FOUNTAIN VALLEY : School’s ‘Regiment’ Gets Honors

Clarinet player Shannon Johlic joined the band at Fountain Valley High School as a freshman and now he’s hooked.

“I enjoy the competitions. I get a rush from that,” said Johlic, 17, now a junior and assistant drum major.

Brandon Miles, 16, a junior who plays the tuba, started taking band in the ninth grade because his mother made him. “Now I see that it’s really worthwhile. You get to meet a lot of new friends and it gives you a sense of pride to be involved in something.”

The two students are part of the high school’s “Royal Regiment,” which performs at home games and competes in tournaments. The regiment is made up of the band and the dance-drill and tall-flag teams.

In the group’s first competition of the season, held recently in Anaheim, the 158-member regiment marched home with top awards in their division. In addition, the band earned individual honors, with a first place in their division and a fifth place overall.

“It’s not really if we win or not, but if we did the best performance we can do. Winning is kind like an extra, a dessert,” Miles said.

The dance-drill team also strutted away with a first place in its division and the flag team brought home a second-place trophy and second-place finish overall.

Gary Wampler, director of bands, said the Royal Regiment’s performance is a good indicator of a successful season to come.

The group vies in about six field competitions throughout Southern California during the school year, said Wampler, in his 17th year at the high school.

And, for their next tournament, the regiment is sure to turn heads with their new uniforms, the first full costume change in 10 years.

Band members tried on their new uniforms Friday, while uniforms for the drill team came in a couple of weeks ago. The flag team got their new costumes last year.

In competition, students are judged on music, marching skills and creativity of routines as well as showmanship, Wampler said.

The booster organization raised the majority of the $40,000 cost for the uniforms, with the school contributing $10,000. But another $10,000 still needs to be raised, booster President Lorraine Behunin said.

Behunin, who has two children involved in the Royal Regiment, said there was a “desperate need” for new uniforms because they old ones were so worn.

“Our experience with the flag and drill teams, is when they have these new uniforms, it gives them a greater sense of pride and confidence,” she added.

The band’s new uniforms, which they tried out in a group fitting Friday, include a royal blue jacket with black and white trim, and pants with white stripe down each leg.

Behunin also said that parent involvement, in which 180 families are members in the Royal Regiment, is one of the keys to making the program a success.

The program requires many long, tedious and demanding hours of rehearsal. But for the students involved, Wampler said, it builds leadership skills, develops discipline, helps them to deal with challenges in a positive way, and encourages social interaction with peers.

While winning tournaments may mean more trophies, the important lesson is that the students work as a team.

“The key thing is not so much to beat another person or school but beat ourselves and do the best job possible,” Wampler said.