high school marching band and fall sports?

[aggiedog]

Here, you can only do marching and concert together. You are so NOT allowed to pick one or the other. It's a full year commitment. It's also a single class period thruout the year, though during competition seasons there are after/before school practices also.

Scheduling is an issue, and kids miss a part of one or the other or both. Coaches and directors understand this. It's one of the benefits of our small school. My daughter did band, tennis, track, debate, several academic competitions, and theater thruout the year, not to mention out of school ballet 6 hours a week (and every saturday in the fall for Nutcracker.) Bigger schools you'd have to pick one area to focus on.

 

[aggiedog]

My understanding for scholarships is that the next season, there will be less money for incoming scholarships, as that money will be tied up with kids that didn't play this year. Effectively 5 years of kids needing 4 years worth of money.

 

[mrs. magoo]

Here in NY all fall sports are postponed until September 21st and if they can not have a season then they will condense the 3 seasons starting January 4th. For my kid that means basketball will run from January 4 to March 13; Football would be March 1 to May 8 and Lacrosse would be April 5 to June 12. Can you see the problem with this? The overlap is terrible for small schools that rely on kids to play multiple sports. I guess there has been talk to make the seasons even shorter to allow kids to play multiple sports. He has committed to the University at Buffalo to play football next fall so he needs to play football but the other sports are just as important to him and since he did not get a Lacrosse season last year I really want him to have some closure with it.

Youth sports have been playing since early July but he has not been able to workout with his teams since March 15. This is very frustrating for him and not good for my house since during a football zoom workout yesterday he cracked the drywall in his room during a wall squat.

 

[crazylady]

This is one of the things I'm most sad about. Band means ALOT to my kid. We are still attempting to move forward, but who knows if a season will even happen. We've already dropped out of competition and I doubt there will be football games to go to. Kid is at band camp now but sounds like our band director is more realistic.than yours. We're only doing two 3 hour blocks a day with 1/2 the kids in each, no food, no water, none of the usual band camp field trips and no music for now. That's still groups of 100 though. At least band kids are already good at the social distancing thing!

At this point I just think the band directors (and all coaches, really) just want the kids to stay engaged so they want to come back next year.

PS. Can we talk about water for 12 hours of band camp? That's alot to pack; it's hot here!

 

[Renarr]

Here in Washington, fall practices were pushed back until after Labor Day (our school starts the week before). More guidelines expected today about fall sports.

We're still in Phase 2 in my county. Practices allowed with 6 or fewer at a time. No locker rooms.

I don't see us entering Phase 3 anytime soon (our governor limited phase movement and numbers are rising, with no county yet in Phase 4 and even Phase 3 had some extra restrictions on gathering size), but in Phase 3, you could bring back cross-country (with staggered start times), golf, and individual swimming events.

Volleyball and soccer are Phase 4, as is 7-on-7 football.

Standard HS football, wrestling, and stunting dance/cheer teams are currently a no even in Phase 4.

I haven't heard specifically about marching band, but based on the restrictions in play, my guess is that has to wait until Phase 4.

 

[aggiedog]

I have no idea if Texas even has phases. If we do, I've not seen them posted or even discussed anywhere.

 

[tvguy]

My son found out this week he was accepted into a Big 10 college marching band. Just a wave of emotions as I know things will not go as he dreamed. I follow College Marching, and they had a very interesting discussion on the fall season, what they have discovered about transmission, and what they are doing to mitigate the risks. Worth a watch if you are a band parent!
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=606930770210300&id=1494353250793865

I played trumpet in High School. Two words, spit valve. I can't think of a way to mitigate the risk with any band with all those droplets flying around.

 

[Skippy918]

Our local area has suspended all sports and extra curriculars including fine arts.
It looks like 5A and 6A football are postponed until sept 24th.

My oldest is in middle school band and we don’t know how that’s impacted yet. Hopefully it can be virtual.

 

[Lumpy1106]

With all the posts regarding sending kids to school, I thought I'd focus on extracurricular activities. My high schooler will be return to face to face classes. He's a junior and is healthy, so I left the decision up to him.

However, we decided to pull him out of marching band this year. There is a new band director who came in mid-term last spring just as the schools were shutting down. We lost our existing director suddenly. Anyway, the new director is gung-ho, balls to the wall. He is continuing with plans like always. With band camp starting on next Monday 9am-9pm. The kids are not allowed to gather indoors, so he is having them outside for 12 hours six days a week for 2 weeks. (yes, Saturdays are included). In addition, the most recent email says they will not be providing anything that has been provided in the past. Including water, sunscreen, lunches and dinners.

I realize this is not that much different from how band camp was run in past years, but, that's a lot of work to put in especially considering I don't think they will have a season. The state competition has been cancelled, as has Bands of America. That leaves the weekly invitational competitions and football games.

Now, lets be honest, I really don't anticipate any of the highschools in our division will be hosting competitions. Also, what is the likelihood that highschool football will happen this year? Pretty slim chance I think. One athlete getting CovID will end it all.

I would think twice before removing him from the band. Reason being, there is a lot more to band than just competitions, just as there is a lot more to school than class and grades. If they can do it outdoors, safely, I don't see that as a waste of his time, plus the competitions could be moved to spring. FWIW - you probably saw, he Rose Bowl parade has already been cancelled. First time ever. That makes sense as things like the selection competitions for the bands and the float construction is starting now. Still, very sad to see.

As for other sports, my kids play lacrosse, and that is in the spring. Their 2020 season was ended abruptly (daughter's team was undefeated in fact). Fall season sports are definitely not happening where we are, or should I say, not happening in the fall. That worried us as we would hate for our kids spring sports to get forced out by the Fall sports (football in particular - they use the same field for games). The district issued the preliminary schedules yesterday - seasons will be compressed, maybe truncated, but the plan is for everyone to play a season of some sort, starting in 1/21.

 

[NotUrsula]

I have an incoming junior who just made the tenor/quad drumline. Our district would have normally started school on July 22 but that's been pushed back twice already. So far we've heard nothing on whether we will be allowed to do anything.

If they cancel all sports (which I kind of doubt they will... this is Arizona after all) I would be "more OK" with band being canceled but if they allow football to continue, where the kids literally pile on top of each other, but cancel marching band, where the kids DON'T pile on top of each other, I will be pretty upset. I feel terrible for the kids and the poor directors (our Director just landed the job after a promotion from Assistant last year... he worked his TAIL off last year doing everything alone when the Director just.... disappeared) and the new Assistant Director who hasn't gotten to do anything yet... and may not, at this rate.

Marching band is absolutely the ONLY thing that keeps this particular kid going each day so if they cancel it I'm going to have a depressed teenager.

The problem with most instruments is that they expel air with force generated via the mouth. (Percussion is, of course, the exception.) However, you cannot have a full band without brass & woodwinds, so there will have to be accommodations made to reduce transmission for music students. The nonprofit United Sound has actually come up with some free designs for instrument covers & special masks that cut down on the amount of aerosol emitted by the players & instruments. (Face masks with overlapping slits to accommodate a mouthpiece, and bell covers/woodwind bags to help reduce the droplet expulsion out of the bell or valves. ) Some of the tests that have been done have shown that the amount of droplet emission for most instruments was about the same as a close face-to-face conversation without masks. Science magazine did an overview of the testing situation recently: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/07/it-safe-strike-band-time-coronavirus

Of course, my poor kid is a flutist, so none of these options will work for her; they are still working on a solution for flutes. (One test that was done to measure droplet output said that flutes were the worst wind instrument, "like a catapult" was the phrase used.) One suggestion that I have seen for concert flutes is to have each musician play inside a zippered fabric booth, using a mic. (Something similar to this: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Under-the-Weather-InstaPod-Pop-Up-Tent/776789147) I'm not sure how they would manage marching; maybe a bubblehead down to the waist? )

Our district sent out the choice form yesterday to pick virtual or in-person for the first quarter. The music director sent a note along with it that said that if you are enrolled in any music classes you must take the in-person option. The choice being given is either show up, or drop music entirely.

 

[monsterkitty]

I played trumpet in High School. Two words, spit valve. I can't think of a way to mitigate the risk with any band with all those droplets flying around.

Colorado State University did an aerosol study to determine the particles released while playing brass and woodwind instruments as well as singing. One of the solutions to the spit valves found on all brass instruments, is to empty the water key onto a puppy pad. I personally used a bucket with an inch or so of cat litter in my classroom and kids would empty their water into the bucket.

If anyone is interested in seeing the respiratory aerosol particles released while playing certain instruments, here are some videos of the study:

reciting the ABCs
Clarinet
trombone
singing

More results will be publicly released at the end of this month. I can tell you that the results are giving many band and vocal teachers great concerns on how to teach the classes safely. In most cases, it is not possible to have 6x6 spaces around wind players and the recommended 9x6 for trombonists. The other general considerations they suggest will be difficult because of lack of supplies. This includes the handing each student a 70% alcohol wipe to wipe down any surface they touch when they get their materials. The best was the recommendation of HEPA filters on HVAC systems and the portable amplifier so teachers can keep their voices down instead of trying to talk over 45+kids with instruments.

 

[monsterkitty]

The problem with most instruments is that they expel air with force generated via the mouth. (Percussion is, of course, the exception.) However, you cannot have a full band without brass & woodwinds, so there will have to be accommodations made to reduce transmission for music students. The nonprofit United Sound has actually come up with some free designs for instrument covers & special masks that cut down on the amount of aerosol emitted by the players & instruments. (Face masks with overlapping slits to accommodate a mouthpiece, and bell covers/woodwind bags to help reduce the droplet expulsion out of the bell or valves. ) Some of the tests that have been done have shown that the amount of droplet emission for most instruments was about the same as a close face-to-face conversation without masks. Science magazine did an overview of the testing situation recently: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/07/it-safe-strike-band-time-coronavirus

Of course, my poor kid is a flutist, so none of these options will work for her; they are still working on a solution for flutes. (One test that was done to measure droplet output said that flutes were the worst wind instrument, "like a catapult" was the phrase used.) One suggestion that I have seen for concert flutes is to have each musician play inside a zippered fabric booth, using a mic. (Something similar to this: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Under-the-Weather-InstaPod-Pop-Up-Tent/776789147) I'm not sure how they would manage marching; maybe a bubblehead down to the waist? )

Our district sent out the choice form yesterday to pick virtual or in-person for the first quarter. The music director sent a note along with it that said that if you are enrolled in any music classes you must take the in-person option. The choice being given is either show up, or drop music entirely.

As a retired instrumental music educator, my kid would be dropping that class faster than the aerosol particles spraying from the bell of a trombone.

See my previous thread of the CSU study with videos. Send the link to the band director and ask if he or she have seen it yet. Even our top marching band directors in the state are rethinking everything they've done in the past to get their kids to the top.

 

[NotUrsula]

As a retired instrumental music educator, my kid would be dropping that class faster than the aerosol particles spraying from the bell of a trombone.

See my previous thread of the CSU study with videos. Send the link to the band director and ask if he or she have seen it yet. Even our top marching band directors in the state are rethinking everything they've done in the past to get their kids to the top.

Oh, I'm sure he's been told. It's a troubled district, and that music program is one of their few major successes, so the man has really outsize power (and is rather vindictive besides. ) It's always been his way or the highway, and this is really no different. There is no marching band in the program, because the 2 schools involved have no outdoor rehearsal spaces (& also because he hates marching bands.) They have two levels of concert band and an additional 3 honors ensembles; all grouped by ability rather than grade, from age 11 thru 18.

DD is determined to take her chances with going back to school if they remain open; distance learning was really difficult for her.

 

[Park Pirate]

Just FYI, the state of Virginia High School League (VHSL) is looking at the following 3 options and will decide on July 27th:

Model 1
• Leave all sports in the season where they are currently aligned. Low and Moderate contact risk sports that would be allowed to play are golf and cross country
• High-risk sports that would not be played are field hockey, football, volleyball, and cheer
• All VHSL Academic activities are Low or Moderate risk.

Model 2
• Switch the Fall and Spring Season
• Low and Moderate contact risk sports that would be allowed to play in the Fall are Track & Field, Tennis, Soccer, Baseball, and Softball
• High-risk sports that would not be played are Boys and Girls Lacrosse
• All VHSL Academic activities are Low or Moderate risk.

Model 3
• Leave all sports in the season where they are
currently aligned.
• Season 1 (Winter) December 14 – February 20 (First Contest Date – December 28)
• Season 2 (Fall) February 15 – May 1 (First Contest Date – March 1)
• Season 3 (Spring) April 12 – June 26 (First Contest Date – April 26)

With a kid that plays both lacrosse and football, we are obviously hoping they go with Model 3. Model 1 eliminates football and Model 2 eliminates lacrosse.

 

[Renarr]

An update on Washington state: we're moving to a four-season year

Season 1: September - October: Cross Country, Slowpitch Softball, Girls Swim and Dive
Season 2: January - February: Basketball, Bowling, Boys Swim and Dive, Gymnastics, Cheerleading, Wrestling
Season 3: March - April: Volleyball, Girls Soccer, Small School Boys Soccer
Season 4: May - June: Tennis, Fastpitch Softball, Track & Field, Baseball, Golf, Big School Boys Soccer, Dance/Drill

All of these still pending Department of Health permissions where needed.

If Benchmarks to run Season 1 aren't met (these will be determined next week), Season 1 sports will run during Season 3.

 

[mdsouth]

Here in Illinois we are still waiting for what sports will be played and when. The IHSA was suppose to send out their plans today but they have postponed it a week to get further information. Ugg. We are scheduled to start school in mid August and still no word.

The big state band competitions at University of Illinois and Illinois State University have been cancelled already.

Like everyone here, I have a child in band that will be affected. She is an incoming Senior. For her, band is her big thing in school, socially. She is an introvert and so marching band and even concert band is her connection to the other students and gives her opportunities to socialize with them. I hate that she is going to miss her Senior year. Last year's band trip was cancelled too, and they only go every other year. So, since she did not go on her Freshman band trip, she missed out on the band trips too. She did get to go to the Bands of America trip her Sophomore year and loved it. It was just an overnight trip. Bands of America is cancelled for this year so no hope there.

 

[momz]

I would think twice before removing him from the band. Reason being, there is a lot more to band than just competitions, just as there is a lot more to school than class and grades. If they can do it outdoors, safely, I don't see that as a waste of his time, plus the competitions could be moved to spring. FWIW - you probably saw, he Rose Bowl parade has already been cancelled. First time ever. That makes sense as things like the selection competitions for the bands and the float construction is starting now. Still, very sad to see.

As for other sports, my kids play lacrosse, and that is in the spring. Their 2020 season was ended abruptly (daughter's team was undefeated in fact). Fall season sports are definitely not happening where we are, or should I say, not happening in the fall. That worried us as we would hate for our kids spring sports to get forced out by the Fall sports (football in particular - they use the same field for games). The district issued the preliminary schedules yesterday - seasons will be compressed, maybe truncated, but the plan is for everyone to play a season of some sort, starting in 1/21.

I understand what you are saying. However, his heart isn’t in it. I can’t make him go especially in the current environment. He’s finding other outlets for his time as well. He’s working weekends at a local paintball field umpiring the games and working on building projects. He’s learning some valuable skills there. Also, he plays with a group of other kids in a garage band. He’s been able to rehearse with them at least twice a week.

I see value in a teen participating in organized activities like band, sports, clubs. But he is maturing in leaps and bounds by learning how to work for a boss, and how to work with his peers on a common goal. They are creating new music, which feeds his need to be creative.

I’m glad he is finding alternative ways to be productive. So, stepping out of marching band has not been as hard as I thought It would be.

I feel bad for your kids if their seasons are shortened or cancelled due to football getting the field time. That’s tough stuff. Unfortunately, sometimes sports is about money. Football and basketball at big around here, there’s a lot of time and money spent on those programs. So when football is king, football gets what football wants.

 

[stitch'sgirl]

I played trumpet in High School. Two words, spit valve. I can't think of a way to mitigate the risk with any band with all those droplets flying around.

I agree with spit valves (just so gross anyway), but I think the more dangerous factor is the aerosolized (I don't think that's a word!) virus. But who really knows? Not me of course!!

 

[tvguy]

I agree with spit valves (just so gross anyway), but I think the more dangerous factor is the aerosolized (I don't think that's a word!) virus. But who really knows? Not me of course!!

Well, they don't want people singing because that can spread virus carrying droplets, the air being blown through a musical instrument has to be worse.

 

[RangerPooh]

Band camp started early in July for newbies. Everyone else returned July 15. Daughter started colorguard practice back in June. They are doing modified shows this fall for parents/families. All competitions have been canceled.

The governor said football can continue. I think it’s having a modified season though, and asking for no fans in attendance . With the way cases continue to creep upwards here it’s a matter of time before things are cancelled.

In the meantime, guard gives my sophomore something to do rather than playing video games all day.