The Colorado Avalanche’s professional drumline, the Celly Squad, made its elementary school debut Friday with an exuberant performance at Boulder’s Flatirons Elementary.

Along with showing off their spins and stick tosses as they played for the school, the five drummers played with students from the school’s afterschool music club as they banged out rhythms on bucket drums.

They also answered questions about drumming and working as professional musicians.

“It was really cool,” fifth grader and music club member Broolyn Kim said after the performance. “I love music. Music calms me, and it’s really fun.”

Flatirons Elementary music teacher Colin Spear, who is also the drumline instructor at Monarch High, invited the group — and taught two of the members when they attended Monarch.

“I thought this would be a super-cool way to get elementary students excited about music and drumming,” he said. “Percussion has always been a passion of mine. It’s really fun to share that with younger students. We all enjoy hitting things. Most kids, that’s any easy thing to get them excited about.”

The drumline is in its second season playing at Avalanche games. The group started seven years ago as a Denver Nuggets drumline, occasionally also playing hockey games before becoming an official Avs group.

About 30 musicians, including a few who play guitar and trombone, rotate to play at the games.

The five who played at Flatirons told the students they often break drumsticks and occasionally the drums themselves, showing them their tape- reinforced sticks. They practice both individually and together, they said, and make a “big commitment” to practice since playing well is part of their jobs. They also shared that they played one of their favorites, the Mario theme song, during their performance.

Sarah Wagner, who plays both trumpet and drums, said they write a lot of the music they play at Avs games themselves. She added she enjoys community gigs like the one at Flatirons because it’s a chance to show young people what’s possible.

“We’re showing them they can continue playing into adulthood,” she said.

Another student asked if they get nervous before playing for the big crowds at games.

“You really never get over the nerves,” drummer Ryan Good said. “You just learn how to be brave about it and put on a good show despite your nerves.”

When asked what inspired him to start drumming, he said that, as a kid, he was “always drumming on stuff,” prompting his parents to give him a drum kit. Other inspirations included performing in marching bands and other musicians, he said.

Good and fellow Celly Squad member Jay Cunningham both graduated from Monarch High in 2014, then played in the University of Colorado Boulder’s drumline. Along with playing in the Celly Squad, Good is an instructor with Rise Percussion Ensemble, a group he performed with during college.

“I was hooked from the first day in marching band,” Good said. “There’s this whole other visual aspect to a drumline. Now, we’re all teachers and preparing the next generation of drummers. I want to give kids those experiences I had.”