We focus our guard recruiting efforts outside of band. Many of my guard are current or former cheerleaders or dancers. My guard director goes to the middle school dance classes every year to talk to them about colorguard.
We have a good number of band kids who do winterguard. They are among our best marchers in the fall - winterguard keeps them physically active in the spring semester and teaches them how to use and control their body.
I've had a few instrumentalists switch to guard for marching band. Most of them were not "valuable" in terms of musical contribution. But they're great kids, who we want to keep in band, and guard is a way to do that. I've definitely found some kids who can barely play a Bb scale but are great at spinning.
The downside to recruiting outside of band is we get kids who just don't understand the idea of commitment. Attendance can be a struggle and excuses are constant. Our band kids (for the most part) learned that lesson in middle school.
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