Image courtesy of Maryann Ebat

The Marching Jags head to their home field to show off their hard work during halftime.

Practicing day and night, Segerstrom High School’s ‘Marching Jags’ have been preparing for the busy upcoming months.

Although many believe that being in the marching band is something easy that anyone can do, it takes lots of time and dedication. Segerstrom’s Marching Jags practice through endless Tuesday night rehearsals along with extra practices, morning practices, and in-class dedication to learning not only the music, but the footwork, memorization, and study the strategies of what it takes to beat the best of the best.

With the help of Segerstrom’s current music director, Raul Garcia, the Marching Jags attend annual parades, including competitions, to represent Segerstrom High School and its marching band program. Last month, these students showed their true dedication by attending multiple Friday Night Lights varsity football games, parades such as the Norwalk Marching Band Halloween Parade and the Anaheim Halloween Parade, and even a few school concerts.

As mentioned before, it takes a lot of dedication, but students enjoy learning new music and having fun with all of the other student musicians; they tend to forget that aspect of the class. It’s seen as something they love to do and see themselves improving on as time goes by.

“I think everyone has gotten everything and all the music down… [our last game] for example, the halftime show I feel like we did really well compared to all the other times, even Tuesday’s night practices…. but, I feel like we still have a lot of room to improve, especially the marching aspect of the practice,” says Segerstrom’s student musician, Gaby Palacio (12). 

These student musicians all individually have their individual ideas on how they are doing, but as a whole, they put in their dedication and power to make themselves better. In the end, these students go out with pride to represent their beloved school, whether or not they win their competition, demonstrating their effort and dedication.

Moises Arias (12), who plays the marching tenors in drumline, appreciates the opportunities he’s been giving thanks to the band. “It is fun because you get to meet all these new people and go to these places you’ve never been to…. The practices are going to be kind of difficult, but once you know all the music and [have] it memorized, it becomes something to look [forward] to.”