WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Football players aren’t the only ones who practice for hours each week to prepare for Friday night football; the marching bands do, too.

Valley High School has one of the largest marching bands in the state, with 114 members this year. The marching band, known as the “Marchmasters,” practices every weekday from 6:30 a.m. to 7:45 a.m., and Monday nights 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. — over eight hours of practice every week.

The Marchmasters perform at each home Valley football game during pre-game and at halftime, but also travel for competitions on the weekend.

“So we take the entire band on the road a few times a year to different festivals and competitions,” said Josh Waymire, Band Director at Valley High School. “This year we’re doing festivals in Johnston and Urbandale, and Pella. We’ll host ValleyFest here at Valley Stadium on October 11th, and then we do festivals in Waukee and Ankeny the following weekend.”

ValleyFest takes place on Oct. 11 at Valley Stadium with around 35 marching bands from Iowa and surrounding states coming to compete in an all-day event. The first performance starts at 8 a.m. with everything wrapping up just before midnight. More information on ValleyFest can be found here.

WHO 13’s Skyler Stamps caught up with two marching band members on their preparation ahead of Friday night football, along with all the work they put in during the offseason.

The football game between the Urbandale J-Hawks vs. Valley Tigers can be streamed on WHO 13 TV, the WHO 13+ app, or online at WHO13.com.