Teaching Your Marching Band How to use the Field Markings
There are always questions concerning field dimensions and markings and how do we relate these to the marching band students. Lets start with the field dimensions and then move into how we can best use them to our advantage in teaching and cleaning drill.
Overall Dimensions
The outside measurements for College and NCAA football fields including the End Zone:
- Length: 360 feet or 120 yards
- Width: 160 feet or 53 1/3 yards
End Zone: 10 yards
End Line: 6 feet
Field Numbers: 6 feet high by 4 feet wide and top at 27 feet from sideline
Restraining Line (designates how close non-players can be to the field): 6 feet from the sidelines
Hash Marks:
- NCAA - 60 feet from the sidelines and 40 feet between
- High School - evenly spaced at 53 feet, 4 inches
- NFL - 70 feet, 9 inches from sidelines and 18 feet, 6 inches between
Lines: 4 inches wide
Hash Mark Yard Markers: 2 feet long extending from hash mark to sideline
Sideline Yard Markers: 2 feet long with 4 inch space between marker and sideline
Now let's look how this information can be used to our advantage in the marching band. First, the hash marks. There are 2 obvious hash marks on the field but, if you think about it there are actually 6. The numbers on the field provide two each - a top and a bottom. Using the standard measurements, the top is 27 feet from the sideline with translates to 14.4 steps. Then, since the height of the number is 6 feet, we can place the bottom at 11.2 steps. Yes, there are some variations to the size of the numbers on some fields and of course you can find some exceptions. I have found that the differences are generally minimal - within a step or so. You will need to do a quick survey before your performances to make sure there is nothing radically out of the norm. Even with these variations I have had many bands over the years make the adjustment without even noticing or being told! If you teach the drill with the numbers on your practice field the students will use them and you will see a dramatic improvement in the retention, cleaning and performance of the drill.
If you perform on the NCAA field system you will need to deal with the 40 feet between the hash marks. This translates to 21.33 strides which obviously can lead to some confusion. There are generally two schools of thought on how to deal with this. One, is to use 20 strides of 24" between the hashes. While this may seen odd and logically would distort forms, you have to realize the difference is only 1.5 inches per stride. Which should not become noticeable even in the biggest of bands who cross both hash marks in most forms. Another way the span between the hashes can be dealt with is to ignore the back hash as it relates to the standard stride. In other words, it is 21.33 stride from the front hash and will not be hit if traveling across the entire field at 8 to 5. To do this, you will need to make the adjustment on your field charts. The third method is to add 1 step between the hashes, thus making the distance 21 standard strides. As in the previous method, make sure to adjust the charts. I have seen and used all three methods with success with various bands. Which one do I recommend? I am a fan of having things as simple when simple is an option so I prefer the 24" stride or the 21 standard stride approaches.
The NFL field has similar difficulties with the hash marks. If you will perform on a field that only has NFL hashes, you can use the same system as explained above and do the math.
The most overlooked field marking after the numbers is the yard markers. These are simple to use but often not. I rarely hear them mentioned when I'm observing rehearsals. This is a missed opportunity to help clarify the students' position on the field. Take a look at the measurement breakdown as compared to the 8 to 5 stride. They are 36 inches apart which makes them 1.6 strides apart. Thus 2 steps off the yard line is 7 inches outside the first yard marker. Three steps off the line is 4.5 inches inside the second marker and 4 steps off is 18 inches (splitting) the distance between the yard markers. Knowing how intervals relate to the yard markers will make a significant difference in clarity of form especially in linear sets.
Also take note that the yard markers are 2 feet long which gives another distance for the students to relate to. Since they are so close to the standard stride it becomes easy for them to visualize what 3 more or 8 more of that length is. Use all the tools at hand to give your students the best opportunity for success.
You can even use the width of the line to your advantage. Since the line is 4 inches wide and the foot is 4-5 inches wide we can figure that a 1/4 step off the line will put the edge of the shoe just about an inch off the line and a 1/2 step about 6 inches off.
I don't want to give you the impression that your students should be looking down while they are moving however. These references are used in different ways in learning drill and performance. In teaching, the field markings are used to quickly align and set forms. On the move, they need to be looking at the markings that can be seen in the distance without lowering the head. Just like driving, the last place you want to focus your attention is on the road right in front of the hood of your car.
This may seem over-analytical to you now. Go ahead and jot down some measurements and see how much it will help not only your students in learning and cleaning drill but, you will begin to have a sharper eye and quicker solution at hand.
A Quick Overview of Marching Designs:
The Drill Designers page has articles from marching show design experts and listings of marching band drill designers for marching band, colorguard and indoor percussion ensembles.
On the Arrangers and Composers page you can find articles and information related to marching music and arranging as well as music selection and programming for marching band shows and winterguard.
The Instructors and Choreographers page deals with marching technique and marching clinics as well as colorguard choreography with in-depth articles and information.
Ever wonder where you can find a good camp for your drum majors or a clinician for your color guard? The Camps and Clinics page is the online resource for camps and clinics for marching band, color guard, marching percussion and drum majors.
Uniforms and Color Guard Equipment is more than just a listings of marching band and colorguard uniforms. You can find articles and information on band uniform design and great resources for color guard equipment, colorguard flags and rifles.
The Instruments page has information on everything from brass to marching percussion and drums with articles on maintenance, tuning and other topics related to marching band instruments.
All the Supplies and Equipment your marching band or colorguard could ever need can be found here - from metronomes and audio systems to band towers for marching rehearsals.
How did you build those big marching band props? Where did you get those custom printed flags for your colorgaurd? You can find those answers and more on the Printing and Props page. While you're here you can get some custom designed shirts for the directors and t-shirts for your entire band.
One of the hardest things to do is find a marching contest on a particular date or a score from last year's marching competition. On the Contests page you'll find a comprehensive marching contest events schedule plus links to the marching band contests and marching circuits to help you schedule and get information and scores from marching competitions around the country.
All the news, scores, and information for DCI and the Drum Corps activity is located on the Drum and Bugle Corps page.
The Software page is the best online resource for drill design, band administration and music notation software as well as information and articles on marching software.
The Audio / Video is your online resource for audio engineering and music production for winterguard, videographers for marching bands and information on how to use technology for your marching show.
You can find instructional videos, magazines and books marching band, color guard and marching drums on the Publications page.
The Associations page is a handy online reference of marching circuits and music education associations.
