It’s that time of year when the helmets and shoulder pads start to get dusted off with football practices about to begin. But for some of the marching bands in South Dakota, practice has already been taking place for weeks.
At Brandon Valley, the marching Lynx began practice three weeks ago. Their schedule is 9am to 5pm Monday through Friday. This means that the Brandon Valley marching band began practice a full month before the football team, as the first allowed football practice in Class 11AAA isn’t until August 12th.
“I think people would be surprised to know that we’re rehearsing pretty much all summer. We have the color guard and percussion in once or twice a week in June and July, and then we start the second week of July,” explained Brandon Valley band director Tyler Nettestad. “We’re not getting as much summer as everyone else, and then we’re head on. Granted, if you’re in a smaller area, you’re probably not doing as big of a field show production, you’re sticking to the parades, so you don’t necessarily have to start as early. Just that time commitment over the summer is something people don’t realize.”
While most think of parades with marching band, it’s the field show that requires the most preparation and work for the staff and students at Brandon.
“To start off the day we do dynamic stretching, get the kids moving a little bit. We do a little conditioning, and then immediately right after that we jump into basics where were teaching the kids how to march, and move, and move their bodies and play at the same time,” Nettestad said. “The second half of the morning we’re learning choreography, drill, that kind of stuff. We go to lunch and then we come back, and we’re inside the first half of the afternoon working on music in sectionals, so we break them up into smaller groups. Kind of work on the music we learned the drill to earlier, and then the last couple hours of the rehearsal we’re outside piecing those things together.”
This year’s field show for the Lynx is called 'Coursing Through My Veins.' It’ll include props to coincide with the drill and music.
With 180 members this season, it’s sort of the perfect size. Not too big, which allows for more complex drill movements, but not to small, so the sound still delivers. And while it takes countless hours to put a finished product on the field, it’s the love of the activity that keeps kids coming back to participate year after year – even when dealing with the summer heat.
“We keep them hydrated, plenty of water breaks, plenty of shade breaks, but once they get acclimated, it’s not so bad,” exclaimed Nettestad. “They really love the activity, so once they get use to it, the weather is an afterthought.”
Halftime performances are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to a performance schedule as well. This year, Brandon Valley will travel to Rosemount and Marshall, Minnesota for competitions. Brandon also hosts the Big Sioux Review, and will participate in the Festival of Bands in Sioux Falls, before traveling to the Twin Cities for a final competition at US Bank Stadium in October.
Nettestad grew up in Brandon where he participated in everything music in high school. He attended South Dakota State University for college where he majored in music education and participated in multiple music ensembles, including The Pride of the Dakotas. After college, he took a job at Lennox before eventually making his way back home to Brandon.
And even though it’s a lot of work, Nettestad said he loves every moment of it.
“I love the kids. The more I teach, the more I love being around them,” he stated. “Getting to know them – having good times and bad times around them, it’s just a lot of fun.”
