PINE GROVE – There will be a new man behind the baton this fall when the Rock Hill High School Marching Band takes the field for its first football game.

Wednesday, July 19, 2000

PINE GROVE – There will be a new man behind the baton this fall when the Rock Hill High School Marching Band takes the field for its first football game.

The Rock Hill Board of Education recently hired Eric Hambrick to take the position as the high school’s new band director for the 2000-2001 school year.

Hambrick, a Portsmouth East High School graduate, has been the band director for his school’s Class C band for the past three years.

"In the three years I was there, the band has won 14 grand championships," he said. "We also won three superior ratings at the Ohio Marching Band State Finals. We won the grand championships based on ‘regardless of classification’ competitions."

Prior to his success at Portsmouth East, Hambrick taught at Tolsia High School in Glen Haze, W.Va., for three years and in Jacksonville, N.C., at Dixon High School for one year.

"I graduated from Marshall University with a bachelor degree’s in music education and began teaching in 1993 at Tolsia," Hambrick said. "I taught band there for three years before I accepted a teaching position in Jacksonville, N.C. In nine months, I will be finishing my master’s (degree)."

He says he will be setting high expectations for the Rock Hill band and plans to continue its – and his – string of championship titles.

"The first thing we’ve got to do at Rock Hill is build the numbers of students who will participate in marching band," he said. "I know there’s insecurity right now about the band, but these kids have seen Portsmouth East and will hopefully become more confident in what we can do as a team. I don’t expect it to all happen at once, but as the band gets better, the whole concept will become more acceptable."

Hambrick said the parents and officials in the district have not only welcomed him with open arms, but they also stand ready to back the band.

"Rock Hill has a much better infrastructure with the parental support and school support," he said. "I didn’t have near the parental support at Portsmouth East as what I have here. I not only want to get these kids more involved in the community, I also have a personal goal with this band to begin winning superior ratings starting this year."

Hambrick will be conducting rehearsals July 24 through July 28 from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for interested participants. He will also hold rehearsals July 31 through Aug. 4, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

"These students need to realize that they will only be as good as they want to be," Hambrick said. "The difference is how hard they work, and I believe Rock Hill can do it. The greatest satisfaction for me is seeing the kids accomplish what they didn’t think they could. Something is to be said for a group of 50 or 60 kids who win against the big bands."