Goals

[wilme861]

It's a term for where the instructors are working from. sometimes it's the press box on top of a high school stadium. Sometimes it's just the top of a scaffold the corps uses for rehearsal. But what happens is that the corps will set up to rehearse a section of a show, and once that section is done you stand ready for instructions and corrections. The staff has a microphone and what you might hear is something like this: "hey, Joe, you feet were off during the 16th note run in that section again." (or insert any another correction/comment) Hearing the correction alone isn't enough - the expectation often is that you'll quickly do some push-ups right there on the spot as a matter of self-discipline, and then you better fix whatever it is you got called out on or it's going to become a problem for everyone.

Or you'll get a great group comment such as:

"What the hell was that?!! (SILENCE) Well, judging by the silence, I'll assume you all thought it was S**T just like I think it was S**T!!! RESET!"

[VOReason]

So nobody has as a goal to score that hot chick in the guard? My...drum corps HAS really changed.

[soccerguy315]

Or you'll get a great group comment such as:

"What the hell was that?!! (SILENCE) Well, judging by the silence, I'll assume you all thought it was S**T just like I think it was S**T!!! RESET!"

hahahaha... this is accurate.

[soccerguy315]

Should I do strenuous work outs before move-ins and get really sore every day so once it is time to begin all-days I am already used to it? That's what I'm worried about the most.

if you play bari or euph you should practice holding your horn up for extended periods (if you play tuba you might want to try to increase your ability to hold it at horns down. My lower body was only ever in minor pain, as far as I can remember. It would be good if you can run a couple miles. For general endurance and breathing block.

take a couple bottles of ibuprofen to move ins with you. Some people eat them like candy.

[TitanSop06]

In 04 and 05, I was really young and immature. In 04, I had no idea what I was getting myself into and in 05, I had the whole "I'm a vet" mentality. I got sick both these years and had to miss a show each time. I missed 06 saying I would never come back again, I just did not feel welcome either of these years. I decided to come back in 07. My goal: to not miss a single minute/show of the season. Not only did I succeed in that part, halfway through everydays the corps director pulled me to the side and told me people from 04 and 05 had noticed a difference in my attitude and told me to keep up the good work. Just the motivation I needed to continue the most amazing summer of my life. Not to mention it was during that year I made some of the best friends I have today.

[qwerty159357]

In 04 and 05, I was really young and immature. In 04, I had no idea what I was getting myself into and in 05, I had the whole "I'm a vet" mentality. I got sick both these years and had to miss a show each time. I missed 06 saying I would never come back again, I just did not feel welcome either of these years. I decided to come back in 07. My goal: to not miss a single minute/show of the season. Not only did I succeed in that part, halfway through everydays the corps director pulled me to the side and told me people from 04 and 05 had noticed a difference in my attitude and told me to keep up the good work. Just the motivation I needed to continue the most amazing summer of my life. Not to mention it was during that year I made some of the best friends I have today.

Thats awesome You def get a different "feel" of whats expected of you after your rookie year.

[Tansea]

To win.

[Dave_G]

rookie - survive and improve

veteran - see how long I can go without getting called out from the box. have a perfect runthrough. have a perfect show.

age out - know my ####. make finals. make it through the duration of the season without getting injured.

failed at the last one, but I still didn't miss a show. I just marched the last 2 weeks of the season with a partially torn ligament in my knee and as much ibuprofen in my system as possible.

Or you'll get a great group comment such as:

"What the hell was that?!! (SILENCE) Well, judging by the silence, I'll assume you all thought it was S**T just like I think it was S**T!!! RESET!"

Or "What the hell was that?.... You know what, just reset, because there are no words that can describe just how bad that was."

mind you an F bomb or two (or four) may be mixed in there, that was just the PG version.

[Ncopp]

My goal has always been to be a standard on the visual standpoint of drum corps. Why aim low and just survive when you can aim high.

Everyone has seen the flying Cadet

[BigW]

True, Mike, LOL.

Part of the goals I had were totally meshed with the Westshoremen's basic two goals:

Be better every rehearsal- don't slide back. Grow. That goal is good for anyone, anywhere. It will guarantee your personal success in any corps.

And... keep moving up the DCA ladder. And that actually worked for us! May not be applicable to your situation, of course. But we did have a group goal we really all belived very deeply in. I'd assume every DCI or DCA unit has some goal they live by, follow it and you will also succeed unless the goal's not very sensible.

I got blasted by the visual staff caption head my first year to the point that some of the tirades I was put under are still legend. I hung in there- Horn Staff pretty much reminded me I played like a pretty good mo-fo and the marching would come- and I think they told the Vis head I'd come around and for God's sake calm down before he killed me. I mean- I was 16...

Now- for the rest of my 6 years, everything went a lot better. Partly, because Eric Kitchenmen came in and taught movement so thoroughly and properly that my mistakes in technique, AND my understanding of how to march right were cleaned up by March and I never looked back- his instruction was that strong, and I listened to him carefully. He never yelled at me. So-- listen to the staff and work hard at doing what they ask- that also keeps you out of trouble.

Just keep your focus, Rook- most problems in a rehearsal are caused by zoning out mentally for a bunch of serious reasons. It's hot, your brain is fried, sweat is running down in places it really isn't good for it to be running, you're wondering if the one girl in the trumpets might actually LIKE or even be curious about you in spite of the fact they throw you in the Baritone players' pen on the bus with the rest of the section and feed you raw meat after every practice to make sure you're thriving --- just keep focused and get better every rehersal. Don't lose your cool on the field- if it's bad get into the right persons face after.

And whether a staff member would ever admit this-- sometimes it's caused by the fact they haven't got their methodology down to solve the issue or properly identified the real problem that's happening on-field. Most stand-up guys will do that. ("Sorry about this- not your guys fault, can you all run that one more time so we can see it again and figure out what's really going wrong there?)

Oh- and Ibuprofen is one thing- but I found after some serious surgery Aleve is really, really good after my surgeon recommended it. You don't need to take as many or for as often, so the bottle lasts longer.