BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
"This will be a historic moment for the Clifton band program because on the leader board we're sitting around seventh or eighth," said Director Matt Nelson of Clifton High School band.
It's a historic time for the Clifton High School band, as it gears up for its 20th trip to state at the Alamodome in San Antonio next week.
It will be a defining moment for Nelson and his team, which placed in the top 10 in last years competition — and the band has one goal in mind.
"To try and do a little better than we did last year -- because last year we ended 9th overall and that is really good to be apart of the top 10 of Texas," Nelson said.
The good vibes are in the air for not just the team, but for the entire community.
The school will be shut down next Friday to give everyone time to rally behind the band and show its support.
"That just means so much and makes the world of difference because we're going to have so many more people at the Alamodome to cheer us on," Nelson said.
But how can a school just close down? This is possible because of House Bill 2610.
"They're able to do this because they have enough minutes in the overall year," Nelson said.
The bill allows accumulated minutes gather from passing time — recess and lunches.
Coach Nelson tells 25 News' Marc Monroy he's looking forward to San Antonio and credit's his players on the successes no matter how tough he can be on them.
"We push them to their boundaries, to their limits, to their best," Nelson said.
