The cheers from the Black Hole echoed through the vast stadium for the Friday Night Lights. As the timer ran out and the buzzer pronounced the end of the second quarter, Logan Martinez (10) split off from the rest of the football team, running across the football field to grab his tuba. His football helmet was tossed onto the bleachers, replaced by a lofty shako hat. With his football jersey still on, he paused to catch his breath before hurrying out to the field again to proudly represent Westview, but this time as a member of the Westview GOLD marching band.
For Martinez, the Fridays with home games are exciting yet especially demanding days. He has to juggle playing offensive and defensive lines for Varsity football, and playing tuba in Westview GOLD. His passion for both activities started in middle school.
“I started football when I was in sixth grade in a youth team,” Martinez said. “Throughout the years, I grew in it, and I realized that I really enjoyed it. For band, I played piano for a few years beforehand and picked up [tuba] when I went to middle school. I decided to stick with it in high school, and I used to ask around about doing band and football. Particularly in seventh grade, I was at the middle school band night. I [noticed] some players on the football team who were also in band. That’s when I realized that I can do that too, and I decided to go for it.”
He joined football and GOLD in his freshman year, and plans to continue participating in both for the rest of his high school years. Martinez said, however, that both programs require a substantial commitment of energy and time.
“Sometimes I have conflicts within my schedule, specifically [for] football games,” Martinez said. “I have to run off instead of going to the locker room at halftime. I go and grab my things [from] the field and come back later. Sometimes football practice and band rehearsal overlap, so I miss the first few minutes of rehearsal.”
Moreover, more than half of Martinez’s school days are almost completely occupied by practices and rehearsals. He said he usually does not come back home until at least 7:30 on weekdays, and his Saturdays are often reserved for band tournaments.
Xavier Hurtado (10), a JV football player and a clarinet player in band, agreed that these two programs take up a majority of his time. Hurtado said he took a fourth period off-roll to help him manage his packed schedule. Similar to Martinez, Hurtado’s passion for band and football started out a few years back.
“When I was younger, I used to throw around a [football] with my dad and my friends,” Hurtado said. “I wanted to gain more experience in football in general, so I decided to try out this year. And I started [participating] in band in 8th grade, enjoyed playing an instrument, and decided to keep doing marching band throughout high school because I [had] a lot of fun.”
Hurtado continued to pursue two of his biggest passions in high school, even though this decision was not an easy one to make. He said that seeing others like Martinez play football while still being in band gave him the push he needed to try out for the team this year.
“I [knew] football was one of my greatest interests, and I also wanted to keep doing [band],” Hurtado said. “I [noticed] that Logan was already doing both, which made me feel like I was able to do it too. It was an inspiration and an example of what I could choose to do.”
Despite the time commitment needed to engage in two demanding activities, both students said they believed it was worth the hard work. Martinez said that he learned a lot of life skills through participating in these programs.
“I think this helps a lot with time management and also just growth as a person,” Martinez said. “From both programs, you learn a lot about how to be more responsible. A lot of times, the coaches or band directors will talk about life lessons, and I also learn a lot from them. We learned how to honor commitments and give your absolute full effort. The coaches always push us to follow through on things we committed to.”
Partaking in these programs led to a handful of the most unforgettable lessons in his life. Martinez said these moments drive him to always continue pushing himself.
Fueled by their childhood love for football and music, both Martinez and Hurtado continue to pursue their passions even with the challenges they face along the way of participating in football and band.
“These two things have become such a big part of my life and I’ve spent so much time on both of them,” Martinez said. “I wouldn’t want to quit either.”
