If the third time was the charm, then the fourth time surely had to have been the icing on the cake.

The Northern Lehigh Marching Band recently won its fourth Tournament of Bands Region 2 Championship in a row.

That marked the marching band’s eighth Region Championship in the school’s history, according to David Carroll, band director.

Carroll said the band scored a 90.55, and won Special Awards for High Visual, High Music, and Best Color Guard.

On top of that, he said this was the 10th time in school history Northern Lehigh has won the Best Color Guard Award at Region Championships.

Additionally, Carroll noted this was the 22nd year that Northern Lehigh competed at the Tournament of Bands Atlantic Coast Championship; its ninth year in the Top 10; its eighth Top Five at the ACC; its eighth Region 2 Championship; and the 10th time it won best color guard at Region Championships.

Carroll, who noted this was his 30th season as a Tournament of Bands Director, said plans are already in place for the Atlantic Coast Championship to return to Hershey Park Stadium in 2022.

The Tournament of Bands encompasses member bands from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, West Virginia and Virginia, and added the seven states are divvied into regional subdivisions which used to be called chapters.

Chapter 2 is the greater Lehigh Valley Region that extends west to Reading and north into the Poconos. Each team competes against bands of the same approximate size.

The school’s student population is not a factor in determining a band’s group size.

For more information on the Tournament of Bands, visit www.njatob.org.

TOB Atlantic Coast Championships

If that wasn’t enough, Carroll said Northern Lehigh went on the following week to compete in the Tournament of Bands Atlantic Coast Championships, which was held at Central Dauphin High School, and not Hershey Park Stadium because of COVID-19 concerns.

There, Northern Lehigh finished in fifth place in group 1 open class, which resulted in the fifth year in a row it has finished in the top 5 at the Atlantic Coast Championships.

The marching band has finished in the top 5 eight times, and in the Top 10 ten times in school history.

“This season was unique, extremely challenging, and at the same time very rewarding,” Carroll said.

“The 2021 season was unique because as an organization, we needed to operate in a pandemic, which included the constant possibility of losing members to contact tracing or illness. This, of course, was a reality for all organizations performing this fall.

“The challenges of pushing a varsity level competitive organization to reach its full potential were difficult at times because in 2020, there was no competition season. Many of our members did not know what to expect this season, and everyone was out of the habit of rehearsing at a varsity level.

“We needed to instill a strong sense of purpose in the team, provide unwavering consistency in our approach to build confidence, and challenge the students to push beyond their performance expectation to achieve their goals. Working through those processes took most of the season to achieve, but in the end we reached our goals.”

Carroll added that the season ended with everyone on the field at both the Regional Championships, and the Atlantic Coast Championship, “which was extremely fortunate because of the health crisis.”

“We performed to our potential,” he said. “I am so thankful that the student’s hard work and faith in our program was rewarded with performances that they will remember forever.”

Carroll was quick to express his gratitude toward all those who make the program the success that it is.

“I am very thankful for all of the support our program continues to receive from our parent organization, the school district, and the community,” he said.

“The Northern Lehigh Band Boosters does a tremendous job every year of creating an environment that nurtures the success of our students.”