Every seat is full.

Eyes are watching all around the performance floor with a sole dancer in the center. 

The pressure is on. Every toss has to be caught, choreography has to be perfectly on beat and the performance energy has to be high enough to reach the top of the bleachers. 

The Essence Color Guard was promoted to Scholastic AA and will compete at the North Texas Color Guard Association at Coppell High School on April 6. 

“Competition is a means of showing off my pride in my team,” senior Color Guard Lieutenant Mikayla Cole said. “I know firsthand the literal blood, sweat and tears that went into the show and I always think about how lucky I am to be on the team and to have this opportunity to show off our hard work.”

Because of their recent success, the Essence Color Guard started competing in the Winter Guard International, the highest level of Winter Guard competitions in the nation. The last time Essence performed in WGI was in 2010.

“I’m really excited to see where this team goes,” senior Color Guard Captain Maggie Rendon said. “I started high school guard right after COVID and our team kinda reset but we have skyrocketed our way back up these last four years and I see nothing but success and growth in the future.”

At every competition, each Winter Guard group from schools across the state is given five minutes to showcase their skills in front of the judges. Essence Color Guard’s show this year is titled “Second Star to the Right” and they visually tell the story of Peter Pan.

“It’s really fun to act out the characters in Peter Pan,” junior Sophia Bustillos said. “When I’m performing, I get really into the characters and it boosts my performance energy. Overall, our show is both technically and artistically a fantastic show, for both the audience and the performers.”

After football and marching band season ends, the Color Guard starts their Winter Guard competition season. They practice over ten hours each week to prepare for a series of competitions that prepare them for the NTCA Championships. 

“Being in Color Guard gives you a packed schedule for sure, but in the end, if you truly love what you’re doing, then you’ll make time for it,” freshman Zoe Smith said. 

Every performer in the Essence Color Guard has dedicated hundreds of hours to the program to perfect every dance technique and practice throwing rifles, sabres and flags in the air and catching them with ease. 

“There are times that I feel burnt out but the thing about Color Guard is that it is mental,” senior Skipper Pace said. “If you think that you are going to drop a toss, then you will drop. That’s why you always have to think positively.”

Before performances, Kara Cockerham, the Color Guard instructor, affirms her group with breathing activities and confidence-boosting exercises to build her student’s performance confidence and mindset before stepping out onto the floor. 

“Every time before the team goes out onto the field/floor, Ms. Cockerham tells us to breathe and says ‘In with the good… and out with the bad’ and as we let out our air, we scream,” Pace said. And then we do that about two more times and then she says ‘Do you feel good? Now repeat after me: I’m going to do great, I’m going to be fierce, I’m going to be phenomenal!’”

Cockerham travels to both the middle schools and the high school every day to instruct students and prepare them for upcoming events. Over the past four years, the attendance in the middle school Color Guard classes has doubled in size, as many students find solidarity in the program. 

“My favorite part about being in colorguard is having that feeling when you step on the floor and just perform,” sophomore Lupita Razo said. “It’s an exciting and fulfilling feeling. I’m confident that the next generation will make Essence Color Guard a bigger and stronger organization.”

For the students involved in Color Guard, it is an extracurricular activity that builds confidence, leadership skills, perseverance and life-lasting friendships from middle school to high school. As the group continues to grow in size and skill, they have continued to outperform their competition. 

“Not only the sport itself but the people in guard have taught me how to be optimistic, motivating and patient,” Rendon said. “The one thing that will stick with me forever is to always believe in myself because a healthy mindset is the way to success. Mind over matter.”