Cougar Conley

Zachary (Cougar) Conley (‘17) is the current Band Captain of the Marching Band and has previously been the Assistant Drum Major and has been in the band for four years. He also played the trumpet this year in the band.

Conley tried out to become band captain before the band director from last year moved. “I really liked spending time with him and being on Big Three [last year] and doing cool things behind the scenes,” Conley said, “I was looking forward to another year being close friends with him.” Conley was inspired by former band director, Matt Nelson, who worked at Forge as the band director for four years.

The hardest part of trying out for Conley was to not blow it off. Conley was assistant drum major last year and wanted to make sure every other candidate understood they had a fair shot at the position.  

Conley’s favorite part of having the job is being heavily involved. “[This position] allows me to be involved a lot without it being, ‘Hey, what are you doing here?’ and being able to help everyone out,” Conley said. “Also [staying] after school really long and [getting] there earlier and just being able to do all of those things that would be considered weird if I wasn’t on staff.”

The most challenging part of having this job for Conley is dealing with people who don’t think he should have this position. “I remind myself that I was chosen for a reason, I’m here for a reason and that I can do the job that I can do for a reason and not worry about anyone who thinks it should be someone else,” he said.

For someone who is interested in joining the marching band, Conley advises, “Just do it because you are going to regret not doing it. You can’t compare how great it is until you have done it and people who I know who have done it and then dropped out all miss it.”