In My Own Words: Twirlers in the Marching Band

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In My Own Words

In this installment of In My Own Words, Lauren Powell talks about being a member of the color guard twirling her baton.  

This year when I became a freshman at Lampeter-Strasburg High School, and I decided to join the marching band. At the end of my 8th grade year the middle and high school band director, Mr. Larry Royer, asked all of the 8th graders in concert band about joining high school marching band.

Julie Stinson and Lauren Powell warming up before our twirling debut
I always knew that I wanted to join marching band, but I had to choose between color guard and my clarinet. At my meeting with Mr. Royer, he mentioned a few of my teammates and I twirling during one of the songs. I have been twirling baton since I was in first grade, although I had never really thought of twirling in the marching band.

The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to twirl. I told him that I'd love to twirl but he only wanted one routine with batons. I would be with the color guard with the rest of the show. I was kind of sad, but I kept thinking that one is better than none.
Stinson and Powell twirling at the McCaskey Coalition
Finally it was time for band camp! We worked on drills from noon to 9 pm every day for a week but at the end we found out we could not put baton in yet. My teammate, Julie Stinson, and I were sad, but we knew that soon enough we would be able to put baton in.

About six weeks later, during rehearsal we were able to add baton. One of the instructors, Ms. Eva Strawser, worked with us on adding baton. She wanted to have us be able to twirl the entire show rather than go back to flag with the rest of the guard.

She then came up with an idea for us to run in front of the band and twirl in front of the company front. Julie and I soon came up with a longer routine to keep twirling the entire show. Finally on September 29, we had the premier of baton twirlers in our show.

I am so glad I decided to twirl because it is the best feeling in the world to leap in front of the band and twirl in front of a stadium full of people. My favorite performance that we twirled was at the McCaskey Coalition. It was so cool having a giant set of bleachers full of people just there to see band performances.

--By Lauren Powell, LS News reporter

In My Own Words is a first person written series that highlights Lampeter-Strasburg High School students activities.

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