Freak injuries in drum corps

[wolfgang]

Yesterday before the Colts game, their oft-injured backup qb was working out in the locker room when a rubber elastic band broke and hit him in the eye, fracturing an orbital bone.

One of their dbs was warming up on the field when an oblivious teammate ran in front of him, giving the db a concussion.

Aside from the Crown kid who broke his leg in Finals, what other types of freak injuries like these have occurred in corps,  whether practice or performance?

[drumcorpsfever]

Freak injuries of band kids? Really?   

 

Edited October 13, 2025 by drumcorpsfever

[perc2100]

I kind of a remember a guard member 'catching a rifle with her face' in a rehearsal and losing a tooth.

One of the more embarrassing 'freak accidents' for me:

My age-out year, in August not long before Finals, we were in town rehearsing before the Crown home show.  During morning PT, which the drum line did separate from the horns, we were running in our block and someone decided to run through the football blocking 'machine' that was in our general path.  Me and another tenor apparently didn't duck down low enough and ran into the upper metal bar.  We both went to a doctor and got staples in their forehead (he got 1, I needed 3) and the doc told us to not march for a few days until staff was positive there weren't an concussion issues.  We got back to the site as the corps was doing their final rehearsal run, and luckily the show was rained out so we didn't miss anything.  I still have the scar on my head 😐

[Sutasaurus]

25 minutes ago, perc2100 said:

I kind of a remember a guard member 'catching a rifle with her face' in a rehearsal and losing a tooth.

One of the more embarrassing 'freak accidents' for me:

My age-out year, in August not long before Finals, we were in town rehearsing before the Crown home show.  During morning PT, which the drum line did separate from the horns, we were running in our block and someone decided to run through the football blocking 'machine' that was in our general path.  Me and another tenor apparently didn't duck down low enough and ran into the upper metal bar.  We both went to a doctor and got staples in their forehead (he got 1, I needed 3) and the doc told us to not march for a few days until staff was positive there weren't an concussion issues.  We got back to the site as the corps was doing their final rehearsal run, and luckily the show was rained out so we didn't miss anything.  I still have the scar on my head 😐

[KVG_DC]

Not corps but could have been given the circumstances.  We had a piccolo player in band who got super bored during summer rehearsal on the lot when staff were trying to fix something with one of the brass sections' drill.  The rest of us were instructed to practice our music by fingering only.  She's on a pic so she decides to sit down, in her white nylon short shorts that were popular in the 80s...

She gets up, and "oh ha ha, I must have sat in something! my shorts stuck."   Nope...they melted onto the hot asphalt.  She had to go to the doc because of fairly serious burns on her bum and legs that were in contact with the hot asphalt long enough.  

[mcjordansc]

14 minutes ago, KVG_DC said:

Not corps but could have been given the circumstances.  We had a piccolo player in band who got super bored during summer rehearsal on the lot when staff were trying to fix something with one of the brass sections' drill.  The rest of us were instructed to practice our music by fingering only.  She's on a pic so she decides to sit down, in her white nylon short shorts that were popular in the 80s...

She gets up, and "oh ha ha, I must have sat in something! my shorts stuck."   Nope...they melted onto the hot asphalt.  She had to go to the doc because of fairly serious burns on her bum and legs that were in contact with the hot asphalt long enough.  

[KVG_DC]

Lot outside the school.  Not camp.  That story involved a field infested with wolf spiders...that jump.  

[year1buick]

4 hours ago, drumcorpsfever said:

Freak injuries of band kids? Really?   

 

A couple years ago I saw in the news where a horn player (maybe at Broken Arrow?) had to have emergency surgery after a mid-show collision with a bass drum. (My guess is probably a fractured maxilla. Ouch.)

I smashed the hell out of my upper lip during Finals week rehearsal in 94 during the 180 spin going into the crab step. The guiding of our line was off and I smashed my bell into the other guy’s head. He ended up with a headache and I had a bloody lip.

[wolfgang]

I wonder if anbody has done a snap horns up and a mouthpiece flew out and bonked someone?

[year1buick]

2 hours ago, perc2100 said:

I kind of a remember a guard member 'catching a rifle with her face' in a rehearsal and losing a tooth.

One of the more embarrassing 'freak accidents' for me:

My age-out year, in August not long before Finals, we were in town rehearsing before the Crown home show.  During morning PT, which the drum line did separate from the horns, we were running in our block and someone decided to run through the football blocking 'machine' that was in our general path.  Me and another tenor apparently didn't duck down low enough and ran into the upper metal bar.  We both went to a doctor and got staples in their forehead (he got 1, I needed 3) and the doc told us to not march for a few days until staff was positive there weren't an concussion issues.  We got back to the site as the corps was doing their final rehearsal run, and luckily the show was rained out so we didn't miss anything.  I still have the scar on my head 😐

If not fractured, those can often be replanted and saved. (Though they may need a root canal down the road.) They make little Save A Tooth kits that a tooth can be temporarily stored in that have saline. Some youth teams, schools etc keep them on hand just in case but I guess it makes sense for drum corps too. (In a pinch, milk will do.)