The Academy

[chadwick]

There is probably thread somewhere already for The Academy but I couldn't locate it. I didn't feel like there was much discussion about this corps this year and it appears they did have their struggles finishing in 19th at Semis. Going in to the season, The Academy was predicted by some to challenge for Finals. Although every year since their jump to World Class these predictions have been made, they certainly have dwindled and next year I'd expect much fewer than this year. I don't want to start a 'demise of the Academy thread' by any means, but I'm curious what others think may be happening to this corps. They came in to World Class as the next big thing and for a few years came very close to making the Saturday show. They appeared to have a lot of support in Arizona when they first made this jump. What needs to happen to propel them back up?

I do want to say that it is great to see Pacific Crest and Mandarins making strides forward and Oregon Crusaders starting so strong in WC. And for these corps to move up, others have to move back. But The Academy has just seemed 'off' for the past couple years.

[N.E. Brigand]

A new thread won't hurt, but:

Link to list of discussion threads for all World Class 2013 shows

The Academy

[gbass598]

There is probably thread somewhere already for The Academy but I couldn't locate it. I didn't feel like there was much discussion about this corps this year and it appears they did have their struggles finishing in 19th at Semis. Going in to the season, The Academy was predicted by some to challenge for Finals. Although every year since their jump to World Class these predictions have been made, they certainly have dwindled and next year I'd expect much fewer than this year. I don't want to start a 'demise of the Academy thread' by any means, but I'm curious what others think may be happening to this corps. They came in to World Class as the next big thing and for a few years came very close to making the Saturday show. They appeared to have a lot of support in Arizona when they first made this jump. What needs to happen to propel them back up?

I do want to say that it is great to see Pacific Crest and Mandarins making strides forward and Oregon Crusaders starting so strong in WC. And for these corps to move up, others have to move back. But The Academy has just seemed 'off' for the past couple years.

To answer your question, better show design.

I thought the kids played well but as the old saying goes, you can polish a t*rd but its still just a t*rd.

[OC Euph]

I dunno I actually liked the Intro and the show as a whole. I will admit it's not GRABBING, but it was fun =D LoOoOoLa!

[MikeN]

Academy hits more than they miss. I'm honestly not too worried about them.

Mike

[DrumManTx]

I felt like they were trying too hard this year. I wanted to like it, but the show design was just not there. Props for trying to be fun, but it just did not come together. Brass was great and the drums were pretty good. Guard and visual design to me seem to be the problem makers, even back in 2007 - 2012, but that this year paired with the overall package just hurt them. They are talented no doubt.

2011 still stands as my favorite Academy show. Freakin powerful brass, amazing musical selections and arrangements, great color scheme as wacky and bright as it was, and that drumline. MMM. Then that 2010 Borodin show, fantastic brass that was scoring in the top 12. 2012 was solid as well. I'd love to see them go back to 2010 - 2012 style type shows. I thought they struck a great balance between being really fun and quirky and kinda being the sophisticated group out of the non finalists. They're one of my favorite groups, 2011 is probably my favorite show that year, they just need to keep doing what worked for them in recent years.

Everyone has a dud I suppose. I'm betting they will be fine next year.

Edited August 12, 2013 by DrumManTx

[chadwick]

I guess one question/concern that crosses my mind after this season is how does Academy recruit for 2014? Specifically, what should they do to attract perspective members to their corps, as opposed to others out west?

It was a very strong year for corps out west and now instead of coming off a year just missing Finals, they placed behind every other western World Class corps except for the Cascades. You have the typical corps at the top, (BD, SCV and Blue Knights), then Troopers just barely missed Finals and was a crowd favorite; Crossmen was in Finals last year and was certainly in the hunt this year; Pacific Crest generated more talk than usual, made the theater show Thursday and nearly placed an all-time high of 15th; the Mandarins were talked about more than they have ever been as well as fielded their largest corps; and lastly, the Oregon Crusaders came in to World Class with a bang.

If you are a perspective performer living out west and looking for your corps for 2014, what does The Academy need to do during this off season to get you there?

I feel The Academy is in a vunerable position this off season and they need to think hard about how they move forward to 2014.

[ohbaby]

Any chance that You Tube sensation Brandon from the snare line stays there? A buddy of mine and I went to watch them practice just to see him. He is really good and most likely will end up at BD I am sure in 2-3 years. Hopefully he will stay and help recruit for them, think he may be a great asset.

[Barifonium]

If you are a perspective performer living out west and looking for your corps for 2014, what does The Academy need to do during this off season to get you there?

Looking at it from a prospective membership standpoint, I'd think that a corps that has been consistently good that has an off-season is primed to make up for it with a great comeback.

You know how many corps do a significant drop in a post-championship season? (Cadets 2012, Phantom 2009) Well the opposite here could be true (Phantom 2010, '11, '12) and considering the staff they have I'd say it's a prime time to "rebuild" (for lack of a better term).

I feel The Academy is in a vulnerable position this off season and they need to think hard about how they move forward to 2014.

Where there's vulnerability, there's opportunity.

As far as the show goes, I had fun with it.

Edited August 12, 2013 by Barifonium

[Phantombari1]

This is my opinion so please don't roast me for it. Through the years I have worked with Mark Richardson (Academy) and provided a very nice school site for the corp to practice on up until the time I left the school board as governing Board President. In that time I have had many views of the corp and their work habits ect.

The biggest problem I've seen is the lack of attention to detail and intensity. One example are sets and coverdowns. When you come to the end of a set and everyone should be spaced accordingly by design but one person is so far off the mark they stick out. Common sense says to fix this (persons) path to the set position so they end up exactly where they need to be in relation to the set form and those around them. The same applies to Cover downs that stick out badly when not done correctly.

Absolutely no one corrected these issues as they practiced and the issues remained all the way through finals.

I also don't believe the Academy has a competitive philosphy but lean more toward an educational philosophy. (Not that that's a bad thing) I think this may be the biggest issue especially if you're like me and view DCI from a competitive perspective.

Not one time can I ever remember them display the intensity required to compete. In my mind, the lack of focus and intensity prevents them from attaining better results.

Not that they don't work hard. Fact is I want the academy to succeed, I just don't see a significant rise in their position without some dramactic changes.