JKT90 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Just based on observation, I know Cavies had some changes and that set them back, and they're still trying to get back in the top group...Spirit has a new director and some staff changes...JK Koester, don't know much about him, except he was with SCV in 09 and I think Phantom in 08 and most recently has been running the SCV B corps (I think). I know their drill writer wrote Phantom in 08, have not looked at where else he/she has been...so on paper it seems like a good move, but their first show scores are lower than I anticipated... So, the effect of a new staff, does it hurt initially...wonder why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleveland1 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 "it depends" Usually its more than just one change that a corps needs to rise. if the corps is struggling in its design, its likely visual as well as music. SCV hit "rock bottom" with Bartok in 2010. Brought in Rennick in 2011, which the Devil's Staircase was significantly better than Bartok, the players seemed to lack the skill and stamina for brass. Visually it was still sloppy. but the percussion was a massive improvement with rennick, you could even say the entire show was designed to feature the percussion. Essentially the opposite of Crown's focus on Brass. they finish 6th this year, but only .2 above their previous 92.0 score. The next year Shaw joins. He is brilliant at aiding in visual design so the corps always balanced. Shaw's presence improves overall GE, music directly. His experience with Rennick also helps. Music of the Starry Night was a crowd favorite, and brought them up 2 points to 94.45 but only 5th place. The next year SCV added bluecoats's brass staff (i believe this was prior to 2013, i could be wrong). The corps once again takes steps in the right direction. improve by two more points, and finished in 4th. And scored their highest finals score since 99, with a 96.85 (04 was 98.25) In this case it took time to "get going". With the staff SCV currently has it would be tough to see them falling back into the 6, 7, 8 group. This is a case where staff changes didn't hurt initially, but didn't help too much in year 1. but each year changes were made to improve the staff, and each year the corps has improved. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKT90 Posted June 24, 2014 Author Share Posted June 24, 2014 Just looked up SOA's staff bio's...music guy is from the Scouts, visual guy is from Phantom, another one is from a WGI group...JW from SCV...seems to me like some good moves. But, don't know anything about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleveland1 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 the problem can be too many changes too quickly. If the staff is gutted in one season, starting fresh. What is really keeping people from going to another corps the next year? If x corps "feels" like a different corps than the year before, then it is very much a different corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdaddy Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 I know their drill writer wrote Phantom in 08, have not looked at where else he/she has been Yes, he wrote for PR In 2008 (solid, made sense, didn't detract from the effectiveness of the rest of the corps). But he also wrote for PR in 2009 (trainwreck visually). I think he was pretty young when he wrote for PR. I'm sure he's gotten better and will mature into this role. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKT90 Posted June 24, 2014 Author Share Posted June 24, 2014 They had a number of changes happen pretty quick, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotorCityMusician Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 No. Blue stars 2013 was an all new staff and they went from out of finals into finals and with the same staff they are now moving up. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
va9590jm Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Complete overhauls can have an impact that first year of either negative or no change, but you would hope to see improvement the second year with the staff, as the members have had time to learn and grow with the teaching philosophy. Now, if the new staff's philosophy is very similar to the old one, then thats when you can see a positive change immediately. There are so many factors that it can be difficult to pinpoint exactly why a corps is performing the way it is with a new instructional staff if there is a new design team, as well. That's probably why you see corps like SCV changing only one or two things at a time, and not a complete overhaul. It's easier to track and see progress in each individual caption. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaos001 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Yes, he wrote for PR In 2008 (solid, made sense, didn't detract from the effectiveness of the rest of the corps). But he also wrote for PR in 2009 (trainwreck visually). I think he was pretty young when he wrote for PR. I'm sure he's gotten better and will mature into this role. most of '08 was re-written during spring training or slightly thereafter by Tony Hall. nick's work was crap those years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanguard87 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 What Cleveland1 said, basically. Sometimes it takes more than a year for a new system to take hold. Happens all the time in sports. The corollary to this is that rapid staff turnover, with constant changes in system, can be a killer (although giving the wrong person years and years is no better). Also, sometimes staff move on for professional or personal reasons. Not every change happens because someone got fired. But more importantly--It's the first week of the season. Nobody should be panicking about their team's placement (or clearing space for a trophy). Also, not to hijack the thread, but I object to statements like "Corps X has Corps Y's staff", especially when they've been in place for multiple years. It seems to me like a passive-aggressive way (maybe intentional, maybe not) of dismissing any success a corps might have with a new team. SCV has SCV's staff, period. One of the very first things JD Shaw said when he walked in the door--and it's turned out to be true, IMO--was that SCV was not going to sound like (JD's spin on) Regiment; it would sound like (JD's spin on) SCV. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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