Sahuaro gained a new sport at the start of this 2024 school year…and it’s not your typical run-of-the-mill sport – it’s also one of the fine arts. Color Guard is a team of performers who perform choreographed dances and routines with equipment to enhance and interpret the music of a marching band. Color Guard uses flags, fake (wooden or plastic) rifles, and sabers.
The team is coached by Natalie Trujillo, a University of Arizona’s Color Guard member who performs in the Pride of Arizona. She is not new to Color Guard and is in her second year at the U of A. She is also the assistant coach for Color Guard at Pueblo High School. Coach Natalie started off with one student and now she has 5 people on the team, and they’re all female! 
Sophia Knepp is a freshman and was the first to join the team. Prior to joining, she knew little about Color Guard. “My sister asked me if I wanted to do it and then she told me what it was. I looked up a couple of videos and then I wanted to do it.” Sophia also participated in band camp hosted here at Sahuaro a week before school started. During band camp, students learned marching basics and played many games.
Mr. Guzman, who is the orchestra and band director, has a lot of interactions with the Color Guard team, like writing their drills. Director Guzman believes that Color Guard is a necessity for marching band or for any music program. “People often think of band but they forget the other component which is the visual dance art.” Mr. Guzman even did winter Color Guard in high school.
Sarah Bol, a sophomore on Color Guard, said, “Joining Color Guard was really scary at first because it’s the first time in a few years our school has had Color Guard and I didn’t know what to expect going in. I am so glad I joined because now I don’t know what my life would be like without it.”
Our school’s team will perform at games for the entire marching band season, and at competitions. After fall, the Color Guard will enter its winter season and begin indoor competition at Cholla.
Since winter is nearing, Color Guard is looking for new recruits for the competition season. If you are interested speak to Coach Natalie or DM @shs.colorguard on Instagram.
