Carrying Out Their Marching Orders--In Style : Youth: A new director and choreographer fine-tune Saugus High School’s band program.

With the end of summer comes the familiar ritual of training camp for Saugus High School senior Robert Chesebrough.

There’s all the sweat that comes from hustling through new patterns and running back to his starting position, only to repeat the same patterns. And if you screw up, Robert said, chances are you’ll have to run a lap around the football field.

Robert isn’t practicing for the school’s football team. The 17-year-old plays trumpet for the school’s marching band. And he says he faces more of a challenge than do his classmates practicing football plays nearby.

“Football is more intense physically, but here you have to be more mentally focused, or you lose it,” he said. “It’s hot, it’s intense, and if you’re not paying attention, you lose your place in the set.”

Robert and the other band members don’t seem to mind the hard work. After all, it has transformed a non-competitive band that some say was “dying” from lack of student interest into one of the most competitive in Southern California last year.

The reason? A coaching change, according to band members.

Band director Robert Gibson, 41, took charge five years ago, when the band of about 30 students was accustomed to standing in place while performing halftime tunes. Entering competitions was never seriously considered.

“I think the director then was not an aggressive person,” Gibson said. “He wouldn’t go out and go that extra two or three miles, let alone the extra mile.”

Gibson said one of the biggest reasons for his success has been bringing drill choreographer Todd Ryan, a longtime friend, to the school for a week each of the last four years to design the band’s routine. Supporters said the school was the first in Santa Clarita to bring in an outside choreographer--now all of them do.

“Normal bands march in squares and circles, but he has us do walk-throughs and other things that normally a group of people can’t do,” said Jamie Kamp, 17, a senior who wields a flag as part of the visual-effects portion of the show--something that didn’t exist in earlier years.

About 70 students are in the band this year, down from about 100 the year before only because many have been transferred to a new school opening this fall. The 70 have championships to defend in three of five regional competitions.

Also, five Saugus High students were selected to participate in the Rose Bowl’s high school band, the only Santa Clarita Valley students selected for the honor.

Todd Ryan’s five days at the school ended Friday. He divided his time between shouting commands from a small tower at the edge of the field and walking between the rows of marchers. He barked out orders and marching chants like a military cadence.

“That’s why we were running laps this morning, so you can make your body move that much faster,” he told the students through a bullhorn.

But Ryan, 36, a resident of Madison, Wis., describes himself as an easygoing guy. He said he started designing band programs 10 years ago when he finished college, because he saw few others doing it.

He has arranged programs for high school bands appearing in the Orange Bowl and Rose Bowl games, plus several programs in Europe. He works with about 2,000 students a year--1,500 at a multi-school summer band camp, the rest at eight to 10 schools like Saugus that hire him.

Ryan’s work with the Saugus band this year was made possible by the school’s parent advisory committee, which raised $3,000 through bake sales and other unpretentious fund-raisers, said Lester Freeman, committee vice president.

Freeman said the effort pays dividends when he sees the band on the field.

“It’s like the difference between driving a Mercedes-Benz and driving a Chevrolet,” he said.