If you are anything like most of the high school, you didn't even know the band had managers. Just like any other sport, though, the band does in fact have managers. I asked Tiffany Haskins, one of six band managers, about her band managing experience.
Firstly, I asked her "What do you do to assist the band over the course of a week?" Tiffany responded,"I help the band push some of the larger, heavier equipment down to the field and back up to the band rooms on Monday's, Tuesday's, and Thursday's, and stay at practice from 3:30 to 6:00. On Friday's we march out with the band at home games and carry anything they can't like binders, bags, stuff like that. Before we leave, after the game we help load the U-Haul with all of the big stuff and props. Then finally on Saturdays we meet at the band room at whatever time they have set and travel to competition with them. There we help put out props and hold them in place in case it's windy."
Clearly being a manager takes up a large amount of time.They spend two hours and thirty minutes at practices three days out of the week, they stay until 11 o'clock at night at home games, and then usually spend from an early time in the morning until late at night. Tiring, right?
So then I asked Tiffany if she planned on being a manager next year. She had shrugged,"I would but practices take up a lot of time and I would like to get a job. It's hard to manage one during marching season."
Tiffany's right. It's hard to manage anything else besides band and homework when you become a manager. You're either at practice, a game, or competition.
And top it all off, I asked Tiffany what her favorite part of being a manager has been. She responded with a sweet answer,"My favorite thing about being a manager has probably been how the members of the band make you feel great byaccepting you into their lives as though you've always belonged."
That being said, yes the band has managers and it's very time consuming. Just like the band, they give up things to participate, though it may not be as much the band members themselves. It's time consuming and tiring, but it seems you find a family with managing.
