For Omar Sagastume and Rylee Stan
ley, Friday nights come with a change of uniform. Sagastume changes his helmet and football for the mellophone, while Stanley switches the softball field for the trombone when the band takes the field at halftime.
Sagastume joined the football team this season after head coach and co-athletic director Mike Holland recruited him from soccer for his strong leg. While this is his first year as the kicker, he’s also simultaneously learning a new instrument in the marching band.
“The band director here convinced me to play mellophone while playing football,” Sagastume said. “It’s great. It’s a new experience for sure.”
Sagastume hit his first extra point through the uprights on Sept. 4 against Washington-Wilkes.
Stanley has been playing softball since she was 4 and performing in band since sixth grade. This year, she pitched one inning with two strikeouts, two walks and no hits in a win over Cedar Shoals.
Her weekdays are a balancing act, as she goes from band practice in her softball uniform directly to softball practice. On Friday nights, she gets a golf cart escort to the football field during halftime.
Stanley said she didn’t know she could continue doing both until she started high school. Now, she hopes she can be an inspiration for others.
“I love it, honestly,” Stanley said. “I feel like it shows a bunch of the younger people they can do both when they get older because I didn’t know I could until I saw other people doing it.”
Holland and Brianna Dickens, head softball coach and co-athletic director, both said competing in multiple activities speaks to a player’s character.
“Omar is a first-class kid,” Holland said. “I taught him in science class, and he’s just a top-notch individual, and I know he takes both things very seriously. If anybody’s mature enough to handle it, I know he is.”
Dickens said she’s supportive of Stanley, and she knows how important softball and band are to her.
“(Rylee) works very hard at both,” Dickens said. “I can’t say I’ve ever coached anyone that has been in band and played softball. I think that’s really cool to be able to do both; she handles it very well.”
Despite their similar interests in band, they view performing differently. For Sagastume, it helps calm him down from the game, but Stanley said she sees it as intimidating. Both agree, though, it’s an experience they wouldn’t change.
“I have friends on both sides of the sport,” Stanley said. “I just love doing both. I adore it.”
For Sagastume, the friends he has made along the way are what he will remember most.
“All my friends on the football team, it’s amazing,” Sagastume said. “They’re always there for me, always inspiring for sure.”
Sydney Jarrard contributed to this article.