This Saturday at O’Fallon township high school, the marching band has a competition showcasing their show ‘colorFALL,’ which they have recently performed at the Howell preview. Although this time they are going up against competition, senior and drum major Elizabeth Skelly, explains how the atmosphere of these competitions are different compared to sports.

“Competitions are always really fun because of the atmosphere of it, there’s a lot of positive energy in it,” Elizabeth Skelly said, “In most sports you are for your team and you’re against the other team but in marching band everyone is for each other. So when you watch performances you’re like ‘Wow, that’s cool, I wish our band played like that,’ and it gives a really positive vibe.”

When she first started band, Elizabeth Skelly’s sister was in her senior year of band. Now that Elizabeth Skelly is starting her senior year, her younger sister, freshman Sarah Skelly, has joined marching band. Elizabeth Skelly shares why she likes having her younger sister in band.

“Now my little sister is a freshman, and I’m a senior so I’ve definitely helped her meet new people and helped her friends meet new people as well. It’s really easy for me to reach out to the freshman this year because they’re all in my sister’s grade,” said Elizabeth Skelly, “My little sister and I are very close, we’ve been close for a while now and so it’s fun to have this positive person there with you the whole time, keeping you going.”

Sarah Skelly shares her strengths, and what she is looking forward to going into the competition on Saturday.

“I think I’m looking forward to knowing that I’ve tried my hardest and feeling happy afterward. I think I’ve improved on playing, so that would be one of my strengths. I’ve also become a better leader through band,” Sarah Skelly said.

Senior and baritone player, Kaleb Bunker, believes that marching band will improve due to a change in attitude.

“[I’m looking forward to] having the best performance that we’ve had on the field yet. [Compared to last year] our attitude has gotten a lot better, we’re a lot more positive about it,” Bunker said.

Not only has the team had a more positive outlook on their performance, Elizabeth Skelly shares how they have also improved their skills.

“We have two new visual people come in and so our visual people have really changed how we march and have made us a lot better,” said Elizabeth Skelly, ”Also, new marchers this year are getting individual attention that they need. So I think our strength is that we are like a family and we all help each other out and work well together.”

Out of all the aspects in band, Bunker enjoy the close knit feel and the atmosphere of marching band as a whole.

“My favorite part of marching band is the community aspect, and just being able to meet a bunch of different people who all have something in common,” Bunker said.