With a young roster, Marching Band and Color Guard made a goal this fall to integrate new members and techniques. After four months of training, rehearsing and competing, they made that goal, scoring their highest since COVID at the regional championship.

From a show score of 59.775 out of 100 at their first competition in early October, the team ended with a season high of 70.950 — an improvement band director Ted Ferrucci attributes to the readiness of marchers to adapt and learn new techniques from a rebuilding season.

“About 60 to 70% of the band this year is either a first or second year member,” Ferrucci said. “Even with the young status of the band, they performed at a higher level than we expected.”

Marching Band and Color Guard’s season started before school did in early August, with a weeklong band camp of intense preparation and training. More than 60 students filled the roster as after-school rehearsals for “Hexed,” the team’s show for the 2025 season, commenced. During that process, Ferrucci said he and other coaching staff revisited the basics and emphasized new creative elements for the show.

“We went from a bent-leg [marching] style to a straight leg style, and kids adapted to that really well,” Ferrucci said. “That’s been a real help, visually, to the program. Also we’ve got a young staff that’s got a lot of energy and creative ideas.”

Opening the competition season on Oct. 11 at the Gilroy Garlic City Classic, Marching Band and Color Guard finished third out of three groups, scoring 59.775.

Bands are judged on visual performance elements, such as marching synchronization and posture; musical performance elements like tuning and tone; and how well the choreography matches the music.

Senior Jazmine Kaye Santos, a Color Guard co-captain, said that score reflected the band’s early-season challenge of acclimating a large number of first-time and underclassmen marchers.

“At the beginning of the year, we did have some changes to our choreography and drill,” Jazmine said.

According to Jazmine, it was like achieving balance within the chaos. Color Guard was made up of a 3:2 new-to-veteran ratio, with many students never having thrown a flag before.

“In the end, I can see that with everyone’s dedication and hard work, we were very much able to readjust,” Jazmine said.

Once the first-time marchers adjusted, the newer roster ultimately became a force to the team’s advantage. Off the field, it presented new opportunities for team bonding.

“Our band being young this year gave us the opportunity to create a new culture,” senior Jaya Raffill said.

On the field, their score improved too. At the Cupertino Tournament of Bands on Oct. 25 — their third competition of the season — Marching Band scored 67.250 and placed third out of six teams, their highest placing of the season.

“Starting fresh with the idea that we can be a good band this year was really exciting, and it definitely showed up in the competitive success this season,” Jaya said.

On track to meet their 70-point goal, Marching Band’s scores continued to improve. At the regional championship on Nov. 15, the James Logan Invitational, Marching Band achieved a season high score of 70.950. According to soloist junior Jacqueline Chow, it was the first time since COVID the team had scored that high at the James Logan Invitational.

“Starting the year, we didn’t have the luxury of the past few years of having a really strong base of people,” drum major senior Tom Freda Eskenazi said. “It takes time, it takes repetitions, and then people get it. Everyone worked really hard, and I’m really proud of that.”

To end their season, Marching Band and Color Guard competed at the Western Band Association (WBA) Class Championships on Nov. 22. The band finished 12th in Class 2A — the division for medium-sized bands — scoring 70.425.

From the first day of band camp to the last day of competition, Marching Band and Color Guard’s time investment and training helped lead to improvement.

“We’ve all been pushed to learn and achieve more on the field this season compared to the past couple of seasons,” Color Guard co-captain junior Lukiana Cherkashina said. “We’ve been able to overcome a lot of hiccups that we don’t usually have, which was incredible to see people pushing through.”