Katie Weides jam-packed summer just hit a stumbling block.
The incoming Iola High School senior was supposed to be in Pittsburg this week as part of an honors marching band for Saturdays Kansas Shrine Bowl, an all-star high school football game.
But after aggravating a chronic ankle injury this week, doctors have sidelined Weide until she can see a specialist on Monday.
The injury was disappointing, she said.
I had been looking forward to doing this all summer, Weide said. But I knew after the first rehearsal my ankles would not be able to march this week.
Weide has attended a series of band camps since early June, but the Shrine Bowl festivities would have been her first formal marching band camp, and I know there are going to be a lot of really good performers out there.
Her focus now is rehabilitating her ankles in time for school to resume in August, with a full slate of high school events through the fall.
Weide specializes in several instruments as a high school musician.
She plays bass clarinet for concert band settings; tenor saxophone for jazz.
The marching band means playing baritone.
My bass clarinet is my favorite, she said. Its my baby. But I really like playing the brass because of the volume. Woodwinds provide the little embellishing pieces. The brasses have the melody. Theyre a lot louder than woodwinds.
Despite the setback, Weides summer already has been a successful one. She earned a scholarship for her work at a band camp at Kansas State University, where she earned a best camper award for perservering through her ankle injuries.
I actually hurt my right ankle in eighth grade, she said.
Weide pushed through, resting it when she could.
But it started acting up again this summer, she said.
