Boot/Band Camp

Color-coded by t-shirt, the members of the Golden Eagles Marching Band march in time, counting off as they practice yet another pattern under the mid-August sun at .

Even if they aren't hitting the books, they are still studying. There are dozens of pages of movements they have to memorize. But it's a bonding experience for the award-winning teams.

The marching band is coached by Trumbull High School alumni and former band members, including Steve Surina, Amanda Fekete, Alan Amendola and Scott Abanto.

"We've been very lucky, very successful. These kids work," Surina said. "Tonight they're putting everything together."

"We're in it to win it," he added later.

The marchers must move as if they are holding their instruments, so they hold their arms out stiffly the entire time.

Physical fitness is a key aspect for both the Color Guard and the band. They start their day at 9 a.m. with stretches and then timed runs. They break for lunch and then go inside in the afternoon and study routines.

Then it's back out in the cooler evening for more practlce until 9 p.m.

The practices started Aug. 15 and ran Monday through Friday, through Aug. 26.

Once the year school year starts, the two groups practice during the week and on the band on Saturdays, but less on performance weekends.

After a few seasons, some students have risen to supervisors in the marching band. Those include current THS students Andrew Tallian and Andrew Jeffrey, both seniors. Both are drum majors, Tallian in his second year in the role. Junior Maggie Walsh also leads.

"We keep the time," Tallian said.

The marching season never ends for Band Director Peter Horton, who also teaches music at THS. But the hard work has paid off.

"We've been first or second over the last 10 to 15 years," he said.

While he sees some new faces this year, many are siblings of past band members who know what they're in for when they join.

"They pass the tradition down," Horton said.

He said marching in a band has been likened to "treading water for 15 minutes while blowing up an inner tube at the same time."

"You need the stamina, the right technique," the director said, adding that one misstep can take three to four more to correct.

Every aspect is important because judges grade in music and visual categories.

Jeffrey, the drum major, watches all the sections intently one recent day. "This is a better run than before," he said.

Then, he added, "I marched the last three years. I really liked band and instruments. It's been the best thing I've done in high school."

He's confident in the band's success. "I think it's going well. It goes really well each year," Jeffrey said.

The band's first performance, an exhibition, will take place Saturday, Aug. 27, at Kennedy Stadium in Bridgeport, with Norwalk and Brien McMahon High School.

For more information about the band and guards, go to http://www.thsgembcorp.com/drupal/?q=pressinformation.