Hey everybody! I've been playing the trombone for about a year and I'm in my high school marching band. I know you might ask how I've been playing for only a year and I'm already in the high school marching band, well I was taught by the former Fountain Hills High School Drum Major. I'm not as good as my friend who plays the trombone but I'm learning alot in band.

But anyway, I just needed some help finding out what type of trombone I might buy later in the year. At first I was just planning on getting a tenor, but then I decided I might be trying out for jazz band. I would really appreciate it if you gave me some information of what trombone I might get, and also some information on what different things affect the instrument playing, because thats really confusing.

This is a pretty decent overview of what you're getting yourself into. It's very broad, and proably a bit over generalized, but it's a good start.
http://www.wwbw.com/CustomerService/BuyGuides/BuyGuide_trombones.aspx

Somebody should inform WWBW that they have the same exact descriptions for the student, intermediate, and professional trombones. Whoever proofread that page did a poor job.

Here's a very good article on what effects the trombone's sound and timbre:
http://www.ibowtie.com/sound.html

Also, here's a very good article on what different mouthpieces will do:
http://www.ibowtie.com/mpcupgrade.html

Finally, here's a helpful article about intermediate level trombones:
http://www.ibowtie.com/stepup.html