Cadets 2017

[jjeffeory]

were you in Indy? There were issues - all 3 nights - sadly

Nope, but sad to hear. Guess the mics didn't pick them up.

[wallace]

All I know is these hires come from big time schools that are highly successful, and Crown has been loaded with Avon folks. Crown has been pretty good, too! :) Seriously, Carmel, LD Bell, and Kennessaw Mountain? That's a pretty darn impressive collection of people, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do.

[Tobias]

not exactly inspired by any of these moves

Shocker.

[Tobias]

All I know is these hires come from big time schools that are highly successful, and Crown has been loaded with Avon folks. Crown has been pretty good, too! :) Seriously, Carmel, LD Bell, and Kennessaw Mountain? That's a pretty darn impressive collection of people, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do.

Well besides the Crownbrass staff, they've been totally stripped of their strength caption designers. Cadets lost one key guy last year and it was a disaster, Crown lost drill writer, show designer extraordinaire, Guard staff and a percussion guy that really turned that program around in two years.

As far as Cadets, we have had to replace every caption head in the past two years. We now have no staff from our last championship which was only 5 years ago.

Good news: Tom Aungst.

Good news: A program coordinator not GH.

Good news: Sal Salas. I think his experience will know how to reposition the Cadets back to being Cadets, not a black Crown/BD staging copycat (and not a good one).

Not sure news: Brass staff. Undecided by this team.

Not sure news: Guard staff I think needs additional help. The word fro my guard friends was the design was immature. I liked it but they all said the same thing so hopefully year two matures.

Not sure news. I want to hear a solid marching program in place. I want traditional uni colors backs and robotic Cadet marching back. That marching team last year was horrible. All fired mid July. Total disaster.

Not sure news. Better winter planning for show development. Better winter training for kids. They need technique. Worse marching Cadet corps in decades last year. GH dropped the ball on the Cadets by over extending himself into C2, CWP, raising money etc. Delegate the Cadets to a young energetic person (like Justin thst we lost) and Cadets will thrive.

Edited August 27, 2016 by Tobias

[wallace]

Considering how the guard fared for the past few years, I consider 2016 an improvement despite the poor show design. I'm optimistic we will see more gains.

I agree we need to go back to the corps' colors though I am unsure we should go back to a strictly West Point look if there is going to be an emphasis on body movement. Regrettably, the traditional uni just does not look good in that respect. I want to see the marching style to revert back as well. It just looks too good to abandon it.

The drill in 2016 was muddled at best. Actually, it was worse than that. Except for a few fleeting moments, it was, in the words of Charles barkley, turribul. With all the changes, there was no way the MMs were going to be able to perfect it. By the end of the season, I just think they were sick of it.

I am stoked for the drumming. Colin's writing is fantastic, but Tom knows how to make a battery FUN to watch. Trust me; they'll be clean and very competitive!

I am not as worried about brass as others. I realize we may have some rebuilding to do, but Hop is right. 1995 was a BLAST! If I remember correctly, we received a silver medal, right?

What I'm feeling is this group of people wants to make a statement right out of the gate. We'll have to see the state of member retention, but Cadets do get a pretty good number of auditionees every year. There's only so many potential members Boston can "take," so I'm betting the quality of brass players will be just fine.

My biggest concern is GE. It's a big "if."

[MikeRapp]

Considering how the guard fared for the past few years, I consider 2016 an improvement despite the poor show design. I'm optimistic we will see more gains.

I agree we need to go back to the corps' colors though I am unsure we should go back to a strictly West Point look if there is going to be an emphasis on body movement. Regrettably, the traditional uni just does not look good in that respect. I want to see the marching style to revert back as well. It just looks too good to abandon it.

The drill in 2016 was muddled at best. Actually, it was worse than that. Except for a few fleeting moments, it was, in the words of Charles barkley, turribul. With all the changes, there was no way the MMs were going to be able to perfect it. By the end of the season, I just think they were sick of it.

I am stoked for the drumming. Colin's writing is fantastic, but Tom knows how to make a battery FUN to watch. Trust me; they'll be clean and very competitive!

I am not as worried about brass as others. I realize we may have some rebuilding to do, but Hop is right. 1995 was a BLAST! If I remember correctly, we received a silver medal, right?

What I'm feeling is this group of people wants to make a statement right out of the gate. We'll have to see the state of member retention, but Cadets do get a pretty good number of auditionees every year. There's only so many potential members Boston can "take," so I'm betting the quality of brass players will be just fine.

My biggest concern is GE. It's a big "if."

I'm not a Cadets or even a DCI alum, but all of the above boils down to three things:

1. You cannot overcome an uninspiring and/or confusing show concept by marching faster and playing louder. Times have changed in this activity, and they have changed quickly. I don't believe they are going back to the good old days.

2. If you start with ####, you will eventually get a #### sandwich. You have to have things locked down early, or at least absolutely know the parameters of your show concept. I tend to believe, now, that dramatic in-season changes will become a thing of the past. Because scoring is so relative (as opposed to objective based on a scoring ledger), if you start from behind, you are not going to be able to make up the ground.

3. In a field as uniquely creatively driven as drum corps, with this many moving parts, you better have the right type of leader involved in the day to day. Any by right type, I don't necessarily mean a type of personality, but an inspiring, team driven leader who can not only bring out the absolute best in his team, but keep them around for years.

I can't think of any other type of organization or activity that has the dramatic type of demand (creative, timeline/deadline, youth/inexperience, financial) that drum corps has. Except maybe the advertising business, which I know well, and the agencies that have consistently thrived all had that unique sort of leader that people wanted to follow and please, someone they trust and are inspired by, where everyone is valued creatively.

The only thing I will add is, it really angers me when someone infers that this seasons' Cadets issues were because of crappy drill instructors who were fired mid season. First, who hired these people? And second, I'd like a show of hands of people who would have signed up for the disaster of show redesigns these guys had to put up with.

Edited August 27, 2016 by MikeRapp

[2000Cadet]

Congrats to Michael Terry. Amazing to me that he was a 14-year-old rookie when we marched together and now look at where he is. Nothing short of impressive in my opinion and no matter what type of show Cadets have next year, I'll be wishing them the best of luck and cheering them on.

[JFitz19]

Question: Will Sal Salas actually be writing the drill, or will he oversee someone else who will write it ( e.g., Jeff Sacktig)?

[xandandl]

Question: Will Sal Salas actually be writing the drill, or will he oversee someone else who will write it ( e.g., Jeff Sacktig)?

Sal is program coordinator, not the drill writer. Just adding his experience in color guard (he's a respected national judge for WGI including their weeks in Dayton) in addition to the color he has brought to Madison, Glassmen, and SCV programs will be a big boost to Cadets over the past two seasons.

Us oldtimers still remember Stan Earnhart's development of h.s. bands on L.I. in Mineola, Floral Park, and Sewanaka among others. The younger Jeremy Earnhart brought some interesting takes to Phantom including again energy and color. And of course, NASCAR fans know that Earnhart is a name that knows a bit about velocity, and success, ha, ha.

I for one have a better hope for 2017 than I had previously. What the corps' personality will be is yet to be seen.

But 2 things should be noted:

With Tom Aungst, Drew Shanefield, Michael Terry, and Nate Holland on staff, there is an attempt to reach deep into Cadets' roots and its legacy of excellence.

With Sal Salas and Dr. Earnhart, there is the admission of GH that the design activity has moved beyond him and that new perspectives and eyes will best aid the Cadets.

I will be offering my prayers, best wishes, and hopes as the design team meets this weekend to scope out 2017. Please join me in those intentions.

Edited August 27, 2016 by xandandl

[exitmusic]

The only thing I will add is, it really angers me when someone infers that this seasons' Cadets issues were because of crappy drill instructors who were fired mid season. First, who hired these people? And second, I'd like a show of hands of people who would have signed up for the disaster of show redesigns these guys had to put up with.

Totally agreed. Band aids on top of band aids, when heart surgery is required.