Mark of a Champion

As autumn drew to a wintery close, it wrapped up one of the more exciting and historic high school sports seasons in recent memory. Freshmen broke the tape in a myriad of cross country races, football teams grabbed the spotlight en route to state titles and once-dominant programs endured resurgences as they again reached the pinnacle of their respective sports. Yet, in the hubbub of monumental firsts, broken records and collegiate recruiting, one story went mildly unnoticed. Though its accomplishment was not met with huge banner headlines, the Avon marching band put together a self-defining effort. And its story, like others, began well before the season did. For each of the past seven years, Avon had walked away with the state marching band championship. With tradition serving as its motivation, the 2008 band began playing together last June, honing its musical skills while following a workout program that would rival most practices in mainstream sports. In order to maintain the high standard previously set, each band member would run several miles, do thousands of push-ups and perform endurance and breathing exercises to ensure they had the stamina to make it through an eight-minute routine. For approximately 15 hours per week, not to mention the two weeks of camp in July that lasted about 12 hours a day, preparations were made so the band was uniform in purpose and execution. Since the freshman class of 2001 arrived at the high school, no band member had received a diploma without having won four state titles. In an unexpected turn of events, however, Lawrence Central snapped Avon's string of titles by one-tenth of a point last year. But the story doesn't end there. Instead, Avon turned disappointment into redemption. By winning the school's first Grand National Championship at the Bands of America competition held at Lucas Oil Stadium last November, Avon regrouped to reach heights never before realized. "Last year, we rarely lost," explained Avon band director Jay Webb. "This year, we lost several times, so I think that was a good motivator. I joke with (the seniors) sometimes about how they went from the worst senior class to the best senior class by virtue of winning the Grand Nationals." In his tenure, Webb has coached some very talented musicians. Last season's squad may have won nationals, but it fell short of the ultimate goal by two-tenths of a point. But for 240 band members, including the drum line and color guard, the 350-plus hours of preparation allowed the assembly of students to move as a single, fluid entity for eight defining minutes. "There was a lot of relief and elation, but the win was just the icing on the cake," said Webb, who has developed a thick skin when it comes to the subjectivity of the contest's judging. "Our performance was the only thing that we could control, and I don't think that we could have preformed any better. I don't think (the band) would have been disappointed to come in second, but it's nice to be recognized and appreciated." When things looked bleak for the Avon marching band, at least in comparison to the lofty accolades of previous bands, the Orioles refused to quit and finished the season with nothing less than their best efforts - a true mark of a champion. "They never quit on themselves," Webb said. "They realized that's what it would take to reach the end they wanted." -