Brooklynn's Journey with Band and Volleyball!

Greetings! My name is Brooklynn. I play French Horn and will be a senior this year. Here’s a little snippet about how I got into high school band :

In middle school I was active in band and volleyball. I played for my school and for a club team with practices twice a week, conditioning, and out-of-town tournaments. At the beginning of my eighth grade year, I thought I had made up my mind - I was going to drop band and continue to play volleyball in high school. The main factor that contributed to this decision was that I did not understand the concept of marching band. I didn’t understand what was so cool about it, I didn’t want to have to learn another instrument, and rumors of the endless time commitment scared me. I didn’t want to necessarily quit band, but in my head, it didn’t really feel like the right decision for me.

I wasn’t aware, however, of what eighth grade was going to bring to me.

"We had an intense concert season with many ups and downs. It brought me and my friends closer and I’ll never forget some of the special memories we made that year."

I was part of the Killian band that earned the privilege to participate in the TMEA concert. After that year, I really wasn’t sure if I was ready to give up on band quite yet.

In my volleyball world, I was slowly starting to realize that I wasn’t going to be tall enough to play the position I wanted. I was pushed towards an ultimatum to change positions or accept that I wasn’t going to have as many opportunities playing the position I loved (#outsideftw if you’re a volleyball peep).

I then began looking into the possibilities of doing band and volleyball in high school. Long story short, it is possible, but would be a lot of effort and requires a lot of time management. The directors and coaches work out where you need to be and when so that you can just show up and do your best. It’s hard because the busy season for band and volleyball overlaps in the fall, so you will constantly have something going on. As an academically motivated person, I was also quite concerned about making time for school work.

I ultimately decided that I would give band a shot. With band, even if you’re not first chair (or the best at your said instrument), you still get to play, which is something that I was worried about being at the bottom of the high school food chain.

Three years later, I do miss the athletic aspect of volleyball, but I have no regrets in continuing to pursue band. Turns out, I love marching season more than concert season and mellophone is a blast! Band also provided me an instant family within my section and the rest of my freshman class. Contrary to popular belief, with band I’ve still had to maintain high academics (not to brag but I’m top 2.7% of my class of almost 900). Although, like volleyball, you’re competing for spots on the field or different chair placements, it doesn’t feel like you’re being personally pitted against your peers (or at least it does less often than what I experienced during middle school and club volleyball). Unexpectedly, I’ve learned to also appreciate the co-ed-ness of band if that makes sense. I love having friends both male and female, which was something that wasn’t part of my personal volleyball experiences.

Also, we have annual horn v. sax and volleyball games which are a blast and allow me to play a sport I love with the people I love!

If you’re on the fence between these two extracurriculars and aren’t ready to give one up yet, try it freshman year. One of my best friends did. She did ultimately choose volleyball, but she was able to see which one was better suited for her.

"Entering freshman year and your high school career, everyone wants you to be able to do what you want to do and will help you through the process."