EATON — Eaton Eagles Winterguard memebrs will compete at Championships on Saturday, March 30. They will be presenting their 2019 show entitled “Who’s Bad?”
According to Coach Lisa White, the show tells the story of two gangs competing to see who is better.
“We are using the music ‘Bad’ from Michael Jackson’s greatest hits album. The story we are telling is a battle between Tatum Durbin, a Senior and Nicholas Azzalina, a Freshman. The show starts off with two gangs, and continues with who’s better? Each of the shows stars of course have their ‘wing men’ Captains: Elise Gething and Laura Clyburn, as well as the other members,” White said.
“The entire show goes back and forth with challenges between Tatum and Nick. In the end, the Senior wins. Of course. Although Nick, a future powerhouse in guard, is throwing rifles up with six complete rotations is challenging these guard veterans. It’s exciting to watch. We would like to thank our parent helpers, the Eaton Band Boosters, and the Eaton High School staff for their immense support.”
On March 3, the guard competed at Centerville High School. The team took the floor in front of 300 people when suddenly, its music stopped. Instead of hesitating, the team continued through its routine without any music.
“Tears were flowing down their faces, they worked as a team to finish what they started. The crowd gave them a standing ovation. The music announcer said to everyone, ‘Now, that’s how you do it.’ They have shown incredible training and professionalism,” White said.
“We knew that we did the best we could considering the circumstances. Well, a few hours later, our Captains Elise Gething and Laura Clyburn went down for the awards retreat. They announced the placements and we ended up placing first place without our music. We were all shocked, stunned, emotional. We were on our way to Championships!”
For Eaton Eagles Guard member Emily Quick, Winterguard made her more social and helped her get out of her “shell” and form important friendships.
“I love how we worked so hard and achieve so much this season, and I love this season because it’s so much different than our past ones and we’re actually getting noticed,” she said. “I absolutely love my team and the people in it. I can bond with every single one of them and I can see the talent in every single individual. We got first place in our last competition because of team work and supporting each other/helping out. I’m very proud of this team and I wouldn’t want to be with any other.”
White added, “I think this sport is so important to these kids. It’s not only a fun activity, it’s so much more than that. Winterguard gives kids a chance to explore performance, strength, friendships, family, while participating in a positive program.”
