gotten basics down enough that we were able to use able to use our instruments too. Practices were almost every day from 9am to 5pm. They were hard, hot and long days. We wore a lot of sunscreen and by the time we were ready for band camp, we were all as red as lobsters.

For band camp we went to a campground and stayed in bug infested cabins, filled with ants, cockroaches and beetles. We still had practice every day for a weeks and a half. We were up from 7am till 9pm, lots of hard work with a lot of attention time, but our breaks were the best; dinner was my favorite.

At dinner there were contests, snacks and everyone was able to go over how the day went for them. I drank a lot of hot tea at dinner and there was this one tea that I really liked; it was called Refresh and it was a minty, green tea. One night I was drinking it and my friends asked, "Why do you like that tea so much?" I shrugged and kept drinking. They kept bothering me until I let them have a ship or two. Ashley was the first one to try it and she instantly said her tongue was numb. Abby and some other people tried it and had the same reaction. Nikki wanted to try it, but we knew if she even had a ship she would be psycho, so we said that she could sniff it. She sniffed it and almost instantly she became this insane person. It was really funny and she loved it so much that she took some packets home and sniffed them on the bus ride back. It was the worst idea we ever had.

The bus ride back wasn't anything exciting, except that we were all stocked for our first competition. We were ready and roaring to go. Our first competition would be at Allendale, we took third place behind Reeths-Puffer and Jenison. That's where we started the state-wide battle of marching band. We were filled with joy and excitement because it was the best that Hudsonville had done in the longest time.

We started off the year great, the whole town was very proud of us. When we came back to school, parents were there to greet us and make sure we knew that we did a good job. Every time we came back from a competition they gave us these papers that said the name of the competition and a candy bar. I saved a few for a scrapbook of my past adventures.

The one competition that rang in my mind like a finely tuned note was the Hudsonville Invitational. It rained all week right up until the competition, but marching band plays rain or shine. We went to the competition, warmed up and could see lightning in the background while we did. The rain held off until we entered the field, then it started again and so did the show.

We could barely see two feet in front of us; we had to trust that everyone was in their spots. All I could see was the rain dripping off my shako, my breath fogging in the air and the water dripping into my horn, but I kept playing and marching my heart out for the roar of the crowd echoing through my ears. I loved the sweat dripping down my brown and into my eyes, my fingers gripping my saxophone to keep it in position, my feet sliding on the soaked ground of the sacred football field and the challenge it brought me. The rain was almost as loud as our music, but we powered through and later our band director told us that every time we hit a big chord, a strike of lightning would slash through the sky behind us. At one point, in the middling of the closer, I was back by a mud pit in the middle of the field. I saw it and there was no way to avoid it, so I walked through it. The mud clung to my shoes; I slipped and almost fell but made it back up just in time. I t was a good thing too, because our pants were white and mud would have ruined the whole outfit.

When we played our last note, the 3,000 people in the stand stood up, shouting and cheering for us. All we could do was smile as we walked off the field and inside. We jumped and screamed with excitement and amazement. We hugged each other with tears of happiness pouring from our eyes, soaked to the core by the rain but warmed by the companion of others.

Our band director came in and said, "If you play like that at every invitational from now on, you are going to win." While he went to receive our scores from the judges we sat and talked amongst ourselves about how well the show went, how close we came to falling in the mud, and the lightning that sliced through the sky and the thunder that rumbled with our chords. When Vanderwall came back he acted grim and said, "If we weren't the Exhibition tonight, we would have won first place!" We went nuts with the news, turning to each person at our sides and screaming. Everyone could hear us screaming on the buses on our trip back to the high school. Vanderwall then bid us goodnight, told us to sleep and be ready for practice in the morning. We all groaned but left with smiles on our faces and high spirits.

Practices came and went, along with other competitions; soon we were on our way to Detroit Michigan for the state competition. We were going into state in fourth place, but we had earned it and so far, we had done better than all the previous marching bands from Hudsonville.

The bus ride was really fun, even if it was on a big, yellow school bus and there was nowhere to sleep. Unlike coach buses, sleeping on the floor of a school bus is not comfortable or really safe. On the way there, my friend, Abby, ate a whole bag of candy, she looked at the nutrition information on the bag and all of a sudden she yells, "I ate over 3,000 calories!" Everyone started laughing, and she starts ranting about how she is going to be fat and when we came back home, she sprint for five miles.

Finally, we arrived at our hotel around ten o'clock. The hotel was really beautiful, with a big pool, pretty lobby and vegetation that made us wonder where they had obtained them. I was afraid to touch everything. We were on the sixth and seventh floors of the hotel, we were told to go to bed right away. A lot of the older kids wanted to go out to Chipotle, but our band director was against it and told them to go to bed, we have a big day tomorrow and we had to be awake by six o'clock.

We barely slept that night because of the excitement flowing through our veins and we woke up to piercing alarms. Groaning, we slammed our hands onto our alarm clocks and slowly rolled out of bed, alternating between showers and breakfast. We were told not to eat a big breakfast because it would make us sick when we marched. We couldn't afford anything like that and still, the guys went to the omelet bar and created these huge omelets, but we all know that guys never listen.

No one felt sick when we played, but there were butterflies in our stomachs as we approached Ford Field. When we arrived at the field we had to park on the street and change on the buses. There were no shades to keep out prying eyes but the parents surrounded the bus and made sure that no one was staring at us as we changed in public.

It started to rain while we walked over to warm up; it was icy cold. We had to adjust the drums so much just to make them in tune along with the horns. After an hour of freezing, some people came to take us down into the bowels of Ford Field.

They forced us into a small room that was so hot it made three drum heads break. Our instruments were so out of tune as well, because they weren't used to the warmth that was radiating throughout the room and building. It wasn't looking very good for us, but when we played part of the show, everything came together; we were ready to go.

We were led to the opening where we could see about 10,000 people, including my family. When we walked onto the field people started screaming and shouting out to us, it was an overwhelming feeling to know that so many people are watching us, listening to us and loving everything we do on that field. We could see the judges, like little ants above the bubbling, churning crowd. We turned our backs to them and played our warm up song, Fate of the Duels, a song based on Duel of the Fates by John Williams from Star Wars. Once warmed up, we turned around and walked into position.

We listened to the announcer, "Jeff Stracke and Ken Rissley, is your band ready?" Our commanders saluted and the announcer said, "The Hudsonville High School Marching Band," in a deep rumbling voice and the crowd went wild.

The show began and we did our thing, running over judges that stepped in our way. We played our hearts out to the people that filled the stadium and the intensity we played with could be seen on the faces of the audience and through our movements. This was our time and we were going to make sure they remembered it.

Playing our last note, we thrust our instruments down and our commander, Jeff, turned around and saluted the crowd while they stood on their feet and clapped wildly. I could see my family at the top holding up a sign that said "We Love You, Jamie!" It was an amazing feeling with the energy of the crowd flowing over us, giving us energy of our own, even though we were exhausted from the show. We walked out of there smiling and bursted into a teary laughter and all these emotions just flowed out of us; joy, sadness, regret, and sheer pleasure.

Waiting for the awards was a torturous experience, and when our band was called for fourth we bellowed to the crowd of our victory. It was the best Hudsonville had done in over a decade. Our group made a change in the marching band's history. Winning wasn't what was important, it was the friendships and passion we got from our time in the band. We went back home, proud of what we had crated and accomplished. We let the school and town know that we were incredibly proud. They never doubted the passion of the 2006 Hudsonville Marching Band.