Enduring, connecting, and exhilarating. These three words are how captain Jodie Schmidt and member Ivy Davidson describe the experience of being on Idaho State University’s color guard team.
From the outside, it may look like a glamorous show filled with fun costumes and routines. On the inside, it is all that and a whole lot more.
By definition according to Oxford Languages, color guard is “a uniformed group, especially of soldiers, police officers, or school representatives, who parade or present their institution’s flag (and sometimes their national flag) on ceremonial occasions.”
“It’s really a huge blend of things. Dance, cheer, techniques of throwing things, the best way to describe it would be like if someone took the standard art of dance, and decided to add several more elements from various other platforms,” said Schmidt, a Sophomore and 3-year total color guard performer.
Being on the color guard team is a dedicated process that includes many hours of rehearsals, recruiting new members, and planning performances to a T, from themed costumes to flamboyant flag-throwing skills.
“We typically practice 3 times a week with the marching band, and during game weeks we typically spend 9-10 hours learning our routines,” said Schmidt.
Throughout the semester, performances are frequent, with the team appearing at every football game as well as select events, such as “Welcome Back Orange and Black” and the homecoming parade.
In upcoming weeks, the group plans to have an array of new costumes for their performances, from the 60s, to Westside Story, to Motown.
Naturally, the team spends a lot of time together, and because of this, they’ve found a strong, family-like bond within each other.
“Honestly for me the experience of being on the team is great. We become like a family almost because we practice so much together, and it’s a lot of fun to get together and come up with ideas for shows and routines and other things,” said Davidson, a freshman and 4th-year total color guard performer.
Like many other teams and clubs within the Idaho State University campus, the color guard team has also faced struggles due to the addition of COVID-19 protocols.
“I’m really proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish operating under Covid protocols. During this period of time,on a day to day basis the most challenging aspect is truly learning and understanding how people connect and making everyone feel heard and acknowledged. We want to bring out the best in everybody,” said Schmidt.
Despite the fun experiences that color guard brings, it can also prove to be a challenge in several ways.
“Game week is pretty difficult, with the tension leading up to things. The band also practices with us during rehearsals so it can be quite hard to lead the rest of the team over the sound of the music,” said Schmidt.
The team currently has a total of 5 players, and is always welcoming new recruits.
“We often participate in the Mountain West Invitational, which is a meeting in which a huge group of color guard teams from high schools across the country meet up to show off their skills. We look forward to going to those annually and getting new people to join our team,” said Schmidt.
