Coupeville Sports

Oliana Stange plays with the CMS band last year. (John Fisken photo)

Oliana Stange, daughter of CHS tennis coach Ken Stange and college professor Ericka Cooley, is currently an 8th grader in Langley.

In this first-person account she looks back fondly on her time as a member of the Coupeville Middle School band.

When I was in seventh grade, I played with the band at football and basketball games.

I wasn’t required to, only the high schoolers were.

I loved playing the saxophone, so I decided I would go to get some extra time in.

But as it turned out, pep band was so much more than just playing your instrument.

Last year, Coupeville’s football team did so well.

I remember how excited I would get when they would score a touchdown. That meant we could play “On Wisconsin.”

Once, we played the school song eight times in one game!

That was such an exciting day.

Once it had rained before the game started. The bleachers were freezing cold and soaked in rain.

Jacob Zettle brought rain pants, a rain jacket, and gloves. It made me laugh so much.

Even though I was cold that game, it was still a lot of fun.

Basketball season was just as much fun.

Watching the girls’ basketball team shred their opponents paired well with the songs we played, because we were even more hopped up on adrenaline.

I remember Mr. Jenkins would shout out the song we were going to play. He would shout “Get ready!”

I always said “Get ready for what?”

I didn’t mean to make a joke, I just didn’t recognize the song title.

Sorry Mr. Jenkins. That probably made you mad.

Because playing with the band was so much more to me than playing in between the actual game and the cheerleaders.

It was eating my body weight in popcorn, using a hair dryer to dry my music after it got soaked in rain, and screaming when your team scored.

It was fun times spent with your friends and giving people candy.

And most of all, it was learning not to eat too much concession stand food.

Too much will give you a stomachache. Trust me, I know from experience.

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