Tim K Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 38 minutes ago, Mello Dude said: Making money off someone's "hope" (who literally will not make the cut) has to be as low as you can go. Just my take on the whole scam. If you think drum corps auditions are a scam, stay away from the whole college application process. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Dixon Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 2 hours ago, LeftCoastCupcake said: This thread has me fascinated. My kid has received three call backs from WC groups - with NO feedback at all from two (literally got told "see you next month" and "come to the call back camp") and a short list of small adjustments to make from the third group... It makes one wonder what the real motivations are. Feels like some kids are either being left on the hook to dangle (you're an A-/B+ and we like you, but we're gonna wait to see if an A+ gets kicked from another corps and falls in our laps...), a test to see if he returns or a $200 cash grab. Yes, it takes money to run camps, but if you have NO feedback for improvement to issue to a potential member, why are you wasting time with a callback? Either they're good enough to make your line and you want them or they aren't and you don't. Life isn't always fair, but leaving kids in limbo and possibly removing them from considering another potential opportunity isn't cool, either. There has to be a better way. Most corps I've been around during the winter give members either coaching type feedback or a flat out rating - Cadets for example have used a rating system of 1, 2, 3 etc and define what each tier means ALL corps I've been around give the kids a ton of feedback over the weekend - "nice job" or lots of "do this, not this" type "coaching" as far as "leaving kids in limbo" one of the items the corps assessing is the potential members seriousness - and this is huge. If you just pick the top 80 horns from the first camp you will end up with around 50 in June. If you see them in 2-3 or 4 camps / auditions the odds get much better. You hear "yes I'm absolutely wanting to march" from everyone in November and in March-April you hear a lot of "reasons" why they won't be able to march or they flat out just vanish 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Dixon Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 1 hour ago, Mello Dude said: Making money off someone's "hope" (who literally will not make the cut) has to be as low as you can go. Just my take on the whole scam. IF that's how you look at it Maybe it should be viewed as an "experience camp" for some - go there, have fun, learn some new skills, get feedback from some great techs/instructors In the end $50-250 - it's money well spent IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 1 minute ago, George Dixon said: Most corps I've been around during the winter give members either coaching type feedback or a flat out rating - Cadets for example have used a rating system of 1, 2, 3 etc and define what each tier means ALL corps I've been around give the kids a ton of feedback over the weekend - "nice job" or lots of "do this, not this" type "coaching" as far as "leaving kids in limbo" one of the items the corps assessing is the potential members seriousness - and this is huge. If you just pick the top 80 horns from the first camp you will end up with around 50 in June. If you see them in 2-3 or 4 camps / auditions the odds get much better. You hear "yes I'm absolutely wanting to march" from everyone in November and in March-April you hear a lot of "reasons" why they won't be able to march or they flat out just vanish Well said, and I totally agree on this assessment thing. Even on the DCA side of life, with which I'm more familiar... I've lost count of the number of times I've heard "we had 60 horns at the first camp" and then that corps fields 35. LOL. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Dixon Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 4 minutes ago, Fran Haring said: Well said, and I totally agree on this assessment thing. Even on the DCA side of life, with which I'm more familiar... I've lost count of the number of times I've heard "we had 60 horns at the first camp" and then that corps fields 35. LOL. and (from someone with 40 years around the activity, less than many) it's gotten WORSE. These days corps get bigger numbers early on (I guess social media?) but the burn thru rate is really bad. And then corps will explain to the members literally exactly what a spring training day & week is like - and after day two you have people quitting saying "I didn't think it was going to be this hard" type comments when they literally told you EXACTLY what the schedule would look and be like. It happens non-stop. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 16 minutes ago, George Dixon said: and (from someone with 40 years around the activity, less than many) it's gotten WORSE. These days corps get bigger numbers early on (I guess social media?) but the burn thru rate is really bad. And then corps will explain to the members literally exactly what a spring training day & week is like - and after day two you have people quitting saying "I didn't think it was going to be this hard" type comments when they literally told you EXACTLY what the schedule would look and be like. It happens non-stop. That definitely happens on the DCA side, too. No move-in camps obviously... but I know of one corps who posted its entire schedule, through the summer, sometime in early winter... but come springtime, several members left, saying they weren't aware their commitment would mean "all summer." LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terri Schehr Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 26 minutes ago, Fran Haring said: Well said, and I totally agree on this assessment thing. Even on the DCA side of life, with which I'm more familiar... I've lost count of the number of times I've heard "we had 60 horns at the first camp" and then that corps fields 35. LOL. “We have 60 horns on the roster”. If I had a dollar for every time I heard that... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 46 minutes ago, Terri Schehr said: “We have 60 horns on the roster”. If I had a dollar for every time I heard that... Sometimes I wonder if "the roster" means "everyone within a 50-mile radius who has ever seen a brass instrument." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terri Schehr Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 Just now, Fran Haring said: Sometimes I wonder if "the roster" means "everyone within a 50-mile radius who has ever seen a brass instrument." Lmao Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 it's a way for corps to make a lot of extra money and get the best talent. quite the racket, but people are willing to pay for it, so i'm not sure what anybody wants done. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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