Wyoming Colorguard

By Daniele Sabaliunaite, Wyoming High School 

I am part of a family - not a family of siblings and parents, but a family I had only been a part of for a year. This family is the Wyoming Colorguard team. 

When I first decided I wanted to join the colorguard team, I had no idea what I would be getting into (in the best way possible, of course). I could have never known how now, a year after going to my first recruitment clinic, how much this activity would affect my life. Colorguard had found its way to integrate itself so deeply in my life. Colorguard, in a way, helped me cope with my first year of high school. Practice was somewhere I could escape schoolwork, exams, and stress. After a difficult week of school, practice always awaited me with my teammates and two hours of freedom. I would sometimes feel frustrated that I wasn’t learning routines as quickly or performing as well as some of my other teammates, but my coach and friends always helped me and gave me full support. I feel as if I had known my teammates my whole life. They all are so different in their own ways: theatre, music, art - but we all have one thing in common - our love and passion for colorguard. I have created a bond with my team that I have never had with any other sports team or club.

I remember one of our first performances at the Wyoming Middle School (WMS) band night. I feel like I barely even knew anything back then; I probably didn’t even have everyone on my teams’ names down (I’m terrible at names). The performance was still so exciting and wonderful (even though it was rainy and cold). I immediately knew this was something I wanted to keep doing and wanted to focus on. I remember watching my friends perform their marching show and I knew then that I wanted to try marching guard, too. A few months after our performance at the WMS band night was our first competition, and we would be performing our show, A New Day. I was terrified, but after a few competitions, I felt that I had the hang of it. If I were to describe competition day in several words: excitement, anxiety, confidence, sparkly costumes, snacks, pink lipstick, and lots of hairspray. Even though we didn’t always score very high, it was still fun, and I always waited for competition days (even if they were two hours away). I am confident that in the years to come we will only go up!

In conclusion, I think that joining the Wyoming Colorguard team was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I am so excited for the upcoming marching and winterguard year, especially since I will be learning new pieces of equipment. I am excited to learn from my friends and get to know new people joining the team. I am thankful for everything this activity has done for me and am ready for the years to come. 

Celebrating after the performance was stuff made of memories. 

The Wyoming Colorguard team practiced with some of their props.

The team posed with one of their leaders, Nikki DeWitt. 

The Wyoming Colorguard performed at the competition.