SARASOTA - They are there at nearly every football game, and there wouldn't be a halftime show without them: high school marching bands.  There are some tradition-rich bands in Sarasota and Manatee county, but they aren't as big as they used to be.

If you've been out to a high school football game lately, you may have noticed that the size of the band has shrunk for many schools.  In fact, many band directors say enrollment is down.

“There is not too many bands around that have 200 kids in kilts.”  For 51 years, the Riverview High School Kiltie marching band has been entertaining fans.  But while the music is still boisterous, the band’s size is on a much smaller scale.

“About 10 years ago, we were up to a little over 300 students in the band, back in the late 90's.  And since then, we've seen enrollment in the band program decline to about 200 students right now,” says band director Mark Spreen.

Students at Southeast High School in Manatee County seem to be tuning out the band there as well.  The size of the marching ‘Noles crescendoed years ago.

“If you were to walk our halls, you would see pictures from the late 90’s when our band had 260 kids in it; right now we are at 80.  So certainly there is a trend,” says band director Ron Lambert.

Band directors want to strike up a chord with students and parents.  They say picking up an instrument will enrich a child’s life.  “Kids that participate in music and arts programs in high school do significantly better in FCAT scores, SAT scores…drop out rate is much lower.  So it really is a good thing for kids to be involved in,” says Spreen.

So what is directing kids away from the music?  Spreen says the band is a lot of hard work, and some kids aren't willing to commit.

And yes, the economy could be partially to blame.  “The parents are working, a lot of the kids are working...so if they have after school jobs or their parents are working and they can't take them back and forth to practice and things like, that I think that has an affect on it,” says Spreen.

“Some of the things that are rough on the kids academically, it’s pulling them away from the electives and I'm certainly seeing that happen.  But I'm doing everything I can to grow the program,” says Lambert.

Band directors say being in the band teaches kids some important life skills and lessons, and it gives high school football fans something to look forward to at halftime, despite what the scoreboard might say.