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Ross Grant feels the AHS Marching Green Pride band probably performed as well as it could – good enough for 14th place out of the 26 bands competing in the UIL Class 4A state marching contest in San Antonio’s Alamodome Tuesday.
Grant said he told band members beforehand that they had a chance to finish in the top five – but that it would be a “long shot” if they did. The competition at state was simply that good.
“Texas is growing,” Grant said. “Twenty new communities have hatched and most of those have strong programs – programs that are going to become 5A powerhouses.” Azle finished the highest of any of the four bands from its area that qualified for state. Boswell, Frenship and Saginaw finished 16th, 18th and 19th respectively. None made it into the finals, which featured the top 10. Dripping Springs High School near San Antonio took the 1st place trophy.
Despite the disappointment, Grant said he couldn’t be prouder of his kids – who finished 14th out of 260 4A bands in the state. “That’s ridiculous,” he said of his band of overachievers. The band earned its trip to state by taking first place in both the preliminary and final rounds during the Oct. 24 UIL Area A Marching Contest in Odessa. Azle High had the top rating out of 20 first-division bands. Bands only get a shot at state every other year – and this was Azle’s second straight time to do just that. Two years ago, the MGP finished first in Area and advanced to finish 13th at state. Grant said the string of successes has placed the band program “in the neighborhood” of the top handful of bands in Texas. And the band is “very young,” he said, which bodes well for Azle’s chances two years from now, when this year’s freshmen will be juniors. He said he’ll spend the next few months analyzing what needs to be done to get back to state in two years. He’ll take a look at the size of the band, which with over 200 members was the second largest 4A band at the state contest. The largest band, Saginaw, finished 19th. Larger bands don’t necessarily have an advantage in front of the critical eyes of the judges, he noted. “Larger bands have more difficulty performing together – especially when you’re spread out all over the field,” he said. The amount of practice time needed to get better is also a consideration – although Grant admits his students are already carrying a pretty tough load. It’s unlikely he’ll have to deal with more rainfall again – a factor this fall which cut into practice time. Except for a couple more football games, marching season is done – but band season is far from over. The band is already preparing to send 80 to 90 musicians to All-Region auditions, while the jazz band is gearing up for an event and the annual Christmas concert is just around the corner. A return to Dallas’ Meyerson Center is also on the agenda. “It’s an 11-ring circus,” he laughed. |
