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Jersey Surf and competitive success


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I can answer that part of the question via my niece's experience. Yes - the members absolutely know that the Surf experience is not the same as other "more competitive" corps. In her case and a number of her friends in the corps it was that fact that drew them to Surf. She was easily good enough to march in one of the big names but had no interest in doing so being happy with what she had in Surf. After her first year, one of her friends wanted to "move up" and went to Cadets. She ultimately returned to Surf before the season started saying that the "cult atmosphere" (her words) at Cadets was "nuts" and she was much happier with the environment at Surf.

Not everyone has the same goals/desires. I think Surf is fine doing what they are doing until THEY decide it's time to buckle down to move up.

that last statement makes 0 sense..'until they decide to buckle down" so you admit that they should rethink the philosophy and travel with the pack..I would love to see them get really creative and blow other corps away in 2016..pull the trigger now and make it happen.

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...for ten corps. So why are we talking about Surf and not Academy, Pio, or PC?

Because while the consensus is that Academy, Pio, and PC (save for this year) all seem to be making good strides forward from a product standpoint, Surf appears to be regressing. Outside of the anomaly of 2012, Surf has been generally moving backwards in position and show quality since their move to World Class in 2009.

I don't think anybody on these boards has an objection to the way Surf conducts themselves, or to their choices of show concepts and general corps image. The problem is that when so many corps seem to be advancing in design and quality these days, those that don't advance (or even regress) will drop like a rock and be quite noticeable. This has been happening to the Cavies since Gaines left, and it's been happening to Surf since 2009.

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that last statement makes 0 sense..'until they decide to buckle down" so you admit that they should rethink the philosophy and travel with the pack..I would love to see them get really creative and blow other corps away in 2016..pull the trigger now and make it happen.

You are putting words in my mouth. I said no such thing. What I said was that they are fine the way they are, but if THEY decide they should rethink their philosophy that would be fine too. The point is that it is up to THEM (admin, staff and members) to decide what they want their identity to be. They have no obligation to live up to anyone's expectations but their own.

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I'm sorry, Surf doesn't need me as a defender, but you're making general broad statements that few would argue.

Anyone here know what Surf's retention is? Eleran can probably tell us current fees but isn't it true that kids trying out for Surf know that they're getting a different experience than a typical touring corps?

Is there a presumption on the part of Surf MM's that they were going to get something different than they expected? If so, is that necessarily Surf's fault?

Is there any evidence that Surf did not give the MM's "...the best possible product..." it could?

Is there some indication this year that Surf didn't educate the MM's, or teach them to reach for a performance they didn't think they had in them?

Is all of that evidenced by placement?

If you're going to make such a contention based on placement, isn't it true that you could make the contention all the way up to second place?

The first rung on the ladder makes it easier to climb if desired, and many kids show their appreciation to Surf by doing just that. A year at Surf, in either good placement or bad, makes it that much easier for a MM to climb up the ladder.

The first rung is valuable. To dismiss it as unimportant ignores a lot of reality for a significant number of potential MM participants.

If Surf surges to number 15, will you make the same contention of the then last-place corps, or is it just Surf?

I can give you the answer to some of these questions ONLY based on the fact and because i have done many many auditions over the years HS students as well as MMs of corps will contact me about auditions or the process. Often they unload their goals as well as short comings of the place they were. I try to defend or at least explain a different perspective and make sure there's no turning back for them Often i tell them to rethink it if there is a chance their heart is really there.

I dont think Im going to give the specifics here PM me if you like. I did this once before in a popular year for surf with another poster and that was a few years ago and i still get stalked ( because of that ) to today. I know it had nothing to do with a corps in general just that someone disagreed with what they or the world might have thought at the time. No drama please..lol

In general YES people stay for very good reasons in lower corps but YES many many leave or at least try to. There are also those who do not have a good experience ( no specific corps) and because of other very good reasons they just do a year and never return to drum corps. Now thats a tragedy.

I do think for the most part Surf is honest with their members and give a good experience I guess BUT do know members also change and when they see whats out there , they may want it, then it becomes not enough. This can also be said of many corps in the top 12 especially the lower end of finals. Happens alot

Edited by GUARDLING
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I can give you the answer to some of these questions ONLY based on the fact and because i have done many many auditions over the years HS students as well as MMs of corps will contact me about auditions or the process. Often they unload their goals as well as short comings of the place they were. I try to defend or at least explain a different perspective and make sure there's no turning back for them Often i tell them to rethink it if there is a chance their heart is really there.

I dont think Im going to give the specifics here PM me if you like. I did this once before in a popular year for surf with another poster and that was a few years ago and i still get stalked ( because of that ) to today. I know it had nothing to do with a corps in general just that someone disagreed with what they or the world might have thought at the time. No drama please..lol

In general YES people stay for very good reasons in lower corps but YES many many leave or at least try to. There are also those who do not have a good experience ( no specific corps) and because of other very good reasons they just do a year and never return to drum corps. Now thats a tragedy.

I do think for the most part Surf is honest with their members and give a good experience I guess BUT do know members also change and when they see whats out there , they may want it, then it becomes not close to enough. This can also be said of many corps in the top 12 especially the lower end of finals. Happens alot

that makes perfect sense. Surf is not a freshman Corps, they have been around a while, just wondering why they are where they are, they should place higher thats all Im saying...Your gonna tell me that some "Surf'ers look at a Corps in the top 5 and not want that success? Time to step out of the box and take Surf'ers along, I would like to see someone different rock the apple cart other than the usuals..

Edited by heartskipsabeat
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