The sun shines down on 200 high school students as they stand
scattered across the football field. The track around the field is littered
with band instruments, water bottles and sunscreen containers.
The voice of the band director booms out of the public address
system in the stadium. “Find your place in set nine. Set nine. Then take a seat
as soon as you are certain you’ve found your place.”
200 heads look down at laminated sheets of paper. Lips move
silently as each individual reads a specific coordinate and tries to picture where
they are supposed to go. Heads pop up to verify yard lines and hash marks
before eyes return to the coordinate sheets. Feet begin pacing off carefully
counted steps. Section leaders quickly find their place and then turn to help
the new members and those who continue to have trouble translating a coordinate
into a physical place on the football field.
LEFT
3.25 steps inside 35 12.75
steps in front of home hash
