The Academy

[Tim K]

One of my favorite corps to listen to while driving is Academy 2011. I loved the show. I was not overly impressed in 2012 but that was due more to personal taste. Then came 2013. Again, I loved the show, thought it was well done and underscored, at least in Allentown and Indy, but for some reason it did not engage the audience and obviously the judges. For example, let's just say Surf or Spirit wanted to lead a sing along of "Piano Man," something all of us have probably sung after a beer or two too many, the crowd would probably be up on its feet and belting it out. This did not happen for The Academy. My guess is that it was probably too whimsical for a corps that usually attempts more serious fare. I also understand that earlier in the season it was barely ready and very dirty, but that happened last year as well and they ended up with a better finish.

My guess is that Academy will not have troubles with recruitment due to placement. One major reason is that this past year was unlike any in a while. This year Spirit was a worthy finalist, and the show was better than 2011 and 2012, but if they had an off night at semi's, they would have been vulnerable. Blue Stars made it with a show that in other years would have been a no question finalists, but they could have easily sat out for two years if they were not on top of their game at semi's and more than a few people thought that spot belonged to Troopers or Crossmen with no disrespect to Blue Stars. . In other years the corps that wound up in 13-16 probably would have made finals. You may have to go back as far as 1978 or 79 to find a year that the 13-16th placed corps could have been on any reasonable list of cops to make finals.

[cixelsyd]

Several thoughts:

a. When Academy started, one of the unique things they did was to bring a number of different, really big names in to work with them in a clinic or other short-term setting. As a result, their kids (and in-house staff, I suppose) had already learned from the best before they even entered a contest. This is a trick they should have stuck with... but I fear that once they became a world class threat, the primary employers (corps-wise) of such top clinicians no longer allowed them to spend any time with Academy.

b. The 2013 show had significant design flaws that set them back. Either you make the changes mid-season and play catchup, or you stick with a flawed show, try to perform it that much better, and play catchup.

c. They did not do their annual stage show in early June, so you would expect they would be better prepared for the start of the season than ever before - but they were not. When you compete in WC, you go up against 16 corps who have been going full time since Memorial Day. If you are not as well prepared as they are, a battle for 17th may be your best remaining outcome.

To answer the OP question, here are two things I think would move them forward competitively:

a. The design staff need to improve. Either their existing designers get smarter, or they hire smarter designers.

b. Pre-season preparation should ramp up. If they had presented their full show at their home contest on June 19, maybe they could have gotten feedback (admittedly, only from a smaller judging panel) and corrected some design flaws before the Denver show.

[Phantombari1]

Honestly, they aren't competitive with the top 10-12. I don't understand some of the decisions that have been made. The black uniforms were a giant step in the wrong direction (IMO), musical choices and arrangements have been questionable as well as their attention to detail on the field.

Like I said before I don't think their focus is on being competitive, but more along the lines of educational.

I don't think some of the decisions being made are helping the corp succeed but rather satisfying key donors visions of the corp. There was a perception that the Academy was a feeder corp for Santa Clara , but that has been put to the wayside by members going to corps all over the country. I wouldn't say in mass numbers, but with top talent.

They've come a long way from day one but from a competitive standpoint the corps maturity and growth since winning division II has stagnated (IMO). With todays economy I don't see how non-competitive corps can survive over the long haul.