By Victoria Mezera
Football season may be over, but that doesn’t mean time is up for Apopka High School’s Guard. In the coming months, they are participating in Winter Guard. We interviewed the coach of Winter Guard team Jennifer Porche and Sophomore Destiny Miller to find out what Winter Guard is all about. According to Destiny, it’s where different guards compete against each other, ranging from middle school to college. They do things such as recitals, shows, competitions, and they also have a class that takes place during the sixth period.
The team puts in a lot of work to make sure they’re ready for their competitions or recitals. They practice twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays for three and a half hours, and they also take part in a spin class on Wednesdays for an hour and a half. With all that practice and time spent together, it’s no wonder that everyone on the team is close to one another. According to Destiny, “Since you see them so often you start to form friendships with each other and it feels like one big family.” Even with other teams, apparently things remain friendly. Destiny said that at competitions, the atmosphere is very friendly despite the competition. “It’s a connection between different guards, everyone supports each other even though we’re competing against them.”
Students apparently join Winter Guard for the new experience. Since it is different from the Guard that takes place during football season, they want to know what it is like. Destiny said that “last year when Color Guard was ending, they (the seniors at the time) kept talking about how much better Winter Guard was than Color Guard, and I wanted to experience it for myself.” While the students join it for the experience, coaching Color Guard has always been a dream of Mrs. Porche. From the moment she began competing in high school, she knew she was in love with it. She was part of Color Guard for three years during high school, and watched it frequently during her years in college. When she began teaching, she knew she wanted to be involved in it.
The difference between Color Guard and Winter Guard is that during Color Guard, they run onto the field during half time, while Winter Guard is indoors. During Winter Guard, they focus more on recital aspects rather than halftime shows during Color Guard season. They also have the band playing in the background, which they don’t have for Winter Guard. However, much of their shows is similar to what you would experience during football season. They still spin rifles, sabers, and flags, and do a lot of dancing. However, they spend a lot more time on the details. According to Porche, “Sometimes it’s difficult to show off our tricks on the football field since our audience is far away and we have the wind to consider. Winter Guard is an opportunity to really explore what the team can do.”
Overall, the Winter Guard is a very dedicated group of very talented people. If you’d like to see them in action, their first show is on January 20th at Lyman High School, and their spring season is chocked full of competitions.