Meet the Leopards showcasing GHS skills Saturday Night

Aug. 12—Gainesville High School sports is kicking off the 2022-23 season this Saturday evening at the Leopard Football Stadium.

"We are going to be presenting all of our Fall teams, the band and dance team are also going to be out there," said GISD athletic director, Neil Searcy.

The GHS Redcoat Marching Band will begin the evening with their end of camp showcase at 5:30 p.m., where they will present techniques they learned at camp, sharing some of the new pop songs and pep tunes for the season, as well as give a preview of this year's contest show.

"The kids have put in 60 hours over the course of two weeks," said head band director and head of fine arts Tony Daniels. "It's very challenging for the group, but they're enthusiastic."

Then the main event starts at 6:30 p.m. with Meet the Leopards, where all the fall teams will be presented to the community. The fall sports include football, cross country, tennis and volleyball.

This year's Meet the Leopards will also include the return of the Electric Red Dance and Drill Team. The Electric Red was a part of GHS culture for decades until a few years ago. However, the group is returning this year with 15 members.

"A few students went above and beyond to have their voices heard on bringing back the drill team," said Director Carol Cubias. "They are now part of the team."

Meet the Leopards is going to look a little bit different this year with more of a focus on getting the students involved and having them interact with the community.

"We're trying something a little bit different where after each team is presented, it is going to be more like a fair," explained Searcy. "Each team is hosting a game for kids to come by to play and get to meet the players."

This is Searcy's first season as athletic director,having graduated from GHS and participated in football there in the past, along with some of the other coaching staff.

"It has been awesome, the reception that I've received, the reception that my family and my coaches have received here in Gainesville," said Searcy. "You can feel the excitement right now about Gainesville leopard football in the community, with our kids, with the community, with everybody that's involved and that feels good to be able to try to bring that back as an alumni. I know exactly what this place is and how it is whenever athletics is on top and we're gonna try everything in our power to get our athletic programs back on top."

Redcoat Marching Band

This year's Redcoat Marching Band show is ocean-themed, featuring the song "Oceans" by Hillsong UNITED and the 1995 movie "Waterworld."

Daniels said he is looking forward to people seeing the show and how they create the idea of water using marching techniques and the flag corp.

"We are going to experiment with lots of props, having a seaside shore with a pier; we're going to have a lighthouse... it's going to look like we're all ocean waves," explained Daniels. "The band is chartering new territory, not just for the Redcoat Band, but for band in general, always looking for new innovative ways to showcase the artistry of marching band."

This year's band has faced challenges unique to them, due to it being a very young group with students who began band learning their instruments mostly on their own.

"There's a bunch of freshmen and sophomores in the band, about four juniors and eight seniors," Daniels explained. "This year's freshmen are actually the COVID freshmen that started as beginners at home by themselves."

While there have been challenges, the students have risen to the occasion with the support of the band teaching staff, parents and the booster club, Superintendent Dr. DesMontes Stewart and the school board.

"I could not do this job any justice without the leadership of the other directors and assistant directors," said Stewart. "We had our highest turnout for our parent meeting with around 60 parents in the first parent meeting of the year."

This support has aided the students in all of their hard work and achieving all that they can.

"We have so many different performances. Last year, I counted 75 performances," said Daniels. "A lot of people think that we're only performing for football games, but when you count up 70 plus performances, then you realize that we're doing more than what people see, and the kids should be appreciated for how they serve the community through this art form."

Despite the summer heat and the lack of recognition, the students have still worked hard and are ready to show the community what they can do.

"It's been a bit of a challenge just to keep the whole thing going, but the kids are resilient, the energy is good and the atmosphere is good, and I wouldn't trade this for anything," said Daniels.

"It's not just about teaching them to play; it's about building good people, and I am fortunate that I get to help build good people through teaching band."

Electric Red Dance and Drill Team

The Electric Red Dance and Drill Team has also been hard at work preparing for the upcoming year.

"The experience has been great so far," said Cubias. "The team has improved their dance skills, as well as leadership skills. They have developed as dancers since their audition day. Some team members have never seen a drill team in their life and joining this team has been a wonderful discovery. "

One way that the team has improved since joining is by attending HTE Dance Camp this summer.

"HTE Dance Camp was a great opportunity for the teammates to grow with their dance technique and team bonding," said Cubias. "In camp, the girls were recognized for their determination and spirit and won several awards. They also got to meet other drill team members in the area. Everything that was learned in camp has been set in place for the season. HTE Dance also hosts Dance and Kick Academy Auditions. Our Captain made it to High Kick Academy, and she will be traveling to Paris in France this school year with the rest of the drill team members who also made it."

The dance team is preparing for an active year.

"What people can look forward to seeing from the Electric Red Dance and Drill Team is involvement with the community as well as bringing great school spirit with our amazing performances," said Cubias. "They will be hosting a Junior Clinic this season to teach our juniors a field routine. We will also walk in the Holiday Parade in early December in Dallas, Texas. Our goal this year is to enter the competition as a novice team, where they will compete against their score, and host a Spring Show."

In starting back the Electric Red Dance and Drill Team, GHS needed a director, and found that in Cubias.

"I was involved with dance at Chalmers Elementary. I choreographed 2nd grade Hispanic Heritage month and Fiesta Night dances for the Dual Language classes. Due to that experience, word got around that I could do it and I immediately accepted," said Cubias. "I also have drill team background experience. Go MacArthur Cardettes Drill Team!"

Lacreasha Stille, the Assistant Superintendent, has also become involved.

"Soon after I was hired, Mrs. Stille offered to help. With her support, she eventually ended up with the title assistant director," said Cubias. "She was in Electric Red during high school."

While there have been difficult moments, the Electric Red has had much support in getting them started strong.

"The challenge of bringing the Electric Red back is that they are all rookies," said Cubias. "However, they have had lots of great support by outside dancers, community, and former directors in the metroplex area that took their time to act as a veteran to lift them up even more."