Under the Lights, Behind the Flags

Who brings the color, attitude, and flair to the halftime show? That’s the El Paso Gridley Marching Titans Color Guard. This year, their show is titled “Coloration,” featuring songs such as “Paint It Black” by The Rolling Stones, “Yellow” by Coldplay, and many other notable tracks. This year, they are participating in 3 parades, 5 football games, and 6 competitions.

Color Guard is an arts sport that involves spinning and throwing flags, rifles, and sabers. They also incorporate dance into their routine during the marching band’s performances. They help add more flair to the show and carry the concept across. 

  The color guard team is made up of 9 members. The team is run by Mrs. Mutchler, who is the STEAM teacher at the middle school. There are two captains this year, Senior Addison Baker and Sophomore Gwen Enright. 

Mrs. Mutchler says this year’s team is the best and most successful that she has coached in her 11 years of coaching. She started coaching right after high school when her coach allowed her to lead a team in Indiana. She fell in love with it and decided she wanted to coach her own team. Mrs. Mutchler’s favorite part of color guard is the kids. Not only is she an amazing coach, but all the choreography you see out on the field, she makes herself. She says that the best time for her to make choreo is when she is driving or whenever she can get her headphones on and visualize the choreo. 

Addison Baker is a senior who has been participating in color guard for two years now and three winter guard years as well. Addison’s role as a captain is to make sure everyone stays on track and on time. It is important to keep things moving, especially since performances have already started. Addison says that the best part of being a captain is helping people find something they love to do. As a captain, she still has trouble learning some aspects, which shows the team that not everyone is going to learn everything right away, whether it’s your first season or your fourth. Addison’s favorite part of color guard is the adrenaline of performing for a large crowd. 

Gwen Enright is a sophomore who has participated in color guard for 2 years. Gwen believes that her role as captain is a good experience for future leadership roles and careers. She states that this year’s team is excellent and the atmosphere has been fun. Gwen states that being a captain involves knowing what her teammates need to be the best that they can be. To Gwen, good leadership means knowing the people on your team and building trust and friendships.

Overall, everyone believes this year will be a great season for the color guard. Come watch their performance during halftime at the home football games! We not only have an outdoor marching season, but there’s also winter guard, where we are inside in gyms, but still spinning equipment. Winter Guard try-it-outs are on October 30th! We would love new members to join our team. If you are interested, send an email to either the captains or Mrs. Mutchler!