With the novel coronavirus disrupting planned competitions, the West Point High School band program has shifted focus this year.

“We really went back to focusing on what we’re really about, which is music education,” said Band Director Bobby Patrick.

Although practice time per week is three-four hours less than in past years, Patrick said, they are working smarter, not harder and making the most of the time they do have in practice. He said the mantra he uses with the 68-member band is, “‘Everyday is a present, let’s make the most of it.’ And our kids have really bought into that,” he said.

Coming off a sweep of all-Superior ratings at the state band concert last year – a feat that had not been accomplished since 1995 – the band had a competitive mindset, he said. “They stepped up their game and they stepped up the bar for this year’s group,” said Patrick. However, now the band is focusing on performances before a different type of judge: fans and classmates at football games.

“We want our crowd to enjoy what these kids do,” said Patrick. And with the uncertainty of how the virus may impact the school year, the band members are not taking those performances for granted.

“We’re just having fun with it now,” he said. “We literally approach each game like it could be the last. You can tell the kids are buying into the performance.”

And the fans are appreciative. Patrick said one parent, following the band’s half-time show that focuses on the 75th Anniversary of the end of WWII, came up to him and said the performance had moved her to tears.

“When I hear that people are dancing in the stands to ‘Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy,’ it shows me that people are really enjoying what these kids are doing,” he said.