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How has winning a ring changed your life?


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So will your students be unable to learn these things from you if they don't get a ring?

A better question is will they be able to teach them as well as he does...and the answer is probably no. In addition, if his corps won, then I have to assume they had the best, or close to the best techniques for all of those things. Doesnt mean he'll automatically teach it the best (just as the best players arent always the best teachers), but it does count for something.

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There is a special feeling that one gets when the ring is worn. I have kept mine in good condition and choose to wear it at drum corps shows and events only. It just so happened that I lived an hour away from a top winning DCI corps and 20 minutes away from another! Winning was not so much my ambition as much as the want to have the experience! In fact, my main goal was to win a drum trophy. It didn't happen, but the ring was a wonderful substitute! I worked my way to the drum corps with no expectations. I was not willing to just play or do anything just to be in a winning corps. I was offered a different spot twice and turned it down. I could have had two more rings if I took the spot that I was unfamiliar with. Instead, I marched in a class A corps until I made the position that I desired.

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A better question is will they be able to teach them as well as he does...and the answer is probably no. In addition, if his corps won, then I have to assume they had the best, or close to the best techniques for all of those things. Doesnt mean he'll automatically teach it the best (just as the best players arent always the best teachers), but it does count for something.

my opinion - 95 % of winning a ring isn't about how talented/skilled the kids are... it's the staff... particularly design/ge staff.

My bet is that the top 7 are very close in terms of talent/skill of any members whatsoever.

Edited by baristeve
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my opinion - 95 % of winning a ring isn't about how talented/skilled the kids are... it's the staff... particularly design/ge staff.

My bet is that the top 7 are very close in terms of talent/skill of any members whatsoever.

You're exactly right. I mean, the Bluecoats are probably the most talented drum corps in DCI. Again, it all comes down to design.

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The experience leading up to earning the ring is what changed my life. If we came in second it wouldn't make that much of a difference to me. We had been back and forth from 2nd to first the entire last half of the season and it could have turned out either way. It all cam down to the last performance and we happened to come out on top. If we hadn't, I don't think my life would be any different. All of the things that I learned while marching are ingrained in me now, and that is what's important.

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my opinion - 95 % of winning a ring isn't about how talented/skilled the kids are... it's the staff... particularly design/ge staff.

My bet is that the top 7 are very close in terms of talent/skill of any members whatsoever.

Nah. I mean, yes the top 7 are fairly close in talent, and it of course sometimes the most talented corps doesnt win, but thats probably the exception rather then the rule. Obviously you need top notch design and performance to win, but whatever that split is, it ISNT 95% to 5%. In my case, the best corps I was ever in was also full of the most talented members. It was also the one where the members, not the staff, went out and sold the show, night after night. By the last two weeks of the season, it felt like we were just floating across the field. Not to say that it was easy, but the amount of exertion was so ingrained, that it all became natural...

Point being - a lot of things go into a ring, or a 'successful' scoring season. With 'the kids' its more than just talent. Its work ethic in the offseason, conditioning / fitness (makes a HUGE difference), memorization of dots / music (again, the faster this is done, the faster it gets clean), work ethic on the field / willingness to grind it out every day, and especially, the ability to 'get up' for performing every night. Obviously, talent as a marcher / player is a big deal as well. Anyway...i doubt you can add all that up and say its only a minor part of winning.

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Nah. I mean, yes the top 7 are fairly close in talent, and it of course sometimes the most talented corps doesnt win, but thats probably the exception rather then the rule. Obviously you need top notch design and performance to win, but whatever that split is, it ISNT 95% to 5%. In my case, the best corps I was ever in was also full of the most talented members. It was also the one where the members, not the staff, went out and sold the show, night after night. By the last two weeks of the season, it felt like we were just floating across the field. Not to say that it was easy, but the amount of exertion was so ingrained, that it all became natural...

Point being - a lot of things go into a ring, or a 'successful' scoring season. With 'the kids' its more than just talent. Its work ethic in the offseason, conditioning / fitness (makes a HUGE difference), memorization of dots / music (again, the faster this is done, the faster it gets clean), work ethic on the field / willingness to grind it out every day, and especially, the ability to 'get up' for performing every night. Obviously, talent as a marcher / player is a big deal as well. Anyway...i doubt you can add all that up and say its only a minor part of winning.

Yeah, but even on the sheets, it's obvious that GE, music/drill writing etc are way more important than the actual execution of said categories. 95% is an obvious exaggeration, BUT, in terms of top 7... talent of individuals isn't really an issue. And that's all i'm trying to get across.

edit- I'd say that more than half of the time... the most talented corps does not win.

Edited by baristeve
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Yeah, but even on the sheets, it's obvious that GE, music/drill writing etc are way more important than the actual execution of said categories. 95% is an obvious exaggeration, BUT, in terms of top 7... talent of individuals isn't really an issue. And that's all i'm trying to get across.

edit- I'd say that more than half of the time... the most talented corps does not win.

You'd be surprised at some of the so-called 'talent' that some of these magical top 7 go with. It's not really a problem with the best members in a section...but there I marched with quite a few people that you'd never think of as top notch material. I dont just mean 'that guy', as in the one who sucked, and was a tickbox....I mean quite a few people that just werent very good, either at marching or playing. To succeed, you either have to have very few of those types, or you hide them well. People dont see that when they watch a show...but thats how it always was when i marched.

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You'd be surprised at some of the so-called 'talent' that some of these magical top 7 go with. It's not really a problem with the best members in a section...but there I marched with quite a few people that you'd never think of as top notch material. I dont just mean 'that guy', as in the one who sucked, and was a tickbox....I mean quite a few people that just werent very good, either at marching or playing. To succeed, you either have to have very few of those types, or you hide them well. People dont see that when they watch a show...but thats how it always was when i marched.

I totally agree. It's that way now and will be forever. Good luck finding 135 BA's.

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