In addition to changing their theme and music, this year’s marching band saw a change in the number of students in the program.

A new high school opened up roughly one mile away from Heritage and even with the small distance, many band members were transferred over to the new campus.

That left the band with a challenge to replace the empty spots.

“[Replacing those missing] would be our incoming freshman. We have about sixty of those kids. And then we also have a handful of students that are new to Frisco ISD that moved here recently, “ said Jason Prasifka, the band director.

This is the first time they have faced this problem since their start in 2009.

Marching requires a certain skill that these band members, both new and old, have to obtain.

They believe their ability to trust one another will help them get to the point they were at last year.

“The person to the left and right of you are dependent on you to know your part. You have to give your best effort and not let others down,” said sophomore Victoria Avelar.

Many of the upperclassmen say that more work for the freshmen class can lead to more pressure.

“Being a sophomore, I know what it is like to be a freshman, to be totally new and learn and catch up,” said Sanjna Sandeep. “So I think they did a really good job of working hard and being on top of stuff, getting their music memorize[d], learning drills and learning how to march and I am proud of them.”

Juniors and seniors also believe the freshmen marchers put in a tremendous amount of work and dedication.

Even though they had to face a difficult task, they say they had an amazing season.

“I am glad that after we have to face such a difficulty [with] Independence … they [were] able to step up and really help the band be better and achieve a one at UIL,” said Sandeep.

Some of the band members believe that the success of their season started with the bond they made with each other.

“You see freshmen and upperclassmen becoming friends and getting to know each other and have a close relationship. You see that people have lunch together and hanging out. We are always in the band hall, so you see all those people getting together. You see them becoming friendlier with each other,” said Avelar.

With their strong score of one in the UIL marching competitions this year, our marching band proves that the program will not be crippled by any change, big or small.