Pride of Oklahoma Drum Major Halle McFarlane training with Coach Todd Preston. SYDNEYTATOM/OU

Jack Carter and assistant Todd Preston teamed up with the Pride of Oklahoma in 2023, conducting research and observing the band to develop a workout regimen designed to boost their athletic abilities and performance on and off the field. Now, as the band is entering its second season in the SEC, the pair is looking to further improve the quality of their marching and push the limits of their performance.  

Since 2017, Preston has partnered with Jack Carter, owner of Carter Peak Performance to provide fitness training to sports teams in Norman, including The Pride of Oklahoma. The duo works with the band to enhance athleticism and performance quality by strengthening and conditioning the band before practices and gamedays. 

“It’s a lot more challenging than people give them credit for,” said Preston. “I feel like if more people were exposed to that or experienced it or even just tried it for five minutes, they would understand that it’s a lot more than just musicians standing around.” 

Preston was a former Pride member, but suffered from several health complications that forced him to make the decision to cut his marching career short. While this decision was difficult for Preston, it sparked a new passion for health and exercise. 

Preston noted that there is a lack of research on the physiological aspects of marching, making it harder to assess how best to condition band members as well as what parts of the body are prone to injury. 

“The two injuries that we can probably draw the best hypothesis for are gonna be the lower back followed by the wrist for battery and then maybe ankles,” said Preston.  

Many of the Prides workouts are borrowed exercises from other sports such as football, however workouts have to be kept simple to accommodate the needs of over 300 band members. 

“We do lots of mobility and then some low grade plyometrics, some jumping and cardiovascular stuff to keep them going and to work out everything,” said Carter. 

Although the Pride prioritizes strength and conditioning, many band members still suffer from back, neck and knee pain while marching due to stylized marching and the weight of each instrument.  

For the drum line specifically, many struggle with back and shoulder pain from the pressure of their instrument.  

“If our backs are not aligned how it’s supposed to be, then you’re probably going to have some sore shoulders,” said drumline section leader Preston Smith. 

Smith said they are told to think of it as separating their ribs from their hips to help evenly distribute the weight and alleviate some of the pressure on their lower backs.  

Unlike percussion, wind instruments require extreme control of breathing to maintain even sounds in the instrument while marching. 

“You have to learn how to control the breath intake, but also control the output that you put in to make sure you hit all 16 counts,” said senior mellophone Chloe Harbuck. 

Although it’s debated if marching band is considered a sport, the physical requirements of the activity are often underestimated. Proper training prepares band members to perform at their best on and off the field.

“I genuinely would not be in the physical shape that I am right now without their assistance,” said Pride of Oklahoma Drum Major Halle McFarlane. “Being able to have that physical confidence has been really rewarding.”