Being thrown into a trash can is an honor for freshmen members of the Woodrow Wilson High School Marching Band.
This initiation ritual seems peculiar to outsiders, says Lauren Johnson, a senior drum major and saxophone player in the band. But such activities, plus time spent in rehearsals and performances, give the 60 members of the marching band a sense of camaraderie and spirit.
“Once (freshmen) have been initiated, they’ve been accepted by everyone in the band,” says Johnson. “For my freshman initiation, I was thrown into a swimming pool.”
But there is not always time for such fun. The band practices Monday through Friday from 7:45 a.m. to 9 a.m., plus two hours on Monday night. Football games and pep rallies occupy Friday afternoons and evenings. Saturday football games entail a two-hour practice before the game. Plus, there are two competitions this fall.
For some, early morning practices aren’t easy. “I’d like to sleep more in the mornings,” says Engelbert Jimenez, a sophomore saxophone player.
After morning practice, there is study hall in the band room where older band members tutor younger members.
Strict grade standards are enforced.
“We do a grade check every week. Kids who are borderline receive tutoring or lessons in study skills,” says Richard Hayden, the band director. He says the hardest thing for band students is “juggling time between academics and extra-curricular activities like band or athletics, because they’ve got to discipline themselves.”
Several students participate in activities other than band.
Oscar Uribe, a senior assistant drum major, works at a neighborhood drug store 20 hours a week. “My family thinks I’m going to wear myself out,” he says.
Jonathan Binford, a junior who plays bass clarinet, is a cross country runner and a swimmer. “I go to cross country two times a week and I swim three times a week,” he says.
Johnson has swim practice for an hour everyday, and is president of the Spanish club. “My parents think I live at school,” she says.
The Wildcat Band practices so much because its military marching style requires hours of refinement. “We’re the only DISD band that is military,” says director Hayden.
This style is more difficult to learn than the corps style of marching used by most high schools, Hayden says.
In the military style of marching, lines of people move perpendicular to each other. “When a student misses a turn, they get hit by another student. They feel embarrassed when this happens,” Hayden says. “It’s so visible, you can see when they make a mistake.”
It takes a month for freshmen to learn how to march. “Every week you can see an improvement,” Hayden says. “Now their lines are straighter and their turns are sharper.”
Corey Davis, a freshman who plays the drums, says, “It was hard to catch on at first. Turning corners was hard to learn.”
Despite the hectic schedule, band members agree that marching band is worth the time. “You work really hard, and then you reap the rewards,” says Johnson.
“It’s not the scores at contests, but it’s special when you walk off the field and people are clapping, and Mr. Hayden smiles.”
Band members also enjoy the support they receive from friends and family. “My whole family came to one of the games two weeks ago,” says Uribe.
“You can hear the students screaming, even when we’re not playing.”
Uribe and Erica Figueroa, a junior trumpet player, will march in the 1993 Foley’s All-Star Band, which performs in the Foley’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Houston and will be broadcast nationwide.
But it is not the recognition band members like most, it is the fellowship of band, Hayden says. “For some kids, this is the only family they have.”
