One of the great things about color guard is that you can always keep learning, regardless of your role within the activity. Judges, instructors, designers, and performers can always grow and learn something new. Individuals and teams make success much more difficult, if not impossible, to attain if they believe that they already know it all.
There’s Always Somebody Better
Color guard incorporates so many different elements that it’s impossible for one person to be the best at all of them. The most successful people embrace the fact that there is always going to be someone who is better at something than they are and work to learn from those people.
Whether it’s spinning a weapon, conditioning, or show design, everybody has a weakness.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking for help. Seek out those who are better—the ones you look at and think, “I want to be like them”—and see if they will pass on what they have learned.
Unexpected Teachers
Sometimes, the people you learn from are not those who you would expect. Never assume that someone can only learn from you and not the other way around. While we have leadership within our guards, it is narrow-minded to assume that the guard captain can’t learn something from even the newest of members.
Life Lessons
Don’t disregard the lessons that aren’t related to equipment, movement, and performance. This activity is full of life lessons in humility, time management, commitment, and more. While helpful in guard, these skills will ultimately make you a better person and aid in your success outside of guard as well.
It’s Not Just You
Your teammates, instructors, and judges are also still learning every day. Standards within the guard world can change drastically within a few years, so everybody must adapt as the norms change. Take comfort in the fact that it’s not just you.
