This week we kick off a series of six episodes designed to get you ready for the upcoming school year. 

We're posting this episode on Monday, July 7, 2025, and we'll have new episodes this Thursday, July 10th, as well as on Monday and Thursday for the next two weeks, so that will be July 14th, 17th, 21st, and 24th. 

The episodes that post on the 14th and 17th will be all about instrument placement, and the following week we'll look at everything you need to know to have a successful rental meeting.

This week Nick Averwater talks with Lauren Duncan from Center Hill High School in Olive Branch, MS, Matt Pickering from Lewisburg Middle School in Hernando, MS, and Joel Roberts from South Marshall Middle School in Benton, KY.

Our conversation was recorded June 26, 2025. We've broken it up into two episodes, and this is part one.