JKT90 Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 (edited) Not sure if Atlanta CV really draws much away from SOA membership/auditions. Having a young corps has its challenges and no guarantees that high schoolers will stay through college. I hear most WC corps have most members coming from outside of their region. SOA will need a stronger draw nationally to increase the selectivity for membership. I would love to see SOA get back to its glory days. So, a couple of points. CV doesn't draw from SOA. It is not uncommon for SOA to call on CV if they need a spot, or from a member of SOA to march CV after tour is over (young lady did it last year and learned the entire CV show, drill and all in a weekend, which is crazy for me to think someone can learn all that but she marched the next show)...They also do not need a national draw...they need to hold onto to who they have. Many corps hold auditions in ATL...reason being is the SE is littered with music talent...if SOA could hold onto to the the talent that lives less than 200 miles from ATL, they'd be fine. Currently, and my numbers may be off by a couple...38 members from the horn line in '14 are marching a top 12...some of the corps are: Madison, Cavies, Cadets, BlueStars, Crown, SCV, Phantom, to name a few. There is an exact break down on an alumni page, but I don't feel like scrolling back to find it, but my numbers are close. Point being...hold onto what you have, secure a radius around ATL...too many, way too many members who live in and around ATL get on a plane and go to another corps...so much so, other corps now hold auditions in ATL. There are some things that need to happen, and it needs to be driven from the BOD...it's in their hands. But, like I've always said, can you think of any resources in ATL that are lacking to have a top organization?? *To the best of my knowledge, none of the information I listed is secret. And this is not intended to dump on SOA, rather simply state, there is a great opportunity to be taken advantage of. Edited July 25, 2015 by JKT90 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cube Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 I think Spirit is where a lot of kids in the south (like me) go for their first year, am I right? (I'm planning to audition for Spirit next year having no prior drum corps experience.) I'm guessing that Spirit is a corps with a lot of young guys and gals. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueStainGlass Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 My biggest problem with what you said was they have a lot of young kids and want to keep them. Most times when you get the kids in the 15-21 range they are there for experience and move to somewhere else. So they can have 50 16-17 yr Olds but I say about a quarter don't March next year (too much money at a young age), a quarter don't march spirit and do make a higher up, a quarter audition somewhere don't make it and save the money to try again next year, and the final quarter March. So if your hopes are finishing 15-17 and retaining you need a plan B. Retention and success build great corps. As Cube said a lot of people go their for their first year and leave. I think they need a plan B and as much as I hate it but that is they need to go back to the cheesy film noir shows that they had success or a southern jazz show literally rehashing their old shows (SCV kind of did this and people loved it). Watching this Web cast right now some of this groups under them are showing promise for the future. I am far from a Spirit Homer but you never want to see a group leave and from the talks their can be admin problems. Fix the problems and rebuild. Next year has to be the year the rise from the ashes of not so great designs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmccain Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Just read that Spirit is taking on the two British members of Coastal Surge. They are on their way to meet up with them. Just when I bash them, they do something wonderful. Guilt much for me. I met those to young people tonight. They are excited to join and finish out the Summer with Spirit. Great kids and I love the accents. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmccain Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Take this for what it's worth (my typing what you're about to read)...I was at rehearsals yesterday in Opelika, and stayed through their run through. I like the show!! Horn line is loud, but not over playing (but, I am snare/quad guy, so...). During rehearsals, I noticed JW would go up to a member, put his around them and not knowing what he said, each one of the members laughed and smiled when he was finished speaking with them. During his talk after the run through, he was very complimentary and positive, and let them know their hard work is appreciated. Afterwards, I met JW, and surprisingly we stood there and talked for about 20 minutes, we talked about the members and their positive attitude and work ethic, I asked him what are they hearing from the judges, and he was very open about all of that (that's another topic). The conversation then shifted to longer term...He told me he sees the light at the end of tunnel. I asked why? Here's the basics of what he said: They have 23 age outs, that's it. They have 49 members that are between 16 - 17 years old....49! He also discussed the challenges of working with 16-17yo's as they are more timid, thinking too much instead of performing, and it takes a little longer for things to "sink in" (I assumed he was referring to drill/music, etc). They have 1 vet on the snare line, and they have a 16 year old, female rookie on the snare line. He flat out said, his goal and the goal of the staff right now is to ensure these members have a positive experience, and hopes they want to come back...He wants all of them back, this is basically a football team starting freshmen and sophomores with a couple of seniors sprinkled in. The goal is have these members all return for the next few years, that is what his vision is and what he said he is building for, not today, but for long term. In the here and now, some of the things I observed during rehearsal made sense...yes they are working them, duh, but they are not being overly critical, that I could see, the staff all being upbeat, positive, encouraging and really focusing on getting the members to believe in who they are...worthy of marching with this organization and helping them mature from a mental standpoint. So, that was my take away...we then discussed some alumni stuff, and I gave him a hard time about how difficult it must have been to go from Phantom in 08 to SCV in 09 Super nice man, very open and honest and I sensed a genuine caring, coupled with a long term plan>>>MEMBER RETENTION. They had a lot of competition for the snare line this year. That girl you are talking about beat out a lot of older kids and really talented kids to get the job. And, she can play and has a great attitude. Plus, I liked her from day one when I saw her whistling "Georgia" everywhere she went. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrownBariDad Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Take this for what it's worth (my typing what you're about to read)...I was at rehearsals yesterday in Opelika, and stayed through their run through. I like the show!! Horn line is loud, but not over playing (but, I am snare/quad guy, so...). During rehearsals, I noticed JW would go up to a member, put his around them and not knowing what he said, each one of the members laughed and smiled when he was finished speaking with them. During his talk after the run through, he was very complimentary and positive, and let them know their hard work is appreciated. Afterwards, I met JW, and surprisingly we stood there and talked for about 20 minutes, we talked about the members and their positive attitude and work ethic, I asked him what are they hearing from the judges, and he was very open about all of that (that's another topic). The conversation then shifted to longer term...He told me he sees the light at the end of tunnel. I asked why? Here's the basics of what he said: They have 23 age outs, that's it. They have 49 members that are between 16 - 17 years old....49! He also discussed the challenges of working with 16-17yo's as they are more timid, thinking too much instead of performing, and it takes a little longer for things to "sink in" (I assumed he was referring to drill/music, etc). They have 1 vet on the snare line, and they have a 16 year old, female rookie on the snare line. He flat out said, his goal and the goal of the staff right now is to ensure these members have a positive experience, and hopes they want to come back...He wants all of them back, this is basically a football team starting freshmen and sophomores with a couple of seniors sprinkled in. The goal is have these members all return for the next few years, that is what his vision is and what he said he is building for, not today, but for long term. In the here and now, some of the things I observed during rehearsal made sense...yes they are working them, duh, but they are not being overly critical, that I could see, the staff all being upbeat, positive, encouraging and really focusing on getting the members to believe in who they are...worthy of marching with this organization and helping them mature from a mental standpoint. So, that was my take away...we then discussed some alumni stuff, and I gave him a hard time about how difficult it must have been to go from Phantom in 08 to SCV in 09 Super nice man, very open and honest and I sensed a genuine caring, coupled with a long term plan>>>MEMBER RETENTION. I've talked with JW a number of times. He's a great guy and very personable. He's also one of the first of the staff up in the mornings getting his morning coffee off the food truck and an early start to the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2muchcoffeeman Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Many corps hold auditions in ATL...reason being is the SE is littered with music talent.. Another reason being ATL is littered with Hartsfield, one of the more accessible airports on the planet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KennyB Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Anyone in Atlanta last night? I'm seeing 15th with the Caviliers sidelined by a virus. Is that correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrownBariDad Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 (edited) Anyone in Atlanta last night? I'm seeing 15th with the Caviliers sidelined by a virus. Is that correct?Yep -- Spirit is still in 16th overall still ahead of OC, Mandarins, and PC, and trailing Troopers and The Academy. The only thing that has changed is the Colts made a big jump over Troop and Academy to 13th.Edit: Rankings in raw scores. We'll know more when the Allentown show times are announced and they figure the numbers for Cavies. There's already a DCP thread on this. Edited July 26, 2015 by CrownBariDad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KennyB Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Drat was hoping the hometown crowd would give them a boost. My son was there in the stands and said Crown was pretty amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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