The color guard teams of Hoffman Estates are very dedicated and hardworking. The HEHS flags teams of Hoffman are very devoted to their team and their craft, working hard at being their very best.

“The team is very dedicated to both flags and everything else they do in school,” said Britany Westby, one of the coaches and an English teacher. “The girls are very goal-orientated, wanting to do really well when they’re competing.”

The two teams try to stay in sync with each other, even when they aren’t performing, which makes them a tight-knit group of individuals.

“We get the chance to become close. The girls are together a lot and they bond; we [the coaches] bond with them as well,” said Westby.

Flags offers many learning experiences for the students as well. This year the teams are relatively young, many of the girls on varsity being sophomores and juniors, and many of the girls on JV being sophomores and freshman.

The girls this year also have a newer piece with which to work. This year, the varsity flags team has also been supplied with rifles, along with their usual flags of varying lengths.

“The girls come in with no experience of flags. They have to learn what to do with flags, and this year [they learned] rifles,” said Christine Jenkins. “Few girls have been in marching band, so they also have to learn how to march with their flags, which ends up being very new and difficult, but they do it very well.”

Despite any challenges, the team members always find enjoyment in being a part of the flags team.

“I think the hardest part for me is learning how to use new equipment,” said Brittany Nguyen, a member of the varsity flags team. “I started learning how to perform [with rifles] this year and it was difficult at first, but I really enjoy it now that I’m used to them.”

The girls are having an amazing season, and there’s only a bright future to come for the next year.

“I’ve learned a lot of from Ms. Jenkins while on flags,” said Giulia Sarigu, a member of varsity squad. “She’s really passionate, and I’m glad she, and Ms. Westby, were my coaches.”

Though, with every year comes change. This will be the final winter competition season as a coach for Jenkins. The varsity winter guard also had a performance during the March 18th spring sports assembly centering around the California earthquake.