The YLHS football team had their first game on Friday, September 7. But another first of that night was the band and guard halftime show.

This year’s show is titled “Fuego Latino,” which was inspired by Spanish culture. It is roughly 15 minutes long and comprises of 4 parts: the opener, the ballad, the jazz break, and the closer. The program utilizes the wind instrument players, the drumline, the percussion, or “the pit” as the band calls it, and the colorguard, which uses flags, rifles, and sabers.

While the field show is done during halftime at home football games, the band and guard also competes against other schools’ band and guard programs. Their first competition is on October 27 at the Loara Band Review & Field, but they will be performing next at the September 28 Home Game here at YLHS.

Though the members do make the alluring show look easy, preparation is no simple task . They are up early every morning for zero period, including Mondays, and the color guard and some of the band continue on into first period. Not only that, but every Monday night, they have their infamous four hour practice that runs from 4PM to 8PM out on the field.

The percussion and guard also have their own practices in addition to the Monday nights. They both take place on Thursdays after school from 3:00 to 5:30. On Wednesdays, the Front Ensemble and the Brass and Woodwinds sectionals, or practices divided by section in the program, as well. The Front Ensemble  also practices from 3 to 5:30, but the Brass and Woodwinds have an hour, starting at 3:00 and ending at 4:00.

While they work on perfecting their field show, the band and guard have another type of performance to work on: parades. Their first parade will be the annual Placentia Heritage Day Parade, which will occur on October 13.

Once field season is over, the program separates into  smaller programs: the jazz band, percussion (which includes the pit and the drumline), and the color guard. The guard team will go into a season called Winterguard. This season is a competition against other schools’ guard teams, except that the show is  performed inside of a gym rather than a football field. As for jazz, they will be broken up into Jazz 1 and Jazz 2, which will have an audition regarding which one the members will be playing in.

Mr. Garcia (Staff), the Band Director at YL, hopes that can “give [his students] the best experience they can live” and help them continue the excellence that the program has had for the past 10 years. “The spirit of program is pretty incredible,” he notes. The program, much like sports teams, are like a big family, always encouraging each other and making all the hours worthwhile and fun.