WarriorHal Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 2 hours ago, kdaddy said: It's interesting that this year is being characterized as such a rebuilding year. I get that there could be some attrition after last year's show, but they were a finalist in 2017! And 7 of the last 9 years! In Chuck I Trust, but I'm surprised they'd take such a drastic design philosophy just to retain members (while dropping several spots competitively). Parents of kids in this year's corps say there are less than one handful of members with as much as three years of experience -- lots of 16-19 year olds. With such a young corps, Chuck Naffier says that prioritizing being a crowd favorite over "playing the game this first year pays dividends in retention. Is 14th better than 18th if no one comes back? This is our reality." Two more quotes from his FB post I found promising: "Information, teaching, and going through second tour together for the first time are essential to setting a standard for preparation in the fall before camps begin ... These members are hungry for success, and we are in the process of giving them the tools to grow far past August 10th, 2019." 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 1 hour ago, Madcityscout said: My hope is with the inclusion of females next year that they raise the average age of the potential incoming members to at least 19 or 19.5 as much as possible. but staff needs to be able to do their job. no more turnover due to a lack of competitive success 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whiskey Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 1 hour ago, WarriorHal said: Parents of kids in this year's corps say there are less than one handful of members with as much as three years of experience -- lots of 16-19 year olds. With such a young corps, Chuck Naffier says that prioritizing being a crowd favorite over "playing the game this first year pays dividends in retention. Is 14th better than 18th if no one comes back? This is our reality." Two more quotes from his FB post I found promising: "Information, teaching, and going through second tour together for the first time are essential to setting a standard for preparation in the fall before camps begin ... These members are hungry for success, and we are in the process of giving them the tools to grow far past August 10th, 2019." I hope those kids do the honorable thing and stay with the Scouts. There would be nothing more honorable than to stay in the program and bring it back to its completive glory. They may not achieve the competitive results they hope for but they would lay the foundation for the Scouts and the future. I also hope the corps retains its most effective staff. Some are wonderful instructors and good people who know what they need to do. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 2 hours ago, Whiskey said: I hope those kids do the honorable thing and stay with the Scouts. There would be nothing more honorable than to stay in the program and bring it back to its completive glory. They may not achieve the competitive results they hope for but they would lay the foundation for the Scouts and the future. I also hope the corps retains its most effective staff. Some are wonderful instructors and good people who know what they need to do. I hope the Scouts organization has provided this year's corps with an experience that will make as many as possible want to return. Members make future decisions based on their own thoughts and desires. Stay or leave....both are honorable decisions for individual members. But I hope most have had an experience to want to stay, for sure. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabMaster Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 5 hours ago, Triple Forte said: There is something we can do as fans over the next two weeks and that is to return this topic to discussing the current corps members, staff and volunteers and support their efforts as they head into Indy this season that’s what we can do. I am not saying we shouldn’t talk about issues that are facing Madison all I’m saying is that it should be done in a separate thread/topic not here !! Why not here? It is the Madison thread and current issues can certainly be brought to the forefront while they are fresh in everyone’s mind. Support Madison mow through the next 2 weeks, but they should not wait. They can start planning next year NOW. That is my only point. You said discuss for the next 9 months. You’d be too late. They have taken a huge leap forward already going coed. Step on the gas towards that. NOW! And ba fan for 2 more weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlamMan Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 5 hours ago, MikeD said: I hope the Scouts organization has provided this year's corps with an experience that will make as many as possible want to return. Members make future decisions based on their own thoughts and desires. Stay or leave....both are honorable decisions for individual members. But I hope most have had an experience to want to stay, for sure. Madison needs great leaders to retain members. CK isn't a guy that others will run through a wall for. Members have been running away from him. Who and where is the next Scott Stewart? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlamMan Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 4 hours ago, LabMaster said: Why not here? It is the Madison thread and current issues can certainly be brought to the forefront while they are fresh in everyone’s mind. Support Madison mow through the next 2 weeks, but they should not wait. They can start planning next year NOW. That is my only point. You said discuss for the next 9 months. You’d be too late. They have taken a huge leap forward already going coed. Step on the gas towards that. NOW! And ba fan for 2 more weeks. Its a huge leap forward going coed? Why? Do you think if there were females in the Madison Scouts for the last 10 years that there finals placement would be different? The problem is poor leadership, vision and show design. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabMaster Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 6 hours ago, FlamMan said: Its a huge leap forward going coed? Why? Do you think if there were females in the Madison Scouts for the last 10 years that there finals placement would be different? The problem is poor leadership, vision and show design. Yes. It is a huge leap forward when for your entire history your corps has been an all male corps. I never mentioned anything about what may or may not have been different placements so that must have been on your mind or an argument you are seeding. Your latter statement, yeah those are obviously their primary issues at hand. Continuing to or desiring to live in the past on past glories is also contributing the regression. There is an old saying “Adapt or die”. However there is caution needed when choosing how to adapt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRapp Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 Once again, competitive success is directly proportional to the age and experience of your marching members. Huge changes take place in a young person’s athleticism between 18 and 22. Also, if you spend the first month teaching kids how to march, while the other groups are learning a show, you are going to start Behind, and end further behind. I really don’t know how you fix this. Kids are paying to be in the corps. When you get some experience, you want to have competitive success. You don’t want to spend the entire summer hoping to make finals. Scouts will have a new identity next year, it will give them a fresh start to put a great show on the road and create a buzz for themselves. If they embrace that opportunity, and hire people who really know how to create a great 11 minute event, then they can start climbing their way back into competitiveness. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gantang Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, LabMaster said: Yes. It is a huge leap forward when for your entire history your corps has been an all male corps. It's a huge leap off a cliff for many Scouts' fans and alumni. I'm not sure why some people think girls are the panacea. The most talented girls will still go to the better corps leaving Madison with the left over talent. The same with the boys. WarriorHal wrote that the guys are hungry for success. When I'm hungry I go where I was satiate my appetite immediately rather than grocery shopping and cooking a meal. Will the top talent of the 19 corps seek immediate success? Do they have time to endure a few years of rebuilding? Edited July 31, 2019 by Gantang 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.