Things to do with your guard

1.secret pals. Each person writes down a list of their favorite things, put the list in a hat, and then you draw someone else's list. You get them a small thing (usually under $5) before each performance that relates to something on the list or your show theme. This helps you to get to know each other better. Reveal who your secret pal was at your end of year party.

2. During the holidays(christmas) and during the day after practice have a floor cleaning party and play some music( it is really fun and you bond) then that night pick a resurant to go to and have dinner and a gift swap( another great bonding momment!! you really get to know alot about the other people in the guard) and you should have alot of fun even invite the instructors!!!

3. Find a somewhat slow song and keep it as your guard song and sing it or listen to it before every competition.

4. To get along better, keep an envelope on the guard room door and keep it for a place where people can write down suggestions for the guard and some frustrations that you may have.

5. This takes awhile. Have had everyone say what upset them about everyone one the guard, not all at once but like one person, then each person says their problems, then the next person etc. Try to be serious and not hurtful. It really helps to know so that everyone can get along better.

6. Let the instuctor know what we were having problems with so he can come up with the idea of a cg journal, in the journal you write down what you all did in practice and what problems, then you have to write how you worked on your problems over the week or till your next practice.

7.Adopt a mascot, dress it in your uniform, name it, take turns keeping it at home. Have the mascot travel with you and attend all practices. Place ads in competition programs from the mascot, or to it. Send message grams to instructors or guard from mascot, or to it. This is a very fun thing to hear when announcers say " To (guard's name), from (mascot), good luck!!! Don't name it a normal name, because then people think its from another person and it takes all the fun from it.

8.Another message gram trick, send inside jokes to the guard or other guard members, this is already done I know, but just in case.... no one knew to do that.

9.Any traditions work out really well. Keep them going, and add more to each season. It gives everyone something to look foward to even in a not so great season.

10.get a bonding box that you use at long practices when you take lunch breaks. You sit in a circle and one person pulls a question from the box, reads it and answers and then pass the question on to the next person until it gets around the circle. Then the next person in the circle pulls a new question and it goes around again, etc. The questions are just informational questions that tells about yourself. For example, "what is your favorite color?", would be one of the questions and other simple questions like that. "what's your favorite movie?"