If you step into the concourse during the spring and summer months, you might catch a glimpse of the Middleton High School Color Guard, coached by Lisa Cole. Although many students only see the final product during the football halftime shows, months of work and practice are put into perfecting the technique and skill that goes into flag and rifle twirling.

While the instruments of the Marching band provide an audible performance, the Color Guard provides the visual performance. Routines and field shows are meticulously choreographed to portray the sound the audience hears. For example, this years field show, “Noir” had Jazzy tones, so the guard used some smoother movements to compliment the music.

While Color Guard practices alongside the band, they also spend time refining skills alone. A two-week “Boot Camp” prepares them for the season with 9am-5pm practice times. To supplement the practices, there is an annual sleepaway camp that prepares the Color Guard for learning choreography quickly and getting the basics of marching with a flag. These Color Guard skills, in turn, helped the Marching Band place high in competitions this year.

The Color Guard doesn’t just work hard; they play hard too! Camps, team bonding events and endless hours spent together ensures that the team becomes very close. Who’s on the team? Captains Rachel Huber and Britney Paul lead the group along with two assistant captains and 22 other members,  outnumbering last years team of 16 members. This growth may be due to the new policy allowing incoming Freshmen to join. In fact, 12 freshmen were welcomed to the team this year. One of the freshmen, Alexandra Holthaus, says, “Color guard has been and will always be one of my favorite things ever. I love the people and couldn’t imagine my life without them.” This shows just how connected the Color Guard has become over this past season.

The team’s success this year earned them a place in this years winter pep assembly, performing to the song “Light ‘em up,” by Fall Out Boy.