Aug 28, 2005 By Rebekah Sungala 5 min read

Despite the sun and heat, Steve Thompson marched across the practice football field at Laurel Highlands Middle School as if he didn’t have a 45-pound set of drums strapped to his chest. He never looked down at the instrument he was carrying, nor did he glance at the ground or wipe the sweat off his forehead. His eyes focused on the drum major, Thompson tapped the five small drums he carried in rhythm to the conductor’s arm movements. Strength and concentration are required.

“The quints can be challenging, but you get used to carrying them after a while,” he said, referring to the drums.

Thompson, a junior at Laurel Highlands High School, has been a percussionist in the marching band for three years. Being involved in the marching band is fun, but it’s also a lot harder than most people think, he said.

Like hundreds of high school athletes who begin practicing well before schools officially open, those involved in marching bands spend weeks every summer fine-tuning their skills. And though marching band members don’t don pads, helmets or shin guards, Laurel Highlands marching band director Jim Miller said it’s still physically demanding.

“It’s definitely a physical activity,” he said, adding that band camp lasts eight hours a day, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., for two weeks in August, in addition to the weeklong mini camps held in June and July.

“We don’t like to call it a sport, but it is an art form that requires athletic ability,” he said.

Miller said the 92 members in his band do about 45 minutes of stretches every morning during band camp to get them ready for the day.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they march five miles a day,” he said.

And, when the temperature is in the 90s, marching outside in the sun for hours, often backward, can tire out even the fittest youth. Miller said he makes sure band members drink a lot of water, and said they usually go through 120 gallons a day.

He said he’s had students who were involved in traditional sports tell him band camp is as hard, if not harder, than various sport camps.

In addition to being physically demanding, Miller said, marching while maintaining a pattern and playing an instrument is also mentally difficult and requires a certain degree of skill that few possess.

“Brains are on overdrive,” he said. “It’s a lot of repetition. We do things over and over until we get it perfect. We want to be the most excellent group in the school.”

Miller said Laurel Highlands has the only local marching band that competes in field show competitions and said he promised the members they could shave his head – much to the chagrin of his wife – if they score 90 percent or better at one of the competitions this season.

It’s not the first time Miller has tried to coerce band members into performing better by making deals with them. He once allowed members to dye his hair bright blond after performing well in a previous field competition, he said.

“You do what you got to do,” he said.

Drum major Corey Harper said Miller demands perfection, and the band has gotten better because of it.

“We’ve come a long way and have gotten a lot better in the last four years,” she said, adding that she began playing the drums when she was in sixth grade. She said she doesn’t always think marching band members get the respect they deserve, and said everyone has worked “really hard” this year.

Harper said she always wanted to be drum major, and she gave up playing volleyball her senior year in order to give it her full attention.

Her duties as drum major include taking attendance during band camp, making sure everyone gets where they need to be (a hard task at times) and conducting the band when they’re on the field.

Wearing a yellow T-shirt with the sleeves cut off and red shorts, Harper lead the band across the field recently as they practiced the pre-game show, which includes the national anthem and the alma mater.

During football season, she’ll conduct the show wearing a wool uniform, like the rest of her band mates.

Being that it was the last week of band camp, Miller made the students repeat parts of the pre-game show over and over again until it was perfect. Then he made them practice the halftime show.

Harper said this year’s halftime show, entitled “Fuego,” is the most energetic the marching band has ever done.

Miller said the 71/2-minute show will showcase three Latin songs.

“I tell the kids they’re doing it wrong if they’re not out of breath at the end of the show,” he said. “It’s going to be good. I think people will enjoy it.”

And even though members of his marching band may not compete in any nail-biting games, Miller said the morale they bring to the football field is invaluable.

“The kids who are in the marching band know what they’re doing is special,” he said.