The Competition that Wasn't

We were canceled last night if you didn't know or weren't there. I am very disappointed but this one was out of our control. The day started yesterday with a parade. A parade for the slimy, itchy, sticky treat of okra. That was ok. We all did fine. Now for the competition. We have been preparing for rain for several days now. As a band director, I follow the weather closely not just for comfort but for safety too. Every thing was packed up and every body looked great. I have never seen the DF band so focused before we left. We got to the competition and unloaded right on schedule. We did have a few issues with some equipment but those will be fixed by next weekend for certain. We then went to our warm up area and there they were, the other bands that we had all been seeking for 2 months now. You see it is one thing to rehearse hard and perform at games and we even did a community show Friday night. All those things are great, but there is nothing like being around the other bands to make it real. It was especially exciting to be around the caliber of bands in which we held company. It was loud and great but we were more focused than ever. A light rain began to fall with about 20 minutes left in our warm up. We were tuned and gave out some rain gear to keep the instruments dry. We were the only band left in warm up. It was great. Then somebody came up to me and told me the competition had been cancelled. I asked why. I was told because of lightning. OK! lightning is a bad thing for band. We are in an open area with large metal things but I knew there was no lightning in the area at all! As I stated before, we had a constant watch in the weather. We would not have been in warm up if there was lightning in the area. So what did we do. We played our show for ourselves. If you missed it, you missed an outstanding performance. I then told the kids that the show had been cancelled. I saw tears from some. That is the worse part of band directing. We then lined up and marched back to the buses and returned home. The band room looks like a bazaar of sorts as there is stuff all over drying out. Flags, feathers, instruments all kinds of stuff. It was a very sad feeling to leave last night knowing we had not gotten to do what we love so much but now for the positive...

We are a great band. I have never seen them so focused and intense as I have last night. Every student was on task and trying as hard as they could. We sounded great too. Even with all the disappointment, we still handled ourselves with poise and dignity. I was very proud to be their director. My staff was great and the chaperons and pit crew were too. We had a few kinks but they will fixed for next weekend. Wait what was that about next weekend? Yep, you better believe we will be even more ready, more focused, and more determined than ever. We are good now but that is not enough. This week had proved to me that DF is ready to take things to the next level and we shall. Just wait. Students should be ready to work harder than ever this coming week. You will pushed beyond your comfort level. You will be asked to do things you don't think you can. You will be so ready to compete on Saturday night that you...Well just wait because disappointments just make want to work more and become more determined. "Dutch Fork are you ready to take the field for competition?" If you thought you were ready last night, just wait for what's coming. I can hardly wait.