Running to the beat
It’s a Friday night at Waldrop Stadium, and Jack Gray is standing in the bleachers with a brass tuba wrapped over his right shoulder. He is quick to point out that his instrument, which he has played since middle school, is the heaviest in the Homewood High School band.
“That’s why I’m so big,” Gray said with a tongue-in-cheek smile as he pantomimed a flexing motion.
Through the first two quarters of the Patriots football game, Gray, a junior, hums into the mouthpiece of his tuba alongside the 429 other members of the Homewood band. Together, they produce music that injects energy into the stadium.
At halftime, it is the band’s time to shine. For Gray, the cheers from the crowd mark an end to his Friday night. He will not return to the stands in the second half.
Instead, he collects his belongings and heads toward the gate, his tuba stowed away. Gray wants to hit the hay at a reasonable hour since tomorrow, like many fall Saturdays, is meet day for the Patriot cross-country teams. His race begins at 8:45 a.m.
“We usually leave after halftime unless you really want to stay up later,” he said. “But most of us want to run our best.”
Prioritization has become routine for Gray and the other Homewood students who participate in both band and cross-country during the fall. According to head coach Lars Porter, about 25 to 30 members of his roughly 50-person cross-country team juggle the two activities on an annual basis. This year is no exception.
“I think some of the characteristics that make them good in cross-country also make them good in band,” Porter said. “They are willing to practice, they have a self-discipline about them, they are wanting to achieve, and they value their role in a bigger organization.”
The list of musically-inclined runners on Homewood’s roster includes members of the varsity teams, which won Class 6A state championships in 2016. Gray and sophomore Carson Bedics, a drummer, are key contributors to the current Patriots boys squad.
Audrey Nabors, a junior, along with sophomores Adah Allen and Edie Smith, are critical cogs in the Patriot girls lineup. All three are in the band.
“I think the hardest part is maintaining the amount of energy,” said Nabors, a saxophonist, “and I think the best way to do that is to eat well and to get sleep.”
But that is easier said than done, especially when enrolled in the Advanced Placement courses that these five student-athlete-musicians are.
Their schedules, admittedly, can be crazy.
Porter holds cross-country practice each weekday, and the band rehearses Tuesday to Thursday in preparation for Friday’s game. Tuesdays are particularly long.
“We have cross-country from 2 [p.m.] until like 5 to 5:30, and then we have band from 6 to 8,” said Allen, a saxophonist like Nabors.
But taxing Tuesdays are almost unavoidable, as they are host to the cross-country team’s most critical interval session of the week. Porter, however, has done his best to accommodate his musicians. The Patriots practice during seventh period on Wednesday afternoons, which enables Porter’s runners to make it to band by its 3:30 start.
On Thursday mornings, Porter offers a before- school practice option so that his band crew won’t miss its most important day of marching preparation.
“There’s certainly a conflict of schedule, but there’s not a conflict of interest,” Porter said of his relationship with band. “There’s no reason why a kid can’t be a fantastic athlete and a fantastic musician.”
The key to this balancing act, Smith said, is practicing time management. Frequently, she’ll allocate time on the weekends to plan for the upcoming school week. That way, she will have an idea of how she’ll fulfill her responsibilities while still enjoying some much-needed sleep.
“I don’t think it’s all that hard doing two things at the same time,” said Smith, who plays on the drum line. “I just think it’s the effect of it.”
The fast pace of life didn’t take much of a summer lull, either. When band camp rolled around, the runners logged early morning miles before persevering through heat-heavy band practices.
Gray and Bedics said the long days playing tuba and drums under the sun actually helped them in their cross-country preparation. Bedics credited holding his drums for the development of his back and core strength.
“Band camp is like cross-training for us,” Gray said. “It’s like you’re getting in more shape from that, too.”
Many former Homewood cross-country standouts have navigated this path before, including Paul Selden and Tucker Wilson. Selden played tuba in the band and placed third at last fall’s state meet. He now runs at the University of Alabama. Wilson, a 2016 graduate, was recognized as the state’s scholar-athlete of the year as a senior. Even current Homewood junior Will Stone, the defending state champion, played in the band last fall before opting to focus exclusively on cross-country.
“It’s awesome to work with a group of kids that are as focused and as dedicated and set such a great example for all of us,” Porter said.
Despite the non-stop schedule and quick Friday night to Saturday morning turnarounds, each musician on the varsity cross-country team reached a definitive verdict on their situation: It’s worth it.
Their athletic and musical talent has enabled them to contribute to a pair of Homewood’s most revered and successful programs. They said they wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Looking back, I’m not going to remember all the nights where I’m super tired,” Gray said. “I’m going to remember the meets and the football games and the trips and all the good memories.”