I’m on a cold concrete floor in my sleeping bag surrounded by more than a hundred other people my age in a gym in the middle of Iowa, and I couldn’t be happier. I was here for one reason, to improve as a player and tryout for one of the best drum corps in the nation, The Colts. Over three days I improved as a percussion player and learned to work with people who are different than me, I slept on the floor and drummed for hours on end and in the end I left Iowa a better person than the one who came in. It was one of the hardest things i’ve ever done, deciding to drive more than six-hundred miles to Iowa in November to drum for three days straight was not an easy decision to make. But in the end I think the experience of working hard and making …show more content…
Something strange happened in that room before tryouts, I felt myself improving. The music didn’t seem so hard and I felt my hands moving to the rhythm without forcing it. Does this mean that I will do well in tryouts? After our sectional we were sent to the tryout room, funnily enough I was the first chosen to try out. I walked in and there was my bass drum instructor and two other directors. “Alright, first you are going to play our warm up exercises” Simple enough, I start playing but the rhythm isn't there like before, “what’s happening?” I thought to myself in a panic. I had thought that I improved as a player. “Okay” the director said with disappointment in his tone, “please play the tryout music for us.” I gulped and started playing, disaster. I choked under pressure and played probably the worst audition they heard all day. All the judge had to say to me was “maybe next year.” I was devastated and discouraged, why did I even come here in the first place? But then I thought, I came six hundred miles to tryout for a part I didn’t get. But sometimes you have to look at the positives, I learned that failure isn’t the end of the world. Things may not go your way but you have to look at the positives. I vastly improved as a player by challenging myself and stepping out of my comfort zone. And, I can say I tried out for The Colts! I learned that you shouldn’t take every failure as a loss and look at how this experience improved you instead of how it could have been. On the ride home I felt proud of myself for really trying something new. It was truly a weekend to last a
Looking around and seeing bright lights and feeling all eyes on you. Hearing both sides of the stadium cheer and shout for their teams and getting nervous during the last few seconds of the second quarter and at the same time being very proud of what the band has accomplished in the brief amount of time it took to learn the pretty intense and complex drill. Then suddenly you get the adrenaline rush that pushes you to perform. Many people would agree that being a drum major is one of the most eminent positions that is held by students who are Being the Drum Major of any band shows that you have the respect and trust of the members of the band and it’s directors. It also shows that you are passionate about what you do, responsible and that
Sweat dripping down my face and butterflies fluttering around my stomach as if it was the Garden of Eden, I took in a deep breathe and asked myself: "Why am I so nervous? After all, it is just the most exciting day of my life." When the judges announced for the Parsippany Hills High School Marching Band to commence its show, my mind blanked out and I was on the verge of losing sanity. Giant's Stadium engulfed me, and as I pointed my instrument up to the judges' stand, I gathered my thoughts and placed my mouth into the ice-cold mouthpiece of the contrabass. "Ready or not," I beamed, "here comes the best show you will ever behold." There is no word to describe the feeling I obtain through music. However, there is no word to describe the pain I suffer through in order to be the best in the band either. When I switched my instrument to tuba from flute in seventh grade, little did I know the difference it would make in the four years of high school I was soon to experience. I joined marching band in ninth grade as my ongoing love for music waxed. When my instructor placed the 30 lb. sousaphone on my shoulder on the first day, I lost my balance and would have fallen had my friends not made the effort to catch me. During practices, I always attempted to ease the discomfort as the sousaphone cut through my collar bone, but eventually my shoulder started to agonize and bleed under the pressure. My endurance and my effort to play the best show without complaining about the weight paid off when I received the award for "Rookie of the Year." For the next three seasons of band practice, the ache and toil continued. Whenever the band had practice, followed by a football game and then a competition, my brain would blur from fatigue and my body would scream in agony. Nevertheless, I pointed my toes high in the air as I marched on, passionate about the activity. As a result, my band instructor saw my drive toward music and I was named Quartermaster for my junior year, being trusted with organizing, distributing, and collecting uniforms for all seventy-five members of the band. The responsibility was tremendous. It took a bulk of my time, but the sentiment of knowing that I was an important part of band made it all worthwhile.
One of the biggest decisions of my high school career came my sophomore year when I decided to try out for the role of drum major in my high school band. This decision was very tough to make due to the fact that I was a sophomore, and although I already had three years of experience under my belt as a band member at Northview High School, I knew that it would be very tough to earn the respect of my peers if I succeeded in becoming drum major. Out of the three years I had spent in the band, the biggest influence on my decision to try out came from my very first marching season, between August and December of 2012. From that year forward, after seeing many areas that the band could improve, watching how underclassmen and middle school band members
The first few weeks of practice were full of bad attitudes and laziness. As a sophomore, I, along with the other underclassman, kept my mouth shut and put effort into practices. It was t...
The day I had been practicing so much for was finally here. I didn't know what to think, I was more prepared than other people but still didn't think I would make the line. As I walked into tryouts the first day, I was confident , but at the same time, I knew I was nervous inside. I was one of the 3 freshman trying out. There were other people there who were on drumline the previous years. They looked like nothing was wrong to them and this tryout was pretty much a casual rehersal for them. All though , all thing all of them thought that we freshmen were terrible. We started
This past fall I tried out for the varsity basketball team at my high school. I had played both on the freshman team and then last year on the junior varsity team. Playing on the varsity team is all I’ve wanted to do. I’d practiced all summer and in September and October to get ready for the try-outs at the beginning of November. Unfortunately I did not make the team. It was a huge blow for me because I had worked really hard and had expected to make it. Thankfully my moms and my friends were there to remind me that there were other paths to pursue my dreams. I could have easily been bitter and decided to stop caring, but they wouldn’t let me. I was humbled by this experience and decided to turn it into a positive. I’ve since decided to join the Wilson Live club at school. It’s a group that films and commentates sports events at school. This connects to a possible major that I’m interested in when I go to college--communications or sports
On Thursday, March 10th, 2016 I tried out for my second year of high school varsity cheer and my 4th year of cheer all together. On Friday, March 11th, 2016 I found out that I made the squad once again! I was so relieved, because I was not confident in my tryout at all. It had me a nervous wreck, I could hardly sleep at night! When you find out if you make it or not, it feels as if a ginormous weight has been lifted off of your shoulders. You no longer have that fear in the pit of your stomach and the voice in the back of your head saying “oh, what if you didn’t make it? What will you do with all of your time now?” Seeing your number
It was the most competitive three days of my life, basketball tryouts. This is the first time my friends and I were trying out for a school team, we were all hyped for basketball season. I entered the tryout excited and consequently energetic. Adrenaline was pulsing through all the players bodies, there were 6 foot tall 8th graders with years of experience competing against 6th graders who have never touched a basketball before for the same spots. I was in between, I was a 6th grader that had experience along with some skill. That was also my downfall, I went in overconfident and consequently cocky. I wasn’t planning on getting cut, I walked into the tryout overwrought, nothing could stop me from being on the team.
Then, three years ago, I broke through those walls. My conscious urged me against it, ran through all the “what ifs” of the situation, as usual, but this time I couldn’t help it. How can one ever truly test his abilities if one is too afraid to even take any initial risk? So, one cloudy, brisk Saturday morning, and joined the football team. Immediately after the first practice, the option of quitting crept its way into my mind. But how could I ever reach my goals if I couldn’t take on a high school sport? There will be thousands of students in college competing with me, professors looking to make scholars, not dropouts. If I couldn’t face this, I couldn’t face them. So, I endured practice after practice, game after game. Every day, I had to rebuild the courage I had to walk out on the field that first day to step out on the field. I was weaker, smaller, and less apt at the game than man of the guys on that team, but I the constant threat of fear couldn’t hold me back anymore.
I figured that I had grown about five inches since my freshman year and had gotten stronger it might be time to play basketball competitively once more. When November rolled around I was on the varsity team, but unfortunately my basketball skills was not up to par. It was tough at first, because I was a new face on the team, and the guys on the team had a great chemistry that they had built up throughout the years. After a few weeks had rolled by, I realized that I would not be in the rotation.I told myself that the team’s success is more important than my personal desired statistics.I decided to make the most of my role on the team. It was a tradition for the guys who were not in the rotation to contribute to the game in some way, guys did this by preforming stunts after significant plays and momentum shifts in the game in our favor. This was great because the crowd loved and it and more importantly my teammates fed off of the
However, I still was nervous and very hesitant when I went to my first varsity high school football practice. All the coaches looked at me as if I were an outsider. I had already been looked at as a player that wasn't gonna make it. I watched how the upperclassmen would act like they had more power or could disrespect the coaches. The players wouldn't give as much effort as me and because I had not made the team yet I had to work ten time harder. I prayed before every practice that I’d get better to prove to myself and to everybody who doubted me and said I couldn't make the team. When tryouts came, I played outstanding and had earned myself a spot on the team and had gained respect from the coaches and players due to my determination.
You walk into the room and feel a warm gust of air greet you at the door. The smell of cleaner fills your nose as your shoes squeak along the freshly mopped mats. The clock strikes 3:30 and the coach blows his whistle that seems to penetrate your ears with a piercing screech. Your body aches and your mind tells you to leave and quit. On the other hand, your heart tells you to go on. Through all the pain, your heart always seems to whisper to you, “This will make you great. This extra day of pain will make the difference.” Even though practice makes your bones ache, your joints grind, your skin bleed, and your body swell; there is a greater hardship to come.
Before team tryouts, I talked with my friends about who we thought who would and wouldn’t make the team. Tryouts came in January. I did the best I could, making great plays, throwing as hard as I could, and hitting solid line drives in the batting cages. When tryouts finally concluded, Coach Sherman and Coach Sloan called us over to take a knee. I didn’t know what anxiety really felt like till this moment. The thought of not making the team didn't occur to me till the very second my name was called to be told if I was going to make the team or not. All of the amazing athletes were to the right and the ones who didn’t make the team were in the weightroom. In the matter of seconds, I went through my past debating if I gave everything my all. I thought about my efforts through the tryout and Performance Course, but before I could finish my thought, Coach Sloan had told me to take a knee next to the amazing athletes. That moment is something in my life I will never forget. This one immense feeling of acceptance, fulfillment, and gratification has showed me how to become a better person. I learned to appreciate all the opportunities I am given and to never waste
Getting up one Saturday morning and going up to the school, I was very nervous about whether I would make the team or not. I've always had athletic ability, but since this was a new town, I was unsure about how my skills would compare with the other kids. Football tryouts were a grueling event. When tryouts started, it was explained to all of us that the coaches would run drills in order to gauge our individual skills, and then place us in specific position groups. After the drills, which I did exceptionally well in, Coach Jones placed me in the receivers group. He told me that I was extremely fast, and that I would make a good receiver. It felt so good, not only making the team, but being singled out by Coach Jones as one of the better players on the squad.
I had my first dance recital on the day I turned four. Now I don’t remember anything from that day, but I believe that that day is when I learned I loved to perform. I’ve been taking dance lessons since then, and many things that I do now involve performing in some type of way.