“Color guard is a lot more like a combination of a bunch of different skills and it’s a lot of hard work every single day,” Schlub said. “You have to kind of be flexible with what you’re doing every single day and making changes and working really hard and pushing through to make your show a lot better.
“Compared to other sports, it’s just so many more skills. You have to be able to do a lot more than just ... running (or) throwing the football or something (like that), you have to do so much more.”
Orwick agreed, noting a schedule that involves practicing for three hours almost every day after school and sometimes for longer on Saturdays.
“There have been times where I’ve wanted to just kind of give it up just because ... teenage life, you kind of have to give up for it, but it’s really worth it in the end,” she said.
Practice during spring break before the WGI Championships can last for as long as eight hours a day with breaks interspersed throughout.
“Since we’ve been here, we’ve had multiple sports come in and out while we’ve been here for one practice,” Orwick said.
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Seth Rivetti-Sharpe, one of Miamisburg Color Guard’s co-directors, said “it’s a lot of hard work.”
“It is grueling,” he said. “It’s a lot of hours, so you have to have a good attitude and a really big work ethic to be able to get those things done. And from a instructor side, that good work ethic and good, positive attitude doesn’t start with them. It starts with us, and we have to instill that in them. We have to model it. We have to show them how to have a good attitude and how to have how to rehearse correctly.”
Orwick and Schlub said they were recruited by the same teacher in fourth grade. A number of factors have kept them involved since then.
“Our teams have always been amazing,” Orwick said. “We love the people. I love leading and, especially in the last couple years, we’ve both gotten to step up in that leadership role and ... that’s something that definitely keeps us both around.
“Also we just love encouraging other people and teaching other people, and as upperclassmen now we definitely get the opportunity to do that more often.”
Schlub said she’s enjoyed learning color guard skills and showing them off to a crowd.
“I love to perform more than anything on earth and I just want to be in front of the audience, showing them what I’ve learned throughout the years and showing them how consistent I’ve gotten,” she said.
To have a good team, individual members need to work together and lift each other up “because it’s not just one person on the floor at one time,” Schlub said.
“You’ll have the flags doing one thing and the dancers doing another thing,” she said. “It just has to work together and everybody has to kind of do their part to make the show as great as it is.”
During the performance, “everyone matters because everyone is being watched every single moment of the show,” Rivetti-Sharpe said.
To have a team that’s good enough to be successful, but also still make color guard enjoyable, there needs to be a lot of positive people who build each other up and are willing to put in the hard work, Orwick said.
“If you’re not willing to put in the hard work, you’re not gonna really get anywhere,” she said. “You have to all be one unit. You have to understand how hard it is and be willing to push yourselves to the extent and further to get continue to get better all the time, even when it’s hard.”
Schlub said the sport is “something you have to see to understand.” Having the WGI Championships so close to home is “is kind of a unique experience.”
“Ever since I was younger in the elementary guard, I could still go out and see guards practicing in parking lots and heading to UD Arena,” she said. “I just thought that was really cool how it’s kind of taken over one city ... and to think that it’s my city, this is where I grew up, and this is where everybody comes in to do color guard, I think that’s just mind blowing.”
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
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