The 71st annual University of Arizona Band Day was held on November 2nd, 2024 in the Arizona Wildcat Stadium. This was the first Band Day that our Sahuaro Cougar Marching Band has attended since 2019, right before the COVID-19 outbreak.

The University of Arizona Band Day spans 5 divisions, with bands ranging from around 20 to 250 members, the largest at this event being Catalina Foothills High School. The event goes from 7 in the morning to 10 at night to fit in all of the talented bands in the Arizona Marching Band Association and 2 performances from The Pride of Arizona Marching Band.

The Sahuaro band, under new leadership with Director Juan Guzman, competed for the first time in five years, going from 0 to 100 in a year. With Guzman’s passion and knowledge, marching band has not looked this strong since before the outbreak. Guzman has opened new, yet old, doors for the band department, like getting drills on the field, creating a Color Guard, and giving support inside and outside the band room.

“Nobody was expecting us to be there,” said Mr. Guzman, “I know that for sure. I know that the district and the other band directors were not expecting us to be there or do anything.” This lack of support from other bands creates the need to work harder. “I wouldn’t say there was pressure or stress really, but there was I guess internalized within us to be like ‘Yo this is who we are and this is what we’re doing.'”

It was clear that as a band, they had to go out there and prove that they were strong and put in the hard work to create an amazing feeling to move through the stands. With the nature of it being 7 in the morning, the crowd was few and far apart, but their cheers still rocketed through the stadium.

The band held in their excitement as they cleared the field. The performance they put out into the world that day was the performance they were waiting for to prove that they made it and did it with panache.

Mr. Guzman knew they could do it. Believing in these kids since the beginning, he said, “Honestly, to be fair, from the very beginning when I first heard the kids play, I was like, oh my gosh, these kids are actually, they have a lot of potential and they’re already really good – they just need to get pushed…so this whole time I’ve been treating you guys like you are one of the top groups. And I still think you are.”

Their performance was put up against marching bands that have been in service and have directors who have been with their bands for years, so their scores were greater than what our band expected going in. And although our band placed last with a score of 48.850 points, being put in 19th place, everyone felt euphoric.

Even if it doesn’t seem like it, this was a big accomplishment for the band because, at the beginning of the season, they scored 43.575, meaning they improved 5.275 points throughout the season with 4 competitions under their belt. So on average, they scored 46.146875 points for the season and improved an average of 1.31875 points per competition.

Now going into the end of the season, the only thing this band hopes for is an improvement in both playing and attitude. This Saturday, November 9th, the band will travel to Mesquite High School in Phoenix, Arizona to play their last run of the season.