Friday night lights and sounds

I have the pleasure this week of combining my weekly blog with an opportunity to brag on my kids and the Lake Buena Vista Vipers Vanguard conducted by Bill Cunningham and Leslie Kupetz . I hope I can do this story the justice it deserves because it's truly one of those stories where dreams come true!

Can a brand new high school be the underdog?

From the day I heard that Orange County Public Schools was building a new High School in our area, I was ecstatic. I started calculating construction time to see if it would be done in time for both of my sons to attend. I was excited about a new facility with a new staff. The end result was beautiful and state-of-the-art, but it was all an uphill battle from there.

First there was #COVID

Try opening a brand new high school during a global pandemic and you will begin to appreciate some of the challenges that the Lake Buena Vista (LBV) High School (HS) faced in it's first year. Forget about the aspects of the pandemic itself but think about supply chain shortages, #thegreatresignation, delays in shipping, etc. It wasn't easy getting the teachers we needed or some of the students we needed. Many had decided to go virtual that year. The school also had problems ordering and receiving necessary supplies including the band who were waiting for instruments and uniforms for months. The gap year also introduced some skills decay especially in music and sports.

And then there were no seniors

When a new school opens, they don't always open with a full class, especially if it's a relief school for another area. It's not fair to displace seniors during their senior year and it's also not fair to move younger family members such that the students in one household are in two different high schools. Seniors normally have the most experience, whether it's playing football or playing in the band. With no senior class, LBV was at a maximum of 75% capacity, but more importantly, lacked a lot of the experience and leadership that comes with a senior class.

But wait, the school you attend is a choice?

You may think that zoning determines where your children attend school in a public school system, but with magnet programs and charter schools, it's not that simple or straightforward. Imagine you are a budding freshman being recruited by two high schools. One is brand new but requires a couple years of growth to become a sustainable program. The other has existed for decades with famous graduates, a huge band program with all the equipment and props you need, and a dedicated magnet program for the arts. Not very many people chose the path of new school where you have to build the program from the ground up.

LBV HS - The True Underdogs

So, to answer the first question, "yes, it's totally plausible that a brand new school will be the underdog." This was true for the Football program as well as the band.

Celebrate the small victories

In the first year of LBV HS's existence, we celebrated the little things because winning a football game or attending a marching competition was so far out of their reach. In fact, it seemed that getting the ball, getting a first down, or getting a point was also far beyond our reach for all the reasons I stated above. With that said, it did open up huge opportunities for Freshman to play Varsity Football or have a solo in the Halftime Show.

The band started from nothing

When my son first showed up to Summer Band Camp, there couldn't have been more than 20 people and some had never played an instrument before or haven't played the instrument to which they would later be assigned. The instruments ordered by the school were stuck overseas. There were no uniforms and when the uniforms were finally received, they were the wrong color blue. It would take a lot more building before the Viper Vanguard (Band + Color Guard) could perform at halftime, but they did learn their stand songs and support the football team at every game always ready to play the fight song at the first hint of a touchdown.

A new year, a new chance

You would think that a new year would mean a new chance for the Vipers. After all, this would be the first year the school would welcome a Senior Class. By year two, uniforms had been ordered, instruments have been received, and the Vanguard had grown to almost 75 students.

The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades"

This was going to be the year of the Viper. The Football team was 10x better than the previous year - scoring, going into overtime, but still not winning a game (yet). The Vanguard actually had a 6+ minute show called "What Dreams May Become" with full uniforms.

Why does it always rain in Florida on Fridays?

You have heard of the old adage, "practice makes perfect?" Well, this is especially true when it comes to music and marching. It's all about the muscle memory and memorizing the music so you can focus on the drum majors during the performance. Now imagine that the lines aren't drawn on the field until the game so you have to practice in the parking lot. Also imagine those classic afternoon Florida thunderstorms over the summer months and you get the perfect recipe of never getting through a full show in uniform the entire season until...

The Viper Vanguard was finally victorious!

I held off publishing this blog because it was my hope that I would also be able to say that the LBV Viper Football team was also victorious, though there have been some close games including last week's close game in overtime. But instead, I will focus on the band and color guard who competed in the 17th Annual Space Coast Island Classic earlier this month.

I'm not crying, you're crying

With my intro, you can appreciate their journey and the blood, sweat, and tears that went into preparing for their first competition. Never before had they performed a full show in uniform on a football field. Never before had they performed a full show in front of an audience. Never before had they attended a competition. Setting aside the trophies and awards, the show was absolutely beautiful and breath taking. People, including myself and my family, were in tears. There wasn't a dry eye even amongst the opposing band parents.

Taking home the gold [trophies]

This was one of those experiences where you feel like a winner before they announce the winners, but it sure feels good to receive those trophies:

• 1st Place in Class AA
• Best General Effect in Class
• Best Visual Performance in Class
• Best Percussion in Class
• Best Color Guard in Class

Good luck this week!

The journey is not over for the Viper Vanguards or for the Football team. Tomorrow, there will be another game which will introduce another chance to win the game and another chance to perform the halftime show. The band will also compete in the Florida Bandmasters Association (FBA) Music Performance Assessments (MPA) this weekend. Please join me in wishing them the best of luck tomorrow with their game against Bishop Moore and on Saturday at MPA's. Please join me in wishing both the football team and the Viper Vanguards success this week and through the weekend.