12 hours a week, 173 performers, five months of preparation are all concentrated into just eight minutes of performance.
“As soon as I walk on the field I clear my mind and just let my muscle memory take over,” junior Addy Lillien said.
Placing at all four of their tournaments last year, Hickman’s marching band has certainly made a name for itself. But behind the trophies and impressive performances are hours of difficult, streamlined practice.
“We practice the show so much that I don’t overthink it,” Addy said.
It all starts in the summer. Section leaders are selected at the end of May and they begin to prepare for the year immediately.
“We have to start planning in the beginning, just because they take some time and some effort,” Addy said. “Being a section leader definitely puts a little bit more pressure on you to not mess up… because you have to be the one people look to. It’s also way more fun because I get to be the one to make all these memories for people that I got from my previous section leaders.”
Next comes band camp, two straight weeks of intense training. Members learn counts, choreography and, just as importantly, get to know each other. Additional summer practices, including mini camps, help solidify the material.
“Those two weeks and those mini camps total half of our entire rehearsal time together as a band,” Addy said. “So those weeks are very, very vital to us to get this show down.”
But that’s just the beginning. Once fall arrives, the season ramps up with rehearsals, halftime performances and competitions.
“The amount of morning rehearsals, plus the amount of evening rehearsals we have only in one week – especially when it starts racking up in September and October – It gets very overwhelming,” junior Huckleberry Hall said.
Even with the workload, the band fosters an inviting atmosphere that combines hard work with fun.
“The people help a lot,” junior Natalie Trammel said. “That’s the reason I keep coming back, because you meet a bunch of new people, and you get to do amazing things.”
The sense of community is no accident. It is yet another thing that team leaders work to meticulously organize.
“To keep everything in order with planning stuff, I work with my other section leaders,” junior Clara Dykehouse said. “We focus a lot on bonding.”
By placing that emphasis, leaders motivate band members to work harder for each other, not just themselves. It makes the band about more than just music, but a community built on responsibility, rhythm, and relentless teamwork.
“You just have to do what you have to do to make everything work out well, not just for yourself, but for other people. So learn the music, learn the drill, learn anything you can about the show, and then you put it all on the field,” Huckleberry said.
