How has winning a ring changed your life?

[TerriTroop]

Hey Terri,

Great seeing you too. How was your trip home? You have been definitely posting too much here and on the Troop site while you should be resting that cold. But thanks for commenting. I too am too lazy to look up old threads (a DCP rookie mistake?) But maybe I'll research some of the comments on corps hopping. Thanks AND GO TO BED!

LOL you're right. I'm listening to Crown's show from Orlando and when I'm done with that I'm off to try to get myself healthy again. Next time I'll see you I'll be in better shape for shootin' the bull. The trip home was fine - plane was late but oh well what can you do. I almost finished my book so that's a plus.

ok, enough personal chit chat. Back to the thread.....

[dbc03]

I'm just asking what the kids today think is important when marching with a corps.

Depends on the kid and I doubt many people will give you just one answer.

Personally I loved competition, so yes that was one factor that went into where I decided to march and was also one of the factors for leaving the first corps I marched (other factors included some of my closest friends from that corps leaving for different corps, and a complete staff overhaul). All in all I just wasn't very happy there.

Going blind into my second corps my motivation was the desire to be competitive along with an immense respect for the work ethic of the corps and the fact that almost all of my all-time favorite shows were by this corps. I just happened to be lucky enough to discover that the corps also just "fit" me better and helped me realize that my experience with the first corps was a lot more negative than I ever realized.

[JerseyBoy_]

:tongue:

[Long Time Fan]

There is a tone to the OP's question that tempts me not to resond...baiting? However, It is a question that is worth discussing.

Winning a ring will not change your life. The question is asked in a way that can only have one answer. Spending a year with a corps that is at the top of the activity can change your life. It all depends on what you want out of the time you invest into your summer. Friendships, good times, the thrill of performing - if that is what you are desiring, then find a corps that has the type of environment you will appreciate and stay there. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, and for many that is just what they should do.

For some they might benefit from a corps operating at the peak of the activity. (Do not assume that I have selected two, or four, or six corps...you decide what this means based on your values.) You will be pushed to get more out of yourself than you thought possible. You will see how organization, finding talent, allowing creative expression, funding, drive, focus, and dedication all play together to get a corps where they are. That is a valuable life lesson. Being at the top of an activity does not come easily. You must work all the factors that affect success, not just one. It can't be a great show if you don't have the other items listed above to support the design.

Knowing how the sniping on this board goes, I will state outright that I am not slamming the Troopers, since this was the OP's corps. I have nothing but the greatest respect for this corps and always make a point of getting to a show early to watch them if they are performing. I respect their history and the dedication of present members who commit to a corps that cannot as easily draw from a large base of performers.

However, I will compare my son's two corps, especially since the lower corps does not exist (and that in itself is a lesson). My son was with the Magic of Orlando for two years. He left to go to the Cavaliers the year the Magic folded for the first time, but that decision was made before the corps announced they would not tour. He chose the Cavaliers because they held the values he had admired when he met corps on tour. They had won DCI in '92 and '95, this was in '00. So he did not expect to win a ring. That said, he was with the corps for three years and won three rings. But he would tell you that the lasting items that will affect his life will be the success that the corps obtained while remaining true to their internal values. He saw that you could get to the top without having to sacrifice important traits like brothership, support, fun, and frendship. He saw how putting talented people in a good, supporting environment gave them the ability to reach deep and find even more to give. He would not have learned that while he was with his previous corps.

There are posters out there who don't really understand what the Cavaliears do to stay at the top now that they are there. Those who operate inside the organization do understand. The FMMs understand that the corps did it by building on the cherished corps values over the years, not by discarding them. That is a valuable lesson, but one you must learn from the inside, not from the outside. Each corps is unique. But when you join the Blue Devlis, the Cadets, Phantom, or others you learn about yourself and how to gain success. That is life changing. Not the ring, the experience.

[dbc03]

There is a tone to the OP's question that tempts me not to resond...baiting? However, It is a question that is worth discussing.

Winning a ring will not change your life. The question is asked in a way that can only have one answer. Spending a year with a corps that is at the top of the activity can change your life. It all depends on what you want out of the time you invest into your summer. Friendships, good times, the thrill of performing - if that is what you are desiring, then find a corps that has the type of environment you will appreciate and stay there. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, and for many that is just what they should do.

For some they might benefit from a corps operating at the peak of the activity. (Do not assume that I have selected two, or four, or six corps...you decide what this means based on your values.) You will be pushed to get more out of yourself than you thought possible. You will see how organization, finding talent, allowing creative expression, funding, drive, focus, and dedication all play together to get a corps where they are. That is a valuable life lesson. Being at the top of an activity does not come easily. You must work all the factors that affect success, not just one. It can't be a great show if you don't have the other items listed above to support the design.

Knowing how the sniping on this board goes, I will state outright that I am not slamming the Troopers, since this was the OP's corps. I have nothing but the greatest respect for this corps and always make a point of getting to a show early to watch them if they are performing. I respect their history and the dedication of present members who commit to a corps that cannot as easily draw from a large base of performers.

However, I will compare my son's two corps, especially since the lower corps does not exist (and that in itself is a lesson). My son was with the Magic of Orlando for two years. He left to go to the Cavaliers the year the Magic folded for the first time, but that decision was made before the corps announced they would not tour. He chose the Cavaliers because they held the values he had admired when he met corps on tour. They had won DCI in '92 and '95, this was in '00. So he did not expect to win a ring. That said, he was with the corps for three years and won three rings. But he would tell you that the lasting items that will affect his life will be the success that the corps obtained while remaining true to their internal values. He saw that you could get to the top without having to sacrifice important traits like brothership, support, fun, and frendship. He saw how putting talented people in a good, supporting environment gave them the ability to reach deep and find even more to give. He would not have learned that while he was with his previous corps.

There are posters out there who don't really understand what the Cavaliears do to stay at the top now that they are there. Those who operate inside the organization do understand. The FMMs understand that the corps did it by building on the cherished corps values over the years, not by discarding them. That is a valuable lesson, but one you must learn from the inside, not from the outside. Each corps is unique. But when you join the Blue Devlis, the Cadets, Phantom, or others you learn about yourself and how to gain success. That is life changing. Not the ring, the experience.

Well said. Bravo

[drumrguy]

I have noticed that I am more concerned about the competition when I'm a fan than when I was marching.

I hear that from everyone I know who marched all the time. Haha.

[kyushujet]

There is a tone to the OP's question that tempts me not to resond...baiting? However, It is a question that is worth discussing.

Thanks Craig for that response. I appreciate you taking the time to post. And btw, 2001 Cavies my all time fav show.

[morganhill]

Changed your life? Are you serious? People, please realize that there is life outside of "drum corps!"

[MilesandCassius]

For me, it gave me the knowledge that I was part of something truly special, that was recognized as such by my peers. It gave a kid like me the opportunity to believe in myself that I was worthy of being part of something that was the best in the world. For a low-self-esteem kid like me (although you wouldn't know it back then) it was a huge boost in confidence to me. Something I hold onto to this day. That I was part of something unique.

Fast forward to today, I take those memories of the people and staff around me and try to hold myself to those expectations. That I can get the most out of life by trying to be the best I can at it.

But the reality is, much like the book "Everything Important I learned in Kindergarten", I would have got those lessons at just about any corps I marched with. In fact, some of the greatest lessons I learned about life are from my first corps, a class B corps with 16 horns, 14 of which played. My best friends are still from that corps.

Having rings are nice. It's an affirmation that you participated in something at the highest level. But it doesn't make you special. What you do in life with the experience does. It makes you want everybody to feel the way you do/did. You want to give it back, to your students, friends, children. But the beautiful thing is, even if you don't get a ring, you can get the same feelings from this activity.

Were I to be asked to trade in my rings for the memories I had during certain rehearsals, surrounded by my peers and knowing what I was doing was good, right, for the experience of living with those people at that moment, you could have my rings right know. I wouldn't trade the memories for anything. The rings are not who I am.

[ScribeToo]

I think the mistaken assumption that a kid would just wake up one day and decide, "you know, I'm not getting what I want/need at xyz corps.. I'm going to go march Cadets..." is the greater issue with threads like this. People who want to presume they know what's happened based on the result (i.e., the corps experience listing in someone's signature) should probably take a minute after a show or during auditions and go down to where the kids are and actually TALK to some of them. I think the answers they seek are easy enough to find and kids are incredibly forthcoming.

When I read the OP, I had no idea which parent (if any) being referred to -- I only figured there are a number of parents and marchers every year who change corps for whatever reason and that must have been the impetus for the post.

I started thinking back over the last 20 years I've spent as a volunteer with various corps in different towns and thinking about the hundreds of kids I've met and known over the years and you know, I don't think I've EVER met a kid who wanted to march a particular corps just to win a ring. Sure, they knew if they marched BD or SCV or Cavaliers or Cadets that the odds were in their favor but the singular goal of marching there was never to win.

If you sit and talk to these kids, you discover that they generally all fell in love with drum corps and with that love came a dream of marching somewhere specific. I don't know how many of you know it but some of these kids go to auditions at their "dream corps" 3, 4.. sometimes 5 times before actually making the line of their dreams. At the end of each of those first auditions, they were likely told to go and march somewhere. Often, they were even given specific suggestions of where based on what was known of the staff and strengths of the suggested corps.

Craig L. said it best:

Each corps is unique. But when you join the Blue Devlis, the Cadets, Phantom, or others you learn about yourself and how to gain success. That is life changing. Not the ring, the experience.

The friendships and "family" you gain along your path don't go away when you go to a different corps. Going from a "small" corps to one of the "big boys" doesn't diminish the experience from the former. It can only enhance the experience at the latter.

Stef