drumguy50 Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 After watching all the various moves this season and some that didn't happen, I wonder what is the best approach. The Blue Devils have certainly been consistant in quality and staff as have been the Cadets however people like the Cavaliers have gone through many changes over the years and are still very strong. I think some corps need to consider changes more often such as the Glassmen who hang just in or just out of finals. Sometimes the adage of Insanity being doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result needs to be considered. Pioneer seems to have had constant change except at the top but never really accomplish much competitively. Same for Pacific Crest and Colts. Just curious to others opinions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
contrajedi8 Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 (edited) Staff consistency is the single most important ingredient in competitive success. Exhibit A: Concord Blue Devils. Exhibit B: The Cadets. Also, staff sort of works likes membership. Top corps attract top staff talent. I love how a few corps are always reinventing the wheel when it comes to staff. Whoever the exiting staff is couldn't teach their way out of a wet paper bag. The new staff is the second coming of Jesus and will solve all problems. Three years later, they're back where they started. It makes me laugh. Edited for bad grammar. Edited November 8, 2011 by contrajedi8 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lincoln Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 The Blue Devils have certainly been consistant in quality and staff.. Its great to keep your staff, but sometimes change and its effects are beneficial as well. If you never move outside of your comfort zone, then stagnation can set in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
contrajedi8 Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Its great to keep your staff, but sometimes change and its effects are beneficial as well. If you never move outside of your comfort zone, then stagnation can set in. Good thing for the Blue Devils that they stagnated in the top 3. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrillmanSop06 Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 (edited) After watching all the various moves this season and some that didn't happen, I wonder what is the best approach. The Blue Devils have certainly been consistant in quality and staff as have been the Cadets however people like the Cavaliers have gone through many changes over the years and are still very strong. I think some corps need to consider changes more often such as the Glassmen who hang just in or just out of finals. Sometimes the adage of Insanity being doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result needs to be considered. Pioneer seems to have had constant change except at the top but never really accomplish much competitively. Same for Pacific Crest and Colts. Just curious to others opinions Colts... 2005: 13th Place, Ditch Brass Staff 2006: 13th Place, New Brass Staff 2007: 10th Place, Same Brass Staff 2008: 14th Place, Techs Become Caption Heads Staff consistency is important but ONLY if the staff is high quality. It's a bit of both. Mr. Muzz came in and turned a 13th place corps into a 10th place corps by virtue of consistency; the line got better and improved between 2006 and 2007. That approach went out the window in 2008 and 2009 (though that was the SECOND year for the staff that replaced him). What happens? Turn over in the brass caption. You need to find the RIGHT people. EDIT: I am NOT saying the 2008/2009 staff was UNSUCCESSFUL or that they weren't fantastic educators or human beings!!! Edited November 9, 2011 by DrillmanSop06 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lincoln Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Good thing for the Blue Devils that they stagnated in the top 3. Yet so many b*tch and complain about their productions........year after year. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerriTroop Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Honestly, while I enjoy backseat driving as much as anyone else, I think we spend a lot more time bagging on the corps who are always on the bubble of finals or below because we think it's as easy as hiring some big guns and taking the game away from the top corps. It's not even close to that easy. First, there aren't huge quantities of big-gun staff talent out there for the picking. Second, just because you hire a big gun doesn't mean they will mesh with the rest of the team or stick around long enough to build a program. (that goes for people who aren't seen as "big guns" too, by the way.) Lastly, hiring big guns doesn't automatically bring top talent to your auditions. Troopers, Colts, Academy, Pac Crest, etc. still have to deal with overcoming the hurdle of the perception as perennial non-contenders.* Come June, you still have to produce a show with the talent you've got. The design game is just as big as the educational game in drum corps. The wild card is what everyone else in the tier is bringing to the competitive field. Spirit was the wild card this year. Who will it be in 2012? Nobody knows yet. *Corps like Madison in recent years who fell out of finals never fell hard enough or long enough to have to fight this perception battle. IMO of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corps8294 Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Honestly, while I enjoy backseat driving as much as anyone else, I think we spend a lot more time bagging on the corps who are always on the bubble of finals or below because we think it's as easy as hiring some big guns and taking the game away from the top corps. It's not even close to that easy. First, there aren't huge quantities of big-gun staff talent out there for the picking. Second, just because you hire a big gun doesn't mean they will mesh with the rest of the team or stick around long enough to build a program. (that goes for people who aren't seen as "big guns" too, by the way.) Lastly, hiring big guns doesn't automatically bring top talent to your auditions. Troopers, Colts, Academy, Pac Crest, etc. still have to deal with overcoming the hurdle of the perception as perennial non-contenders.* Come June, you still have to produce a show with the talent you've got. The design game is just as big as the educational game in drum corps. The wild card is what everyone else in the tier is bringing to the competitive field. Spirit was the wild card this year. Who will it be in 2012? Pioneer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rifuarian Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Consistency is important, but it's not a magic bullet. If you have a consistently good staff you'll have a consistently good corps. If you have a consistently crappy staff, well . . . I don't have to say the rest. Sometimes turnover is necessary. BD and Cadets are fortunate in that they have some of the top minds in the business willing to commit to an organization for decades on end. There aren't too many guys out there like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibexpercussion Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 It's just like with any successful college sports program: consistency with high quality teaching breeds success. Now, at times you do have to change things up, but not just a fire sale after one "bad" season. BD is a perfect example of how consistency with high quality teaching develops a top notch program, and also attracts top notch talent. Duke Basketball is the same way in sports. (Like how we stayed with the Blue Devils theme there ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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