Before she joined her school’s color guard team, Julie Hilbert used to twirl a wooden rifle in her yard. She caught the winter guard bug at age 12 when her parents used to bring her and her brother to see the North Syracuse Northmen perform.

Now, Hilbert is the director of the North Syracuse Central School District’s junior guard and the Future Northstars Color Guard club.

Cicero-North Syracuse’s Northstars Winterguard is the longest-running program of its kind in New York state. Earlier this month, the program celebrated 50 seasons at the Cicero-North Syracuse Varsity Home Show with a performance from the current guard and an alumni performance.

“You never outgrow the need for [performing],” Hilbert said. “You get an adrenaline rush. You get this validation that all this work you’ve done is worth it. Not only do you enjoy it, but other people do too.”

Hilbert said winter guard has changed dramatically from when she started in 1982. Until the 1980s, winter guard — indoor color guard performances set to pre-recorded music — was closely related to military drills. Performers would spin flags, rifles and sabres.

“It was completely military and it was all about the American flag,” recalled Wendy Wallace Greiner, who joined the Northstars Winterguard as a freshman in 1970. Greiner is one of many alumni who returned to coach the guard after high school and college.

By the late ‘80s, the influence of Broadway and modern dance had filtered from the Midwest — the “hub” of winter guard culture, according to Hilbert — to Upstate New York.

“The demands on the kids are much harder,” said Larry Schmidt, director of the Northstars’ varsity and JV guard.

Today’s guard is more theatrical with smiles, dance moves and a vinyl floor mat that acts as a stage.

“Because I come from a background that was all precision-oriented, I have trouble sometimes translating what I see now,” Greiner said of modern winter guard. “I love the music they use and the dancing.”

Old school met new school when alumni and current guard members came together for the Jan. 10 performance. Schmidt said the coaching staff watched footage of the Northstars’ performances over the decades to weave classic moves into the show.

“I love where it used to be, but I also love where it is and where it is going,” said Schmidt, who has worked with the Northstars since 1998.

Hilbert called winter guard the “sport of the arts.” She said many students who didn’t find a fit in other sports or activities have found a place in the Northstars Winterguard.

“They [realize] they can be good at something. For some, that’s all they have,” she said. “It goes so far beyond a flag or a rifle. Forget that — it’s about life.”

Hilbert said winter guard teaches kids confidence, discipline, time management and perseverance.

“You don’t get it right the first time. You’ve got to go at it again and again,” she said.

A tradition of success

Greiner, Schmidt and Hilbert attributed much of the success and longevity of the Northstars Winterguard to former director Dave LeBlanc, who was involved in the program for 31 of its 50 years. LeBlanc led the guard to success on the Mid-York Color Guard circuit, including three undefeated seasons from 1985 to 1988, and taking first place in 1998. The Northstars have competed and won awards on the national level as well.

“Right from the get-go, there was a real sense of pride,” Greiner said of LeBlanc’s tenure, which began in 1969.

“He was there for a lot of the changes from the old military style to the new dance/Broadway style,” Schmidt said. “When he left, he really thought about the continuity of that.”

After his retirement in 2000, LeBlanc helped his successor, Karen Seamans, with the transition to maintain the Northstars’ success.

Schmidt has done his part, too: last season, the varsity guard earned gold medals in both the Winter Guard International regional competition in Rochester and the Mid-York circuit. The JV and Junior Guard both earned bronze medals at Mid-York.

“We’re off to a good start,” he said of the current season. “I’m very excited to be the director in the 50th anniversary of the guard.”

Reunited at last

Hilbert said she hopes this month’s alumni performance won’t be the Northstars’ last reunion. She is shooting for another show in March.

“Who knows? Maybe I’ll be able to get out there as well,” she said. (For the Jan. 10 home show, Hilbert had her hands full watching over the Junior Guard.)

A Facebook group dedicated to the Northstars’ anniversary, called “CNS 50th Celebration,” has 318 members. Alumni such as Greiner post photos, videos and other memories of their time in the guard.

“It’s amazing how little people change,” Greiner said of seeing her classmates at the anniversary performance. “We’re older, but we’re all the same girls.”

To learn more about the Northstars Winterguard, visit nscsd.org/extra.cfm?subpage=1914.