Under the bright stadium lights, weaving through the color guard flags and brass section, freshman Emily Smith twirls her batons as the first twirler in more than four years. After five years of practicing for at least an hour every day, she has earned it.

“I have always wanted to be a twirler in a marching band,” Smith said. “That has been my goal for many years and all I thought about last year.”

Her inspiration came from a twirler she saw years ago at another marching band show.

“I saw the twirler at Round Rock and thought it was so awesome,” Smith said. “I turned to my mom and told her, ‘that’s what I want to do.’”

All of the hard work and countless hours of practice paid off for Emily in the end, but she has also had to face challenges that she didn’t always expect.

“I’m used to staying in one spot and twirling, so it’s really challenging to move around,” Smith said. “It is a little more difficult with some tricks because I’m afraid to hit or run into somebody.”

During the summer she had to audition in front of the band directors, and although there were a few slip ups due to her nerves, it was an overall promising audition.

“It was so nerve racking because I had practiced so much and didn’t want to mess up and be turned down,” Smith said. “I am so happy and thankful that they are letting me twirl.”

Now that she is the feature twirler in this year’s marching show, Emily has had to learn how to memorize her spot on the field as well as remember her choreography.

“My coach makes up all of my sets and choreography for me,” Smith said. “Now I just need to practice a lot to get all of my tricks down.”