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OLD George Hopkins interview videos


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I ran accross the following youtube videos of George Hopkins being interviewed. One from 1984 and one from 1990. I was so shocked by the humble nature of these videos that it almost made me faint. All he talks about is how "winning doesn't matter" and how he would "quit on the spot" if his organization ever became about winning and eletism and how it's all about the kids and the educational value they take away from the activity. I couldn't even believe it was really him. Though, I'm encouraged to know that it really is him because it just proves that there is a good man with a good servant's heart inside that skin who really does care about the kids in this activity, despite the appearing greedy and self serving nature of some of his most recent philosophies. What I want to know is how did he lose sight of his original vision and philosophy?

I want THIS George Hopkins BACK! The things he says in both of these interviews are spot on!

Edited by drumcorpsdrummerman2012
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I ran accross the following youtube videos of George Hopkins being interviewed. One from 1984 and one from 1990. I was so shocked by the humble nature of these videos that it almost made me faint. All he talks about is how "winning doesn't matter" and how he would "quit on the spot" if his organization ever became about winning and eletism and how it's all about the kids and the educational value they take away from the activity. I couldn't even believe it was really him. Though, I'm encouraged to know that it really is him because it just proves that there is a good man with a good servant's heart inside that skin who really does care about the kids in this activity, despite the appearing greedy and self serving nature of some of his most recent philosophies. What I want to know is how did he lose sight of his original vision and philosophy?

I want THIS George Hopkins BACK! The things he says in both of these interviews are spot on!

I've seen these two videos a million times and I've heard him say quite a few other things that he hasn't stuck with, so he says what's on his mind at the time and changes his mind often. It's human nature, of course. It's also interesting to see how people change over the years. Good pick to find those finally on youtube.

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From the Old Videos:

"I'm not here to teach them to win... I'm here to teach kids. And to give them an experience that they'll never get anywhere else..."

"I saw very clearly that winning did not mean anything."

"I look at them as my kids and what its given me is absolutely everything"

Things haven't changed all that much since 1984/1990...

2007

--It's your 25th anniversary as director of the Cadets what are the rewards for you personally?

--"...Standing on the field watching the kids take in the acknowledgment of the fans and the tears in their eyes, especially when they get to the back part of the season... There is nothing I've experienced in my life like that... and that's why I come back..."

2011

"I'm not the most religious person in the world if you never noticed, but I do believe in human beings. I do believe in intention."

"No matter what happens, if you come in 3rd, you come in 2nd, you come in FIRST... You stand there. Got it? Other people come and bother you, you stand there. Other corps bother you, you stand there. Anybody does anything, you stand there. You do your thing, do it like Cadets... Win lose or draw you Stand there. It's someone else's opinion. It doesn't mean anything. Nobody is taking that performance away from you. No one. NO ONE."

2012

2011 interview with Dan

2011

Check out interviews from 2011 and 2012 round table with George too...

My link

My link

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I don't think the guy has changed that much and I really believe he is all about what is taught in his program and the lessons the kids learn. The problem lies in the apparent fact that he doesn't feel the same way for kids marching in other corps, especially 8-23+ place.

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If you read his blog he cares about winning

Blasphemy!

Edit....I really wish people would stop sanctifying George. All that Jeff indicated was that if you read his blog, you'll see that George cares about winning.

Edited by LincolnV
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I don't think you can doubt the passion and vigor that George Hopkins brings to the performance side of the activity and the push for excellence.

I think it's fair to doubt what he brings to the business side and whether he feels that other corps have the potential to offer equal experiences to kids or if the experience is only valuable if you meet a certain competitive threshold.

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IMHO I blame DCI which is structured as if every corps should be like the blue devils or cadets and that the higher you score (regardless of anything else) the more important you are and the more you get rewarded (show payments, etc)

I don't have a solution I'm just saying all of these corps we've lost over the years and how open class is like the evil stepchild these days goes to show you something is wrong. Corps try too hard to have all the new flashy stuff, electronics, etc and then bite off more then they can chew because their goal is to be a top corps with the most money.

Too many groups worry about being the best (in the judges eyes) rather than giving the best to their members and fans - just how I see it anyways

Edited by dcibrando
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I've come to realize that Hop is very similar in philosophy to my tuba professor at JMU. When I marched Cadets in 2005, and when I was a member of the JMU Brass Band, they both made a big deal about the fact that if you were the best you could possibly be, judges would have no choice but to reward you. You didn't do it to be the best corps/brass band out there; you tried to be the best Cadets/JMU Brass Band there ever was in history.

Yet it seemed hypocritical at the time when they both would become upset when things didn't go our way competitively. Now when I look back, though, I realized they were more annoyed that their hard-working members weren't being recognized for the work they were doing... it wasn't so much about losing to another corps/band.

I didn't understand their viewpoint until I became a band director. I subscribe to the belief that judge's opinions don't matter in the long run; however, as the leader of a group, you want to see the kids experience being on top, and it's hard to see them disappointed when you think they should've done better compared with the other groups present.

All I know is it's a hard sell sometimes to tell kids that their placement doesn't matter, that it shouldn't affect their sense of self-worth. I can see why people don't do competitions; but I value the spirit competition can engender in a group.

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