On Nov. 11, 2023, the long fall marching band season had its final note at Trabucco Hills High School. The Mission Hills Cardinal Alliance went from their pre-comp to performing at So-Fi stadium to finally shattering their record; they received the best percussion, best overall effect, best music, and best visual awards and took first place at the Spirit of Champions show at Great Oak High School. Though the season is over, the hustle of the directors and upperclassmen has not begun to slow down. The students and the mastermind of the show, Mr. Coughlin, shared their mixed feelings of euphoria about the closure of The Abyss.
“There’s no sense of unfinished business… we achieved our goal,” Coughlin said.
Although students are bittersweet about the end of The Abyss, Coughlin feels the marching band did the job to their full potential and, though there’s always room for improvement, he said that this show was his favorite so far.

[“As time goes by, I’m sad about it. I’m not going to be with my little family,” senior and color guard captain Abby Centeno said.]* The seniors feel the end the most. Senior and Band President Shagun Kamboj expressed her feelings of melancholy and hopefulness for the future.
“I enjoyed being there for the time it was but I’ll enjoy it more now that I’m leaving. It’s gonna be in my memories and I’ll miss it, but I can’t wait to see the band improve,” Kamboj said.
Another senior had a more outside perspective. As a drum major, Heather Mills got to see the band in a whole new light from the stands.
“I got to see all the different aspects, all the different people, and all the different leadership roles…All of the competitions have really brought us together,” Mills said.
The upperclassmen may have different perspectives when it comes to the Cardinal Alliance, but they always made sure to keep up the well-being of the marching band by honing their people and community skills to drive the band to success.
Mills shared some insight on how the Cardinal Alliance leadership impacted the success of the marching band.
“I feel like this year’s leadership team really meshed well and that really made a difference,” Mills said.
Even though the season is over, these musicians still have a lot of work ahead of them. For the past couple of months, they’ve been balancing AP classes, tests, college applications, and much more.
“I feel like when I balanced it by understanding what’s ‘me time’ instead of compromising ‘me time,’ I blended it into studies; I blended it into what I’m doing right now,” Kamboj said.
Although the upperclassmen have more time, the stress and pressure did not stop being an aspect of everyday life.
“It’s all about perspective, because I have more time and a little less stress, but I have more things to stress about now that I’m putting off things. It’s like I have more time, but I have more time now to be stressed,” said Mills.
While Centeno has her hands full with the upcoming Winterguard season, Mr. Hall is busy preparing for the Winter Drumline Season, and Coughlin and the newest addition to the marching band, Mx. King, are cooking up something special for next year whilst focusing on the Concert Band and Jazz Band.
“Jazz bands and concert bands are all going to a bunch of different festivals this semester. So, that becomes our focus,” said Coughlin.
The question that still remains is: what is next for the Cardinal Alliance next year? Mr. Coughlin can’t say anything too big yet but he did give some insight for the 2024 Fall Marching Band season.
“l like every year’s show to feel different than the year before. Just fresh, I like doing things that feel exciting, that the students would love to perform, that the audiences would love to watch, things that are unique, something dynamic. We definitely have a lot of cool ideas,” said Coughlin.
After the Cardinal Alliance’s astounding show of 2023, the older marching band students have been concentrating on their school work and their future while the rest wait in anticipation of the announcement of what next year’s show will bring.

*Feb. 15, 2024 – Please note this is a revised version of the article posted on 2/13/24.