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Sports

Marching Band Brings Home Top Prize From Atlantic Coast Championships

West Deptford High School wins distinctions for best music and best visual presentation.

Championship trophies gleam from every nook and cranny of the West Deptford High School band room.

Now, the "The Big One" has taken its place among the glittering array.

The 70-member West Deptford High School Marching Band took first place in Group III at the prestigious Atlantic Coast Championships, an annual competition presented by Tournament of Bands, held Nov. 7 in Hershey, PA.

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The band set a school record with a score of 96.95 to beat 19 other bands from five states, winning special awards for best music and best visual.

Their winning show, "Dynasty: Reflections of China," was an eight-minute program based on Chinese folk tunes ,composed and arranged by West Deptford High School Music Director Thomas L. Kershaw.

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West Deptford has qualified to participate in the Tournament of Bands for nine straight seasons. The struggle to achieve top berth has been slow but steady. In 2002, West Deptford tied for 19th place, but in recent years the band has hovered near the top.

Showing strong potential at preliminary competitions this season, the band ranked first going into the 2010 event.  

Band members had it all together, and they knew it.

"We really felt like there was a vibe there, and it went through for the whole season," said drum major Maddie Magill.

She remembers the championship moment well.

"They called the name of the second-place winner, and it wasn't ours. I was there with my two assistant drum majors (Jade Fox and Michelle Cullen) and the three of us just lost it."

Challenging students to stretch and reach beyond their limits is the philosophy of band director Kershaw, who has led the band since 2002. 

"If you establish the bar high, they will reach and grab it," he said. "It's a demanding schedule. Giving students strong expectations and goals and getting the right staff members is important. We have 13 working with the band, some of them volunteers and some of them employees of the school. We are fortunate to have that."

Kershaw also credits the "amazing" West Deptford Band Parents Association and thanks school administrators for supporting music. The school budget season was a tough one, but the band's program survived intact.

Band Parents Association President Kate Cargill said students have a "gigantic" commitment to the marching band.  

"They never want to miss a practice. Even if they are sick, they insist that they have to be there," said Cargill, whose daughter Samantha plays clarinet.

The constant practice and competition pays off in many ways.

"Every year, we have kids who pursue music as their careers. The band is equally important to these kids as football is to kids who get sports scholarships," Cargill said.

The school year begins early for marching band members with practice starting in July.

From September through the end of October, students practice three nights per week, for a total of nine hours weekly. Every weekend in the fall, the band performs at West Deptford High School football games. After the games are over, band members pile onto buses and head off to participate in a circuit of competitions throughout New Jersey.

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