The older generation is always willing to give something from their time, to the younger one. Sometimes it’s Grandma’s famous cookie recipe or dad’s favorite wrench. For freshman Ellory Weinstein, it was her mom’s passionate love for color guard. The sport involves the spinning of flags and your feet dancing away to the choreographed beat of the music.
Ellory’s mom, Deborah, said that during her childhood she lived in a small town every year on Memorial Day they would have a parade through her hometown Main Street. Deborah was the very first person to hold the American flag in this parade.

“It was so cool,” she said. Deborah was also the captain of her color guard team. She admits that she doesn’t really remember much of her experience as captain because “it was a really long time ago.” However, she does vividly remember the tiny moments with her teammates.

“It was really fun just being with my friends and doing something we all loved,”
Deborah said. For her it was all about “connecting with people.” Before she knew it, her own daughter was trying out for colorguard herself.

“It was bit of a surprise when she told me,” Deborah said.
She explained that she didn’t try to persuade Ellory in joining colorguard but that didn’t stop her from being any less excited for her daughter.

“I actually called up my dad and told him that he would never guess what Ellory was doing,” Deborah said.
It was a sport that Deborah had always loved doing and when her daughter mentioned she would be doing it too, she said that a little part of her went, “Yay I get to relive my childhood through you.” Ellory, though looking forward to the season, explains that she was a little nervous to start.

“It’s a lot of work and effort. Some people think it’s just spinning flags but it’s way more,” Ellory said.
The 14-year-old says that although she wants to be the best at what she does, the challenges can be overwhelming at times.

“The physical aspect of it is exhausting, I mean holding a 6-foot-pole can get tiring after awhile,” Ellory said. Yes, that’s right, colorguard spins 6-foot poles in the air and if that’s not enough, they also have choreography to go with it. So, one might understand why Ellory might be a teensy-bit worried. Ellory on top of it has a mom who was captain, another thing that could possibly be stressing her. But she begs to differ.

“No, no my mom just wants me to get the best experience out it and to really just have fun,” Ellory said.
When kids have a parent who’s done the same sport as they have, some may tend to have a annoying habit of critiquing you on everything. Luckily, Ellory has escaped this.

“A lot has changed since my mom was in color guard and what I and do and what she did is a lot different,” Ellory said.
The teen’s mom says that she couldn’t possibly try to critique her daughter.

“Nowadays color guard is so intense and there’s so many new moves and spins that’s way more intense than when I did color guard,” Deborah said.
The mother-daughter pair both love having a common interest in a sport that they both love. In Ellory’s words,“It not only brings you closer, but it gives you a bond like no other.”