Jordan Humphress, the director of the Adair County High School Band, has kept things kind of simple for his team as it prepares to open its contest season Saturday in Campbellsville. He hasn’t gone into any elaborate strategy. He’s just been telling everybody to keep doing what they do.
“The way we always communicate with the kids, and we have done it from the first day, is that you will only perform on Saturday, day or night, the way you practice on the blacktop at home,” Humphress said. “We use references from professional drum corps that do this activity during the summertime.
“You can see picture references of how they perform in the heat of the summertime and how they perform in the finals of the event. It looks the exact same because that’s how they practice. In our activity, there is no one going out there to defend us, and change things. It is all offense, and we just have to make sure we execute the way we practice at home.”
Adair County will open its season Saturday at Taylor County High School in Campbellsville. It is sponsored by the Kentucky Music Educators Association.
Humphress said he is not exactly sure what to expect from the band in this season’s opener, but he expects Saturday’s event to be a learning experience.
“For us, it is about making sure the students are excited in the performance,” Humphress said. “For a lot of our students, this will be their first time going out and doing this. On Saturday, we want them to come off the field excited about the activity.
“As far as goals in placement-wise, we will take whatever comes. The judges that are going to this contest are some of the best in the business. So, we trust their takes on it. You can’t really help what they put on paper, but our hope is the students give a performance that will put them right in the conversation as far as who wins. We will just have to see how it all works out.”
Adair County will likely be competing against Russell County, Allen County and Elizabethtown in the always tough Class 3A. Humphress said overall, Hardin County may be the team to beat.
“When we go on the field Saturday, we need to have high energy all the way around,” Humphress said. “We need execution in the marching side of things, and good music fundamentals. We want to go enjoy this performance, and I think that will be what sets them apart.”
