2017 PREDICTIONS!

[xandandl]

titles are nice but things are/were far more blurry than they might appear if you just read that.

academy v boston with both teams sharing a visual designer on their team is very interesting to me. no matter how things shake out competitively, questions will be raised.

while designers can and do often work with more than one team, having them on two finalist teams in the same tier (with both clearly having the same sort of ambitions) is probably a fairly unique situation.

Sometimes on these World Class staffs, it's the personalities more than the titles which influence the direction of the corps' show design and development. This is particularly true when the idea voiced by any member of the design team resonates with all the others. When the times raise "oops" moments that beget blame due to poor performance or scores or egos, then the titles become important again. Just my experience.

[TroopAlum12]

I love how several of the recent predictions left out the Bluecoats entirely.

I feel like this next year is going to be one of the harder ones to predict. With all the shakeup going on in the top 12 as well as the fight in the 12-15 range getting tighter with so many corps on the cusp, it's getting hard to pin down a solid 12 corps that are a for-sure lock in any position.

It's going to be an exciting season!

[MikeRapp]

I love how several of the recent predictions left out the Bluecoats entirely.

I feel like this next year is going to be one of the harder ones to predict. With all the shakeup going on in the top 12 as well as the fight in the 12-15 range getting tighter with so many corps on the cusp, it's getting hard to pin down a solid 12 corps that are a for-sure lock in any position.

It's going to be an exciting season!

I actually think Bluecoats will challenge for the gold again. They are going to have amazing retention and are going to attract the best of the best from the high school ranks wanting to march world class. And their show design team has such a great grasp on what and how they do things.

I do agree there are several corps that are question marks. Obviously Cadets and Crusaders are at the top of the list, but Blue Stars, Troopers and Madison have to be on that list as well. Blue Knights for different reasons entirely.

As far as the top four, I think we are likely to see no change there next year.

As much as I am eager to see how the tier 1 do, I am equally as interested in how some of the newer upstarts so to speak advance. Most notably: Academy and Oregon.

[corpsband]

I actually think Bluecoats will challenge for the gold again. They are going to have amazing retention and are going to attract the best of the best from the high school ranks wanting to march world class. And their show design team has such a great grasp on what and how they do things.

I do agree there are several corps that are question marks. Obviously Cadets and Crusaders are at the top of the list, but Blue Stars, Troopers and Madison have to be on that list as well. Blue Knights for different reasons entirely.

As far as the top four, I think we are likely to see no change there next year.

As much as I am eager to see how the tier 1 do, I am equally as interested in how some of the newer upstarts so to speak advance. Most notably: Academy and Oregon.

I think Academy and Crossmen are two corps to watch in the coming year. IMO both corps showcased performers who were were more than capable of taking their respective corps higher. Heck I think I said that about Xmen way back in June. Easy to see performers who are going to outrun their design (which IMO is just good disciplined design -- too may corps are saddled with a product their performers never have a hope of realizing). Far better to develop the performer and bring along the design a little more slowly.

Edited September 12, 2016 by corpsband

[20XXMM]

Why are people expecting the cadets to drop so much?

[MikeRapp]

Why are people expecting the cadets to drop so much?

I'm not necessarily expecting them to drop, but I am not anticipating them in the top five. They have changed so many key leadership people who have "been" the Cadets corps approach for so long. Just hard to imagine that sort of transition happening in one offseason, especially given how competitive and innovative BD, BD, CC, SCV and perhaps now Cavaliers have been. It wouldn't shock me, given their history, to see them be back in the mix, but the huge unknown is show coordination and direction day to day, and in the age of GE, that's a big one.

[DrumManTx]

Why are people expecting the cadets to drop so much?

Any time a corps has an off year there are those that expect them to continue to fall.

Any time a corps has big staff turnover, that gives people reason to predict them lower as well.

Paired together, don't expect to see a lot of people placing them higher in their predictions. That's just how it is. Sometimes they're right, and sometimes those things lead to bigger and better things for the corps concerned.

Cadets are going to look, sound, march differently with a new design team and coordination. They are a huge unknown at this point, and will be until June.

[xandandl]

I'm not necessarily expecting them to drop, but I am not anticipating them in the top five. They have changed so many key leadership people who have "been" the Cadets corps approach for so long. Just hard to imagine that sort of transition happening in one offseason, especially given how competitive and innovative BD, BD, CC, SCV and perhaps now Cavaliers have been. It wouldn't shock me, given their history, to see them be back in the mix, but the huge unknown is show coordination and direction day to day, and in the age of GE, that's a big one.

I don't disagree with what you post here.

I do wonder whether the staff changes at Crown or Boston will flow together into innovation automatically just because personnel have had success elsewhere. I don't question that these corps will be successful. I am just saying that it takes time to build trust, to find a common rhythm among old and new members of a design team and teaching faculty. Both corps have a better advantage as the new faculty have worked with some of the others elsewhere. But it is not an automatic arrangement, particularly if either the new CC or BAC design teams seek to honor the legacy traditions of either corps.

Regiment will probably see the greatest catharsis even more than Cadets who still linger in the shadows of Hopkins' imprint. Whether they put him on a cruise to Alaska is yet to be seen.

Troopers' transitions may not be as obvious; Madison is till quite the unknown.

[MikeRapp]

I don't disagree with what you post here.

I do wonder whether the staff changes at Crown or Boston will flow together into innovation automatically just because personnel have had success elsewhere. I don't question that these corps will be successful. I am just saying that it takes time to build trust, to find a common rhythm among old and new members of a design team and teaching faculty. Both corps have a better advantage as the new faculty have worked with some of the others elsewhere. But it is not an automatic arrangement, particularly if either the new CC or BAC design teams seek to honor the legacy traditions of either corps.

Regiment will probably see the greatest catharsis even more than Cadets who still linger in the shadows of Hopkins' imprint. Whether they put him on a cruise to Alaska is yet to be seen.

Troopers' transitions may not be as obvious; Madison is till quite the unknown.

For me, it all comes down to show concept and design direction.

Crown seems to inherently "know" what a CC show is now, and with that culture established, it is more likely changes will simply add a different take on their "thing." They will retain most if not nearly all of their talent, as they always do, and be down the road on a competitive show design by October. Same with Coats, SCV and BD. That's why I cannot predict we won't see the same top four next year.

Cavaliers need to prove that they are in a new groove and not just a one-off wonder. Suspect they will do that, but not guaranteed by any means.

BAC and Cadets, to me, are total unknowns.

If, IF, George can truly step aside and let his team do their thing, I suspect they will compete for a medal. But they need to hit the ball deep into the outfield on Day 1. Cannot be three points behind on the first night and be into redesigns by Week 3. Cadets cannot have another season like the last one internally. I suspect they will have more leeway to deal with history and legacy issues than other so-called traditional corps because they hate being on the outside looking in more than anyone else.

BAC has history to step around as well. But it seems their leadership has come to terms with the fact that change is here, and they are embracing it. You don't sink this much money and effort into new staff of this caliber and not be willing to turn them loose. How loose is the question. I wouldn't be surprised to see BAC do an Americana show on a whole different level.

Edited September 12, 2016 by MikeRapp

[skevinp]

I wouldn't be surprised to see BAC do an Americana show on a whole different level.

Animalcana