This week is was said to me that the marching band’s only concern is with winning and that sports were different. As a person who has watched an insane amount of both at the high school level, these two extracurricular activity groups are more similar than most might realize.
The biggest difference, a marching band only has roughly eight minutes to win people over and there’s no clear cut rules on how to do so. Sports have clearly defined rules to determine winners.
LIFE LESSONS SPORTS AND MUSIC BOTH TEACH US
- Commitment. – Both sports and band have camps during the summer, practices in the evenings and events on the weekends. Musical practice starts before Christmas for a March show with practices several nights a week while sports train even in the off season.
- Self-Discipline. Showing up is only part of the battle. In both sports and music, kids from all backgrounds have an opportunity to be successful. Each year, students are able to further their education with scholarships from both music and sports. Neither would be possible without the self discipline to show up and practice.
- Learning To Work With Others – group projects are often rough, but teams become like families. If one teammate doesn’t do their job, it can ruin an entire play, series, or inning. If one marching band member decides to not play the music as written, not march to their appropriate spot, or otherwise not work as a team, it can mess up the entire show. Imagine if during a musical dance, the male decided he just wasn’t going to catch a female dancer… No matter how old you are there will always be others to work with in life.
- Handling Fear and Failure. Fear of getting injured, fear of forgetting lines, fear not being as good as your coach or parents want, fear of playing the wrong notes, everything in life has moments that can be fearful.
- Resilience.“The biggest life lesson that I have learned as a coach is that the sun will come up the next day. No matter the outcome of the day, process it, learn from it and make the best of the next day that has been given to you. Bad things are going to happen as a competitor and as a coach; how you react to those bad things are ultimately going to shape and mold you into the person you are.” -Evan Copeland, Cleveland High School Wrestling. One year in a NCHS Marching Eagles competition a young lady was marching backwards and ran into another player landing on her and smashing her instrument. More recently, a flag pole got caught in a hood. You learn just to keep going no matter what.
- Goal Setting – For many the goal is to win. After all, that’s what competing is about. However, personal goals are important in both. Nailing a flag toss, learning to play a hard piece, memorizing lines, learning to dunk, throwing the best curve ball.
- Time Management – Practices, performances, training (home practice, weight training, etc) all take time whether it’s a sport or music.
- DedicationEvery athletic and marching season has a beginning and an end. Coaches/directors preach to their kids to finish what you start. Everyone wants to quit or not attend at some point, but dedication to improvement and becoming the best you can be is what keeps the athlete/musician going.
- Overcoming Adversity – Life is not about what happens to you, it’s about how you deal with it. At some point, everyone wins and everyone loses, but both teach valuable lessons. Winning with grace and humility is just as important as being a good loser.
- Perseverance – Not every practice, game, or performance will be perfect, but the true test comes in getting back out there and trying again until you get it right.
- Patience – Winning takes time. Championship teams and award winning shows aren’t built overnight. In sports you have a coach and in life you have a boss. In band you have directors and in life you have a boss. You learn to take instruction, develop patience and become a member of a team.
- Respect -Athletes must respect their coaches, officials, teammates, and their opponent. It is important to recognize the worth of another. Musicians must respect their directors, any competitors they have, supporting members of their team such as lights, pit, stage, or parents volunteering their time to help load and unload or chaperone.
- Integrity – Taking accountability is a major characteristic of successful student athletes and musicians. You are accountable for knowing your role, perfecting your role, and completing your role to the best of your ability. You are also responsible for being a positive impact on the team and a positive representative of your community.
- Compassion – How you treat the kid who missed the game winning shot, overthrew the game winning pass, or dropped the game winning catch is just as important as how a musician treats the kid who played a wrong note that was heard by all, the colorguard member who dropped their flag, the member who was out of step, not in the right spot, or otherwise messed up somehow.
