SACMellos2010 Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 My first year in the Star of Indiana I was 14 years old and it was definitely a learning and life changing experience. It definitely made me grow up and mature much quicker than my friends that were home preparing for their freshman year of high school by hanging out playing baseball of video games along with time at the mall. I would not change the experience for anything in the world and feel there is no better way for a young person to be taught discipline and work ethic as well as a way to set them well ahead of their peers. Your child may come back to school and start to migrate towards hanging out with older kids, as I did, because of the accelerated maturity level leads to boredom with those of your same age. Anyway, I think it is a great opportunity if your child wants to do it, understands the demands, and you and your wife can live without them for a few months. I think that may be harder than anything your child will experience in a summer on the road as I now look at if from a parental perspective:) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Brace Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Thank you all for all of your advice. The only reason I am questioning it is because my wife is. He is a very determined young man and knows when it is time to be serious and work hard. I too work in a high school and see him as a one that is mature enough to buckle down and accomplish team goals. Really it seems as if the best course of action is to get my wife there to talk to people one on one. The corps is Jersey Surf so they definitely cater more to younger folks than top tier corps. If it's Jersey Surf....I heartily endorse him going for it. And tell Mr. Bob Jacobs to get that corps out to Arizona someday so I can see them! He's a great guy and has always run a top notch organization. I remember in the mid to late 90s when my sons performed at their show in New Jersey. They are a classy crew. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 To be fair, none of us are really the most unbiased people to come to regarding questions about the value of drum corps. And may we never feel any different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruckner8 Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 (edited) I am of two minds on this: 1) If you have to ask, then probably not; 2) Yes. I just read that it might be Jersey Surf: Without hesitation, YES!!! Edited January 6, 2012 by Bruckner8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glory Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 (edited) Listen too to what you're not hearing in this thread. This board being what it is, you won't be hearing from all the 14 year olds who tried it and found the experience lacking for lack of experience. These are the ones - we've seen them - who sat by themselves each camp meal. Even when a section leader or a vet tried to engage them, their intimidation and isolation was more obvious than their conversation. They had little to contribute in the way of ideas or entertainment in the gym or on the bus. The sexual sophistication all around them was beyond them. These are the ones who may or may have not have made it through the full tour. Either way, they did corps the hard way - and maybe they didn't need to. They don't post here. Maybe this isn't a "yes or no" question. Maybe the better question is: Why? Why should I send my 14-year-old off to drum corps? Would he gain in that one year something of value that he couldn't gain in any one of the six or more years after? Yes, time and experience are perishable. But time is perishable in the absolute. So again, why? Why drum corps and not something else for his 14th year? If he were intellectually ready for college at 14, would you send him off then? Most parents would say no not because the academic experience isn't worth it but because the college experience would be worth more to him at 17. Maybe it's the same for drum corps. Maybe not 17. But maybe not 14 either. I'm not telling you what to do because I don't know what you should do. I do know that my 13 year old isn't ready. And she won't be ready at 14 either. Not because she's immature. Because she's not ready to mature so fast. Good luck. HH Edited January 6, 2012 by glory 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkfdPRphan Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 IMO, altho I never had the chance to march in a drum corps - only agree to let him do it IF YOU and YOUR WIFE go to the rest of the music camps to watch, observe and, in some way, volunteer. You will never know what it is really like unless you spend as much time as you can at a camp and ACTIVELY participate yourself! ...and do us all a favor. IF you let him go, AND you/wife also go to observe/participate, DON'T HOVER AROUND THE KID!!!! I see this with the younger people who tryout with my local drum corps. The parents want to be sure this is the right thing for their kid to do, so they try to stay within arms length of the kid throughout the whole camp. DON'T DO THAT! Observe, volunteer, and enjoy, but be invisible and let your kid see if he fits into the rest of the corp group. It will be obvious if he doesn't - I've seen it happen way too often.......but give him a chance! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 IMO, altho I never had the chance to march in a drum corps - only agree to let him do it IF YOU and YOUR WIFE go to the rest of the music camps to watch, observe and, in some way, volunteer. You will never know what it is really like unless you spend as much time as you can at a camp and ACTIVELY participate yourself! ...and do us all a favor. IF you let him go, AND you/wife also go to observe/participate, DON'T HOVER AROUND THE KID!!!! I see this with the younger people who tryout with my local drum corps. The parents want to be sure this is the right thing for their kid to do, so they try to stay within arms length of the kid throughout the whole camp. DON'T DO THAT! Observe, volunteer, and enjoy, but be invisible and let your kid see if he fits into the rest of the corp group. It will be obvious if he doesn't - I've seen it happen way too often.......but give him a chance! good advice. There's nothing worst for a kid thats trying to fit in and show he or she belongs than having a parent hover. If a parent can't do this then the family isnt ready for the total experience and should wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BozzlyB Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Sure do some research on the corps, but lets not pretend like you have to be uber diligent about wading through the horrific corps experiences out there. Probably be the hardest and best summer of his life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcmello09 Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 i had a 14yr march in a finalist corps with me. they turned 15 on the day of the houston show. they had a great time marching and everyone accepted them and i never really saw them being isolated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowtown Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 My first year in the Star of Indiana I was 14 years old and it was definitely a learning and life changing experience. It definitely made me grow up and mature much quicker than my friends that were home preparing for their freshman year of high school by hanging out playing baseball of video games along with time at the mall. I would not change the experience for anything in the world and feel there is no better way for a young person to be taught discipline and work ethic as well as a way to set them well ahead of their peers. Your child may come back to school and start to migrate towards hanging out with older kids, as I did, because of the accelerated maturity level leads to boredom with those of your same age. Anyway, I think it is a great opportunity if your child wants to do it, understands the demands, and you and your wife can live without them for a few months. I think that may be harder than anything your child will experience in a summer on the road as I now look at if from a parental perspective:) I had a similar experience in when I came back I was alienated from my local friends a bit. I had missed a summer of fun with them, had all these new friends and new experiences that they didn’t want to hear about or understand so I was a bit lost, had to reshuffle and catch up a bit. I did get back in the grove after a few months, then summer hit and well… I started young, my parents were very involved and took turns traveling with the corps, my older sister was in corps too and that was all a huge help but your 14 kid will be living in a much older world it depends upon the kid and the corps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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