New Haven High School has received many marching band trophies over the years based on the success of the Marching Shamrocks, which is made up of the band, auxiliary, and drum major(s). Auxiliary is composed of the flag corp and Shamrockettes (poms). In order to receive all these trophies, the auxiliary, along with the rest of the band, must be at its best. In order to accomplish this goal, auxiliary auditions are held.
From Monday, April 27, to Thursday, April 30, there were practices for the girls interested in being a part of next year’s auxiliary squad. Mrs. Samantha Hausmann and Ms. Kim Scheer, auxiliary instructors, ran these practices everyday from 7:00-7:45 a.m. On Friday, May 1, tryouts were held.
Monday morning consisted of Mrs. Hausmann and Ms. Scheer describing what marching band is all about and letting the girls know what is expected of them if they become part of the auxiliary. Mrs Hausmann stated, “It is very important to make sure you are always smiling. If you mess up with your feet in the routine and are smiling, the judges won’t be focused on feet. The judges will be looking at your smile.” Mrs. Hausmann also admitted that she “was a stickler when it came to being on time.” She let the girls know right away that to be early was to be on time.
Coming into Tuesday morning, the girls knew what the simple hand movements were and began learning the routine. Everything is done in sets of eight counts. On Tuesday, the girls got three sets of eight complete. The coaches reviewed marching a little. Captains were also discussed. Every year, the squad has four co-captains. These people are selected by having the highest scores on their auditions. Last year’s captains were Kathy Jasper and Erin Scheer, both upcoming seniors. Kathy stated, “Having that position is a lot of fun. I really enjoy helping the new members learn and watching them catch on.”
Wednesday was a continuation of the routine, with an added eight more counts. The new members paired up with a veteran member and ran through the routine. The vets took the new ones under their wing and helped in specific areas. About half way through the routine, there is a knee lift paired with an arm swing. There was some extra time spent on that because of the move’s difficulty. Towards the end of the practice, everyone got in a straight line and practiced arm placement. It is important that the arm placement of one matches the arm placement of all the others.
Thursday, the group practiced with the music and also with counts. Adding on the last eight counts took up only five minutes of the time. The rest of the time was spent reviewing the routine and working on weak areas. For the last ten minutes, Mrs. Hausmann sat all the girls down and explained to them how tryouts would run the next morning.
Friday was the day that all the girls were dreading because it was the day that they were going to be judged. The panel of judges included Mrs. Riegel, Mrs. Miller, Ms. Allen, Ms. Scheer, and Mrs.Hausmann. The girls were judged on their posture, memorization of the routine, smiling, attitude, punctuality throughout the week, marking time, and being able to complete the routine even if mistakes were made. The judges called in groups of 3 flags and 4 poms at a time. The poms did the routine once with counts and once with music. The flags ran the routine once with Mrs. Scheer counting with them and one time counting by themselves.
Mrs. Hausmann stated that, “the results for the 2015 auxiliary squad would be posted on the office window by either Monday or Tuesday of the following week.”
That next week, the results were revealed. The members of the 2015 marching band auxiliary include 12 girls. There are eight Shamrockettes and four flags. The returning Shamrockette members are seniors Kathy Jasper, Maddie Fleer, Stephanie Russo, and Erin Scheer; and sophomores Mackenzie Bauer, Kate Ruediger, and Emma Engelbrecht. The new members of the squad include freshmen Lexi Oetter and Mackenzie Munsinger. The flag corp members are junior Brooke Reed, sophomore Sarah McKernan, freshman Claire Laune, and senior Brooke Bockting.
This year’s co-captains are Stephanie, Erin, Brooke Reed, and Brooke Bockting. Captain Stephanie stated, “I am surprised that I am the captain of the Shamrockette team with Erin Scheer! But I was nervous when I was doing my routine in front of the judges because I did mess up quite a lot, but knowing that I made it was really epic and cool because it's going to be my last year of high school, and so I want to make the most of it.”
Returning flag member Brooke Reed commented, “I was fairly nervous about the auditions; however, when the older ‘vets’ were to help the new members learn, it made me learn the routine faster. I felt as if I had a greater responsibility to fulfill being a previous flag member. I feel great now that it is all over and I made it. I can't wait to help the younger girls become great flag members so we will have an amazing marching season!”
As this new marching season approaches, the members are getting excited and are ready to begin in hopes of making it as good, if not better, than last year.
-Kathy Jasper
Monday morning consisted of Mrs. Hausmann and Ms. Scheer describing what marching band is all about and letting the girls know what is expected of them if they become part of the auxiliary. Mrs Hausmann stated, “It is very important to make sure you are always smiling. If you mess up with your feet in the routine and are smiling, the judges won’t be focused on feet. The judges will be looking at your smile.” Mrs. Hausmann also admitted that she “was a stickler when it came to being on time.” She let the girls know right away that to be early was to be on time.
Coming into Tuesday morning, the girls knew what the simple hand movements were and began learning the routine. Everything is done in sets of eight counts. On Tuesday, the girls got three sets of eight complete. The coaches reviewed marching a little. Captains were also discussed. Every year, the squad has four co-captains. These people are selected by having the highest scores on their auditions. Last year’s captains were Kathy Jasper and Erin Scheer, both upcoming seniors. Kathy stated, “Having that position is a lot of fun. I really enjoy helping the new members learn and watching them catch on.”
Wednesday was a continuation of the routine, with an added eight more counts. The new members paired up with a veteran member and ran through the routine. The vets took the new ones under their wing and helped in specific areas. About half way through the routine, there is a knee lift paired with an arm swing. There was some extra time spent on that because of the move’s difficulty. Towards the end of the practice, everyone got in a straight line and practiced arm placement. It is important that the arm placement of one matches the arm placement of all the others.
Thursday, the group practiced with the music and also with counts. Adding on the last eight counts took up only five minutes of the time. The rest of the time was spent reviewing the routine and working on weak areas. For the last ten minutes, Mrs. Hausmann sat all the girls down and explained to them how tryouts would run the next morning.
Friday was the day that all the girls were dreading because it was the day that they were going to be judged. The panel of judges included Mrs. Riegel, Mrs. Miller, Ms. Allen, Ms. Scheer, and Mrs.Hausmann. The girls were judged on their posture, memorization of the routine, smiling, attitude, punctuality throughout the week, marking time, and being able to complete the routine even if mistakes were made. The judges called in groups of 3 flags and 4 poms at a time. The poms did the routine once with counts and once with music. The flags ran the routine once with Mrs. Scheer counting with them and one time counting by themselves.
Mrs. Hausmann stated that, “the results for the 2015 auxiliary squad would be posted on the office window by either Monday or Tuesday of the following week.”
That next week, the results were revealed. The members of the 2015 marching band auxiliary include 12 girls. There are eight Shamrockettes and four flags. The returning Shamrockette members are seniors Kathy Jasper, Maddie Fleer, Stephanie Russo, and Erin Scheer; and sophomores Mackenzie Bauer, Kate Ruediger, and Emma Engelbrecht. The new members of the squad include freshmen Lexi Oetter and Mackenzie Munsinger. The flag corp members are junior Brooke Reed, sophomore Sarah McKernan, freshman Claire Laune, and senior Brooke Bockting.
This year’s co-captains are Stephanie, Erin, Brooke Reed, and Brooke Bockting. Captain Stephanie stated, “I am surprised that I am the captain of the Shamrockette team with Erin Scheer! But I was nervous when I was doing my routine in front of the judges because I did mess up quite a lot, but knowing that I made it was really epic and cool because it's going to be my last year of high school, and so I want to make the most of it.”
Returning flag member Brooke Reed commented, “I was fairly nervous about the auditions; however, when the older ‘vets’ were to help the new members learn, it made me learn the routine faster. I felt as if I had a greater responsibility to fulfill being a previous flag member. I feel great now that it is all over and I made it. I can't wait to help the younger girls become great flag members so we will have an amazing marching season!”
As this new marching season approaches, the members are getting excited and are ready to begin in hopes of making it as good, if not better, than last year.
-Kathy Jasper
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