Avon H.S. Uses These 2 Simple Tricks to Streamline Its Competitions

Avon H.S. Uses These 2 Simple Tricks to Streamline Its Competitions

Take a look at a couple of seemingly simple ideas that Matt Harloff and the band at Avon High School use to streamline their competitions.

Dec 2, 2016 by Michael Gilley
Avon H.S. Uses These 2 Simple Tricks to Streamline Its Competitions
Thinking outside the box is probably the No. 1 goal for directors throughout the marching arts. But for director Matt Harloff and the Avon High School marching band in Indiana, it isn't just a phrase meant for the design of the show. 

As the band was taking the field before its semifinal performance at the Bands of America Grand Nationals, I noticed a couple of little details that seemed out of place for a band competition. 

The first thing that caught my eye was the teams of band dads getting the mics wired and connected to the mixer board by running the XLR cables across the field and up to the front sidelines. 

My immediate thought was having these lines exposed puts a lot of risk on not only the electronics but also the performers, who may trip or get tangled during the show. But then I noticed that the cables were all running down the middle of the white yard lines. As the cables were being pulled taught and straightened, there was a band dad racing down the field with tape rollers (pictured below) and taping the XLR cables down with white tape to blend in with the yard lines.

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 The PVC caps that they use on the rollers create a channel that funnels the cables into the center of the tape. So if they simply keep the rollers on the yard lines, the XLR cables will center themselves as they tape them down. Simple...yet genius.

The second unusual item I noticed was a wrist band being worn by Harloff (main image) that you would typically see on a quarterback's forearm during a football game. So what was a high school band director using it for?

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Photo Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Harloff's wrist band listed the specific sequences and spots in the show he wanted to hit during the warmup with the winds. But it got me thinking of some of the other information that you could use on the card, such as a band's warmup schedule, travel schedule, warmup locations, tempos, electronic check lists, etc. The possibilities are endless. And because the arm bands are designing for the trenches of football, they will not fall off and most of them are weatherproof. 

So the next time you're at Home Depot or your local sports store, take a look around for simple little items that can be repurposed to help your band. It's thinking outside the box like this that can help push your band to the next level.