By Jessica Hoover
The Fishers High School Open Winter Guard recently won first place in the Indiana High School Color Guard Association State Championships March 16 and the Winter Guard International World Championships April 6.
From January to April, the guard prepared for the competition by rehearsing three to four days a week for three hours a session.
“It’s remarkable that three years ago they took a team of 18 and transformed it into two color guards, and one of those color guards won a state title and a national title within three years,” said Chad Kohler, director of athletic bands at Fishers High School. “I just wanted to say that I’m extremely proud and extremely blessed to have a guard staff and a guard team that is invested in the totality of the program at Fishers band.”
For the state and world championships, the guard performed the song, “Abraham, Martin, John and Bobby” by Rosaleen Eastman. FHS Color Guard Director Kylee Hubbard said the performance focused on the lives of Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy.
“All of these people had a common dream that a state of love for everyone could exist, and they had the courage to give up their lives to fight for everyone, especially the people that equality or justice wasn’t given to,” Hubbard said. “It’s so easy for everyone to lose an empathetic understanding for another human being and their right to live. So, this show and this song was just to show that everyone has that right to a good life.”
Hubbard attributes the team’s success to its collective work ethic.
“It’s not just their maturity and sophistication in their performance, but the way they approach struggle and hardship is what has made them stand out so much to me,” Hubbard said. “They’re an incredibly fiery group of kids who are eager to grow when times get tough.”
