Sarasota High's morning march

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SARASOTA

Lots of high schools have Friday football traditions, but none of them start earlier than the Sarasota Sailors.

They start to cheer before school opens. They start to cheer before class begins. They start to cheer before the sun rises over the school auditorium.

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Jeremy Trebbles, 14, wore his orange shades to the first Morning March of the year Friday, August 22 at Sarasota High School. (Staff photo by Rachel S. O'Hara)

Jeremy Trebbles, 14, wore his orange shades to the first Morning March of the year Friday, August 22 at Sarasota High School. (Staff photo by Rachel S. O'Hara)

It’s called the “Morning March.”
Students get off the bus at 7 a.m. to find the school courtyard filled with hundreds of classmates in orange and black. They hear the drums and horns of the Mighty Sailor Band. Cheerleaders cheer, players chant and students play along.

“Everyone’s really chopped up this year,” says Autumn Byrd, who painted an SHS anchor on her cheek last Friday. “It’s really fun as a senior. It’s fun seeing the reactions of the underclassmen.”

This year, for Morning March, the Sailor football team has stopped wearing jerseys and started wearing white shirts and ties.
Briyance Adams, a sophomore defensive end, got one of the coaches to help knot his orange-and-white striped tie. He’s still getting used to Friday mornings.

“It’s really early to be out here, but it wakes you up,” Adams says. “It wakes you up.”

The Morning March was a Sarasota High School tradition before Principal Jeff Hradek arrived 12 years ago. He doesn’t know who first got the idea, but he’s happy to keep marching.

“When students own the school, when they feel a part of something, everything’s better,” Hradek says. “It makes it fun on a Friday. It gets ’em going and then you don’t have to interrupt the school day.”

Rise and cheer

Kira Marino, 17, gets loud as she and the rest of the cheerleaders pump up the crowd during the first Morning March of the year on Aug. 22 at Sarasota High School.   (Staff photo by  Rachel S. O'Hara)

Kira Marino, 17, gets loud as she and the rest of the cheerleaders pump up the crowd during the first Morning March of the year on Aug. 22 at Sarasota High School. (Staff photo by Rachel S. O'Hara)

At 6:30 a.m., it’s still dark, but the Sarasota High cheerleaders gather under a streetlight.
They practice jumps and shouts. They practice climbing up and down pyramids. They practice the kind of chants high school squads have been doing for decades.

We made it to the top, we’re solid as a rock.
We can’t be stopped, because we’re (clap, clap) hot!

Emily Shirley, a junior cheerleader, brought along something to eat — waffles with cashew nut butter.

“I don’t have time for breakfast in the morning,” she says. “It’s difficult getting up, but it’s worth it.”

The Sarasota High cheerleaders wear orange outfits during the day, then switch to black for the ballgame. Or vice versa.

“It’s for the shock value,” Shirley says.

Ciara Bernatt, senior cheer captain and student government vice president, is a third-generation Sarasota High School student. Her family history is part of school tradition.

“Looking at the old yearbooks, they had parades and things like that,” she says. “School spirit was really big back then.”

Bernatt wonders if students today care as much about Sailor pride and Friday football. Or maybe it’s always been the same. Even 50 years ago, kids talked about being too cool for school.

Morning March helps get a rise out of her classmates, but it adds a few hours to what is already a very long day.

“Sometimes we get up at 5 o’clock and don’t get to bed until midnight,” Bernatt says. “Once we get started, it’s go, go, go. Sometimes we sneak a nap in.”

‘Make it more epic!’

Aiesha Harvey, 17, dances with her clarinet at the first Morning March of the year on Aug. 22 at Sarasota High School.   (Staff photo by  Rachel S. O'Hara)

Aiesha Harvey, 17, dances with her clarinet at the first Morning March of the year on Aug. 22 at Sarasota High School. (Staff photo by Rachel S. O'Hara)

At 6:50 a.m., the cheerleaders walk around a corner to where the Mighty Sailor Band has been warming up.

“Good morning, band,” the cheerleaders shout.

“Good morning, cheerleaders,” the band shouts back.

Instead of uniforms, the marching band wears matching black T-shirts. On the front, it says “MSB.” On the back, there’s the theme for this year’s halftime show: “BRITISH INVASION. Music of the Beatles, Radiohead and The Who.”

As the students begin a song, band director John Roseboom makes them stop and start over.
“Epic!” he shouts. “Make it more epic!”

Once it’s epic enough, the Mighty Sailor Band leads the cheerleaders on the Morning March to the school courtyard.

Aiesha Harvey, a senior band captain, has the most energy of anyone in the clarinet section. The sun still isn’t up, but she’s bright as day. She wears orange shorts, along with an orange bow, orange sunglasses and orange eye shadow.

“Glitter is very important,” Harvey jokes. “We’re trying to get the school pepped up. A lot of people actually show up and have fun. Hopefully, the whole school is engaged, but that doesn’t always happen.”

More black T-shirts

Students are supposed to wear orange-and-black on Fridays, but that’s exactly the kind of matchy look many students are trying to avoid.

There’s not a lot of orange among regular students in the courtyard. Lots of them wear T-shirts that just happen to be black.

“Hurley.” “The Clash.” “Bring Me The Horizon.”

Makayla Lima, a freshman, wears a black T-shirt that spells “LOVE” in sequins. She’s never heard of Morning March.

“I didn’t even know this was going on,” Lima says, “but it’s pretty cool.”

Davis Kansler, a Sarasota sophomore, wouldn’t go that far. He hangs in the back of the morning pep rally.

Football coach Brian Riles, athletic director Mark Aschenbrenner and grandson, Caleb, 6, principal Jeff Hradak, assistant principal Becky Moyer and assistant principal Jamie Massengale get soaked taking the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge during the first Morning March of the year on Aug. 22 at Sarasota High School. (Staff photo by Rachel S. O'Hara)

Football coach Brian Riles, athletic director Mark Aschenbrenner and grandson, Caleb, 6, principal Jeff Hradak, assistant principal Becky Moyer and assistant principal Jamie Massengale get soaked taking the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge during the first Morning March of the year on Aug. 22 at Sarasota High School. (Staff photo by Rachel S. O'Hara)

“It’s better than having nothing in the courtyard,” Kansler says. “I can’t wait for the teachers to get soaked in the ice bucket challenge.”

After a splash of water, along with several songs, cheers and speeches, the Sarasota High students make their way to class.

It’s still 12 hours to game time.

Byrd, the senior with an anchor painted on her cheek, like to pace herself through the football season. She tries to build up to the biggest game of the year with arch rival Riverview.

“I don’t like to trick it out until Spirit Week,” Byrd says, laughing. “Then I’m orange-and-black from head to toe. That’s when everyone goes crazy.”

Last modified: September 19, 2014
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