Marching Small Steps at a Time
By Kenzee Hampton
Small steps at a time and big leaps towards a great season. The Owasso Rams Marching Band is eager and has already started preparing for the fall season. They just finished the Spring Marching Band Clinics, where they practice on the track field after school for three hours. From the looks of it, the next season looks promising.
Chris Harris, the band director, states, “This is the time of year where we actually have our foot in the door for next year.”
Preparing for the season has many layers to it, and the first thing they have to do is prepare the students.
Picture Taken By Kenzee Hampton
Harris states, “Marching is very physically demanding… so it’s something we have to do a lot of repetitions and lots of time so they can get in shape.”
As the season begins, the Owasso Rams Marching Band upperclassmen learn to pull the younger ones into the group and help them along the way. This is partly because the band directors hold all of their students to the same expectations without slowing down for newcomers.
Harris states, “ [We put all of them together] when learning the basics… if we tell them something and they don’t understand they have 250 kids… [that are] role models... [When we are all together] the freshmen rise to the occasion.”
The thing about band is that everyone is in the starting line up and the number one thing The Owasso Rams Marching Band looks for in a student is a great work ethic.
He states, “Everything else branches off of that.”
The Owasso Rams Marching Band has remarkable students and a great coaching staff that strives to keep a hard-working and positive atmosphere. The coaches are constantly working together to see what needs to get done.
Harris states, “We got to make sure the most uncoordinated student gets a lot of attention and encouragement so we can pull them along, and that is where that hard work ethic comes along.”
Not all obstacles are physical. The coaches of the marching band always tell the kids to have a Mindset of excellence.
Harris states, “[Work on] being a good person, on friendships and relationships with your family; all of those things make you a better performer. [If] the other things in your life are working well, you will be free to be successful.”
As the Owasso Rams Marching Band prepares mentally and physically, the excitement for next season rises.
Photo Taken By Kenzee Hampton
The season of 2021-2022 will be one to remember. The staff started preparing in January for the fall season. They have laid everything out so they can teach their students one step at a time. Getting ready for the season is a long process to get where you need to be.
Harris expresses, “[Our] staff [is] ahead of the game… [to become good] you can’t just take shortcuts….”
Marching band is a long process, and it takes lots of patience. Something the coaches are incorporating is technology. They’re hoping this will benefit their students to memorize and help the process.
Harris states, “You can send them a QR code, and it will show them their position and where they need to be on the field at a certain time, and the kids can learn their formations from their phone.”
With hope of next year becoming more normal, the Owasso Rams Marching Band is beyond excited to perform at football games. On May 20, they will be in the south stands at spring football practice with pom, cheer and as many students as they can have. It will be after school at 3:00 p.m.
Harris finishes with, “We have always had a phenomenal student section… [and] we want to establish that we will be doing that again this fall!”