MikeD Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 It is an 8 hour rule outside of class time. I was pretty close! Another aspect to Texas High School now is a lot of schools are getting out in June which might cause high schoolers to not do the drum corps thing. This has now only become more statewide when before high schools would get out at the end of May. NJ has been mid-June for as long as I can remember (I'm 54). It would be hard for a HS person, unless the corps held a spot...which would be tough, unless the corps was hurting for members. When you think about when Summer Training would start, that is asking kids to try to get out of a few weeks of school. Although I am sure the Crossmen would work with their schedules, kids don't think past the problem for a solution, so they don't audition. At HS age, I also think parents play a huge role in something like getting their kids out of a few weeks of school. I can't think of any parents that I know who would let their kids miss weeks of school for any non-school enrichment-type activity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle B Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 Mid June? Classes end for me the 25th. You either had to wait to finish school, or arrange to take finals early and be able to leave when spring training started. Those who couldn't, they'd arrive on friday and leave late on Sunday, back when spring training was in Allentown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 Mid June? Classes end for me the 25th.You either had to wait to finish school, or arrange to take finals early and be able to leave when spring training started. Those who couldn't, they'd arrive on friday and leave late on Sunday, back when spring training was in Allentown. Yeah, I was being kind. I graduated on June 19, actually. Classes had ended a few days prior...but that was so long ago there was much less information to learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kansasDC Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 My son has a huge advantage in this area. He is marching his fourth year in DCI, and just finishing his sophmore year in HS, but he has never missed a day of Spring Training. His school finishes this year on this Friday, 5/16, and move ins are not until 5/23. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor230 Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 I really hope for the best for xmen and think if they get through the next few years they will be ok. It is very tough in TX not only with marching band/summer band commitments but also most HS bands are very active with spring trips and other non-UIL contests and festivals this time of year. Sky Ryders started in much the same way in the 90's and ended up folding, although I think this had more to do with admin./fund problems than the fact they were based out of TX. As for music profs not supporting drum corps participation I don't think this is unique to TX univerisities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prodigal bari Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 (edited) I guess some corps have more HS kids than others, but given the average ages I have seen I think most World Class corps members, esp in finalist/close to finalist level, are past their HS years. Not all, of course. I wonder if part of the more intense summer schedule for the HS bands is due to the limited amount of time they can rehearse during the school year (by law). Isn't is something like 7 hours of after-school time per school week max? Are directors asking making their members choose drum corps or band? Or is it choosing ANY other summer activity or band? That makes it different, IMO. The UIL (Texas' extracurricular sanctioning body) has a start-up date (usually around the 1st of August) where rehearsals are not allowed before. They also have a CRAZY marching band scene that would at times make DC look somewhat tame (just go to San Antonio BOA...it is a bloodbath). Might be somewhat of a hinderance...but with the majority of top-end corps being college age, this should not be as big of a problem. I would think.. Edited May 13, 2008 by prodigal bari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
remembero323 Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 I want to comment on a few things: The average age of the Crossmen hornline has gone up from last year according to Mark Fig, the horn sergeant. I personally end school on June 4th. I miss a week of Spring training. I don't know what other kids are doing, but it has been somewhat of a hassle for all the Texas high-schoolers since the ending date of school has been pushed back to June. Working with school officials and my parents was a huge hassle, and the two days of school I'm going to miss was a pain to negotiate with my parents. I don't have any insider info on hornline spots, but the things that have prevented people from joining have basically been money and time (the two bigs ones everywhere). Lots of kids turned down offers to march because they simply did not have the cash they thought they did. There is an 8 hour rule in Texas, which we abide by strictly. Summer camps are usually 8 hours a day for a few weeks though, so I think the rules during summer are different. Can't say I'm disappointed to miss those rehearsals, but my band directors were also pretty understanding. My band director is Capital Regiment alum, so I've got someone who knows where I'm coming from. I can't really comment on the YEA/Cadets/George Hopkins thing, but the Crossmen I know are all classy people who respect the sacrifice and hard work that members of all other corps put in, regardless of their directors or organization. The rivalry is strong, but never mean or hurtful. I can't comment on the "band or corps" thing, either. I've seen L.D Bell, Marcus, Hebron, etc. in person, and I definitely think it's plausible, though I don't know for sure. Thats a lot of stuff, I know, but there were to many misconceptions from people who just take wild guesses that I had to address. I can answer other questions if people have them, but I probably can't elaborate on the stuff most people want to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kekkles Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 on "corps vs. band," for bands like marcus and bell, i would say it's easily rougher than some of the lower ranked corps, and probably evens out in the "bottom-of-finals" crowd. there are about 5 bands in the nation on marcus' and bell's level though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baristeve Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 Also, there are so many corps that hold camps in texas. I know cavies and bluecoats do... I think BD and SCV might as well but not sure.... the competition to get kids to march is tough esp. in texas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kekkles Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 Also, there are so many corps that hold camps in texas. I know cavies and bluecoats do... I think BD and SCV might as well but not sure.... the competition to get kids to march is tough esp. in texas. yeah, but in my experience they're all horn camps and not drum camps... which is odd, considering the high school drum lines in the d/fw area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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