We Are the Champions (again!)

And they have done it again! Lenape High School won 1st place at the USSBA Group 2A New Jersey Championships Sunday in Washington Twp, NJ with a score of 83.975. Special awards include visual, overall effect, percussion, and COLOR GUARD(!).

photos & videos:

• The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Akira Suwa got some nice shots of the day: view.
• Salute some of the seniors did during retreat: watch.

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It’s been a challenging (but successful!) season, so I’d also like to take a moment to congratulate & thank these fabulous people:

Michelle: Thank you for being a leader the guard could look up to respect. You did a great job!

Christine, Crystal, Heather, & Michelle: Congratulations for bringing home 4 consecutive championships! You have done what no other class has in the history of our program. Thank you for your unity this season. You are leaving quite the legacy.

Amber, Danielle, & Jess:  You have a lot to live up to next year, but I know that you will rise to the challenge. Keep up the great work and help us bring home another banner!

Ashley & Nicki: Thank you for coming to practices with smiles on your faces! And for making everyone laugh – whether it was over your jumping jack skills or funny impressions of Danielle in the mirror. I giggle every time.

Hailey & Bella: Congratulations for surviving your first season. You had some tough work thrown at you, but you got it, and got it good! To Hailey:  I have no doubt you helped inspire the rest of the guard/band as you marched around the field, bootie and all, learning your guard work for 1/2 of the season.

And last, but not least, Nick, our 12 o’clock: Thank you for stepping it up and learning guard work in a matter of 5 days so we could have a full clock at the end of the show!

Again, congratulations! The look on all of your faces when they had announced you’d won another state title reminded me why I keep coming back year after year.

Well, we’re still State Champs!

Our season is over?!

It all ended tonight with a 2nd place win at Allentown. The kids were a little bummed out because they have won 2 years in a row, and won a State Championship this season.

We have always told our kids that winning isn’t everthing , but it certainly doesn’t suck. The goal tonight was to do the best performance of their season, no regrets! And they did just that.

I speak for the staff when I say that we are incredibly proud of the job the kids did tonight and the rest of the season. We took a band of 54, 24 of them first-year students, and transformed them into a powerhouse. Tonight’s performance was proof of that – 2nd place and all!

Great job, everyone…
…. Can’t wait to see what we accomplish next year!

And remember: “Excellence us not achieved. It is earned.”

We are the champions!

Well, it was bound to happen someday (at least we hoped it would!). The Lenape High School Marching Band is USSBA group 2A NJ State Champions! With a score of 87.xx, we took all captions but Color Guard (who came in a great 2nd), and beat out 17 other bands from all over NJ. And I’m not here to brag, but the 2d place band was POINTS behind us, meaning we kind of clobbered everyone.

We have never won a state title in USSBA 2A, which we’ve competed in since 2000. We have won All-States, but it’s not the same. We have been pressured to move up to 2 Open (with the “better” bands) but held off because of our lack of a state title. Now that we have won one, there is some thinking to do.

What’s next? All States is three weeks away. Belleville (the guard that beat us) will be there, and my ladies will be in top form. I’m not making excuses for this past weekend’s performance, but we haven’t reached our pinnacle…yet. And we have a title to defend because we won best guard at All-States since 2006.

How are your seasons going? Tell me your success stories in the comments!