Beat the heat

It’s the kind of suffocating temperatures that can make train tracks bend in England and cause power outages in big cities around the world.

But when the sun beats down on Alabama in mid-July, a few Homewood teenagers know that only means one thing: It’s time for band camp.

“When they come to that first practice, freshmen are like, ‘Oh, my gosh, what did I sign up for?’” said Terrance Cobb, assistant band director for Homewood High School. “But by the time they’re seniors, they think that’s the best part of the year. It’s work, but it’s a lot of fun.”

For several weeks, the huge marching community of about 400 students will start practicing at 8 a.m. outside, have lunch, meet back inside at 2 p.m. for a second practice, then practice again outside after dinner.

“Alabama summers are so hot that our main concern is to keep the kids hydrated by giving them as many breaks as possible,” said Ron Pence, band director.

By 10 a.m., it’s almost unbearable, he said.

But that’s when they bring out the ice cream trucks.

“We have ice cream trucks and Coke machines on the hill, and local churches bring out popsicles,” Pence said. “And we’ve got a big pavilion up there with big fans that the school built for us for the kids to get out of the sun. We try to make it as enjoyable as possible. It’s really a lot of fun.”

Senior Kalise Morgan laughs, but she agrees.

“The hardest part is definitely the sun — it is beating down on you,” she said.

Morgan played saxophone during middle school and started high school in that role before switching to color guard as a sophomore.

Both are hard, she said.

“But it’s exciting. You get to the halftime shows in the fall, and all that work feels like it pays off,” Morgan said.

Senior color guard member Kayla Wilson agrees.

“When it gets hot, the heat gets to us, and it gets annoying when you have to practice the same thing over and over again,” she said. “But when I got to do my very first halftime show a few years ago, I felt like all the hard work, tears and sweat had been worth it.”

The band and color guard are a family, she said. And that makes both the payoff and the practices enjoyable.

“The fun thing about the summer is that we’re out there with our friends,” Wilson said.

Morgan also said that was the best part. “You get to bond and really know people through that experience,” she said.

Though the freshmen may be a little shocked by the heat at first, the upperclassmen come ready for the social aspect, Cobb said.

“They know they’ll get to see their friends and hang out all day,” he said. “They get around each other and kind of feed off each other.”

And they welcome the freshmen in, Cobb said.

“The older kids are so welcoming, and they help the freshmen adjust,” he said. “They also give them rides to the local restaurants when they have lunch breaks, and that’s a good bonding time for them to get to know the older band members.”

They’ve found ways to make it fun over the years, having events such as costume theme nights, Cobb said.

“They’ll have things like twin night or like salad dressing night, where the different sections will dress up like dressings — like togas for Caesar salad, or western wear for Ranch,” he said.

Assistant band director Chris Cooper said it’s made Homewood’s band a fun place for them to be.

“It’s kind of strange actually how much they love band camp, it being so hot outside,” he said with a laugh. “It’s all about having fun and having a positive approach to it.”

It’s something that’s paid off, Pence said, because despite being “not even close” to having one of the biggest schools in the state, Homewood has the biggest band in the history of Alabama.

“It’s an exciting thing for us,” he said.

 “We’re proud of that,” Cooper said. “We keep thinking our growth is over, but we keep getting bigger and doing new and exciting things. It’s a testament to a school that values the band program and a community that supports it.”

With all the factors coming together, Homewood’s band is an environment where enjoyment overcomes the heat, Cobb said. “They get together and start talking at other times during the year, and stories always relate back to band camp.”

Stories like the time when rain turned into a party, he said.

“There was one rehearsal during a recent band camp when it started raining, just a light rain, but we were still trying to wrap things up,” Cobb said. “At first the kids were thinking, ‘Oh, my gosh, why are they keeping us out here?’”

But after about five minutes, they were having a ball, running around and playing in the rain, he said.

“It’s a chore, practicing — but we’re doing it together. It’s a team building experience. It bonds us together,” Cobb said.