Struthers Color Guard auditions took place on May 2nd at Struthers High School for students who were interested.
Color Guard is an activity that is offered at Struthers High school as a part of the marching band. Color Guard includes dancing and spinning with items such as flags, rifles and batons. Everything is combined to create a performance called a routine. Practice prior to auditions were Monday through Thursday, and these practices lasted for 2 hours each day. At these practices, the students were taught by the Color Guard coach, Chandlee Fockler, how to do basic skills with a flag.
She is happy to be coaching Struthers.
“I’ve been doing Color Guard for 13 years, and I loved it and I wanted to be able to pass that love to others,” says Fockler.
Fockler is the current Color Guard coach. Her first year coaching Struthers was last season, but prior to that she coached Beaver Local’s Color Guard. She has been teaching Color Guard since 2012. She is very excited for a fresh start to the season and is already planning for the upcoming season.
The Guard members love having her as a coach.
“I love Chandlee; she’s the best coach I ever had,” says freshman Brooke Lane.
Lane has been a member of the Struthers Color Guard for 2 years. She started Color Guard in her 8th grade year and has loved it ever since. She auditioned for Color Guard after seeing her cousin do it, and she thought it looked really fun. Abby McCabe, a YSU Color Guard member, spent time with the Struthers Color Guard and helped them practice for auditions. She will also join them during the summer and help them get better prepared for the new season.
This season will be a great one for the girls.
“The new girls were picking all the skills up very fast and they seem to be pretty confident,” says McCabe.
