University High School marching band becomes first 2A band ever in Greeley to go to state

With band teacher Clark Goering at the helm, University High School’s marching band made it to state in 2022. The band is the first Greeley band since 2014 to make it to state. Courtesy photo.

By Dan England

Clark Goering’s band students seemed confused, even a little hurt. Who was this guy yelling at them so much? 

Goering was their band teacher at University Schools, a position he’s now held for five years, and in that time, his students grew to love his enthusiasm, energy and empathy. Goering would cry at concerts after they sounded great, brag on them to their parents in between songs and acted like the living embodiment of Will Ferrel’s optimistic and kind-hearted “Elf.” When he asked them three years ago if they wanted to try a real marching band, instead of just playing peppy songs in the stands, many of them jumped at the chance. It would probably be a big party. 

Uh, no.

YOU’RE IN THE WRONG AREA, Goering screamed at them, over and over. WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING? GET YOUR HORNS UP. 

“They thought I was being mean to them,” Goering said and smiled. “They said so many times. I thought I was doing something wrong, to be honest. I reflected on myself. I decided that, no, they just needed to get used to it. I had to be a coach, not a teacher.”

All that hard work and, yes, all that yelling paid off this year in a big way. University became the first 2A band ever in Greeley to go to state. They’re also the first Greeley band to go since 2014, when Greeley Central went to state.

All the jokes about band geeks hide the fact that marching band is a sport with music. Students have to find places all over the football field to form dozens of formations, while playing memorized music, marching with horns and toes pointed to the clouds and blasting louder than a Metallica concert. If one person goes to the wrong spot, it ruins the formation or, worse, causes a collision. There are drumline coaches, color guard coaches, music coaches, section leaders, marching critiques and formation watchdogs, and Goering was there to keep everyone in line. 

With band teacher Clark Goering at the helm, University High School’s marching band made it to state in 2022. The band is the first Greeley band since 2014 to make it to state. Courtesy photo.

It’s a lot of work, and Goering desperately wanted a marching band but doubted he could build one himself. He leaned hard on Kwami Barnett, his assistant director, as well as constant fundraisers and even a grant to get the money for the coaches, uniforms and equipment. Then he had to learn how to trust himself. 

“I just didn’t think it could be done here,” Goering said in reference to University’s size as one of the smaller high schools in Greeley. “But I didn’t expect everyone to buy into it as much as they did.” 

The marching band’s first year was for football games only, a tribute to the rock band Queen, but even then, Goering started harshing their mellow. It was a growing year for everyone, and moving down from the stands to the football field was a big step.

Last year was the band’s first in competition, meaning they performed against other bands and were scored for things such as their sound, marching technique and the sharpness of their formations. Goering was happy with their progress, but in competition, they finished last, 12/12. 

This year, right away, he could tell things were different. 

• • • 

Band geek jokes will probably never die, but Zachary Yockey and others sure heard them a lot less this year. Yockey is a senior and one of the drum majors, one of the students who directs and keeps the band in time. They yell, too, though not as much as Goering. 

“The school took it more seriously,” Yockey said. “They knew we were putting the UH name against other schools. People started to ask us how it was going at competitions. Parents started watching us more too.” 

A few parents, in fact, went to the games just to watch the band, despite the fact that University’s football team is still enjoying one of its best seasons. 

Goering noticed the students had matured too. They learned the new show much faster, giving him more time to fine-tune the details, and most of all, they seemed to appreciate the discipline of it.

With band teacher Clark Goering at the helm, University High School’s marching band made it to state in 2022. The band is the first Greeley band since 2014 to make it to state. Courtesy photo.

“I was harder on them this year than I ever was,” he said, “and nobody said anything.”

Goering also had eighth-graders in the band for the first time, which added more numbers and some heft to their sound. It also added an additional layer of squirrellyness and a lot of inexperience. Goering, like any good coach, relied on his veterans to show the rookies the way, and he did unconventional things such as putting Brayden Belendir, a trumpet player and senior, in charge of the whole brass section, not just his fellow trumpets, because of the inexperience of the trombone players. It was rough at first, Bellendir admitted, especially because trombones play in a different clef, or musical language, than most other instruments. 

“I had to think of different ways to explain it that would work for them,” he said. 

Going into the finals, Goering thought his band had a chance at state but expected them to finish ninth or 10th. Only the top eight get to go. But they turned in a great performance and were all surprised, even stunned, when University finished sixth. One of the bands they edged was Arvada, a band that’s had a program for decades and had been to state many, many times. Eaton, the school’s longtime rival and frenemy, finished third. 

“We just edged them out this year,” Goering said of Arvada. “It just shows how impressive it is that a school after just two years can do that.”

Goering doesn’t know if University can go to state every year. He’s losing some key seniors, of course, students who have been with him since the start. He will likely cry at their graduation. But he’s encouraged by the talk of Rhianon Hampton, a drum major and graduating senior: When you listen to her talk, it sounds like she’s talking less about a fluke and more about a program.

They had a good time performing at state Monday, Oct. 30, she said. There were many great bands there, as they expected. And University acted like they belonged with them. Hampton likes their chances next year. 

“I know our band did a great job this year,” she said, “but what’s cool is we KNOW we can make it there now every year.”