Staff Merry-go-round

[scheherazadesghost]

22 minutes ago, njthundrrd said:

I feel the same way about locked knee marching and locked knee jazz runs. Just so much of what is being taught is done for the sake of everybody looking the same and not proper technique. I teach around pulling (stretching) away from the ground and lengthening the legs and torso. My bones ache watching the fundamentals that are being taught.

Eep. There are ways to teach straight leg that are safe, but instructors have to have the eyes to see and the pedagogy to teach it. That's why I appreciate bent leg so much... it's just inherently safer. But don't get me wrong, my eyes sparkle at a good straight leg... just wish it didn't also look like it hurt, as you said. And, with mirror neuron theories being what they are, it may ACTUALLY hurt some people just to watch. 😞

You are spot on with your approach. The key to straight leg is lifting the bones up and away from each other. It's also about helping the students find increased mobility in the joints that aren't locked (ankle and hip.) When you "lock" joints, you HAVE to increase mobility in the joints that can move or you'll hurt yourself.

22 minutes ago, njthundrrd said:

You should be a WGI movement judge. Your grasp of this is far better than a lot of people I judge local circuits with.

I wouldn't even know where to start, I've been out of the activity so long.

[George Dixon]

12 hours ago, craiga said:

Look, I have no insider knowledge of the Cavies, SCV, or Crown.  It just seems to me to be logical and look back on some corps' decisions in 2021 to not put forth a serious show....I just think it is possible that there are some chickens coming home to roost.

I agree. 

[Jeff Ream]

4 hours ago, craiga said:

I heard the same while up in Castleton before the season started.   The BAC design team seems really happy with their relationship with the BOD and the feeling is mutual. 

Boston in 2016 just squeaked into finals. Boston in 2022 was top 2. i'd say things are going just fine

[BlueStainGlass]

8 minutes ago, rmurrey74 said:

DCI has the 6 ft rule that you must have railings, but it's not enforced - Boston is a good example of not following the guidelines.

I would never have known. Scv jungle gyms even crowns cat toy was probably over 6 ft

[scheherazadesghost]

23 minutes ago, Vidal28Rdg said:

Hope you’re doing well, if anything the community here will continue to be more civil and engage more positively,

Thanks amigo. When I'm being dogpiled, I forget about the ignore feature. 🙃 I'm also trying to engage on fewer topics. It's helping. There are also more SCV alum speaking up lately too. That helps a lot!

23 minutes ago, Vidal28Rdg said:

especially when it comes to issues that relate to preventing chronic ailments for marching members. It’s and yeah, if movement looks seamless, it probably is as the body isn’t exerting itself to an unhealthy degree!!

I couldn't have said it better myself.

You can tell overexertion is happening when the jaw and tongue are locked, breath is held, transitions aren't smooth (as you said,) or you see MMs lose their balance/miss a dot. Another way of saying this is that they aren't grounded and are holding excess tension in their bodies. Even sharp/sudden transitions should be "smooth" per se because the MM has been taught how to internalize the transition and mask any outward appearance of smoothness. Think telegraphing. There are ways to shift your weight that don't lead to telegraphing that are definable, codifi-able, and teachable. The same is true with all movement vocabularies.

The biggest things I want corps to learn about movement is the exertion/recuperation cycle. Most corps movement vocabularies are all exertion, no recup. But if you look, SCV is breaking this trend. In 22, there were many times that I saw choreo that let them drop their arms, bodies and heads just before a horn snap. Recup before exert. Perfect. I'm sure there are other examples but, you know, my house is top of mind for me. 😉 I've been out of the industry for a while so forgive me if there are other examples.

The drumline is the real challenge here because of the harnesses. But BAC found an excellent way around this in 22 by letting them take off their equipment and be incorporated into a key visual feature. The first time I saw it, they took my breath away. Nothing fancy, just well-taught movement ideas incorporating the props. I guess SC did this a little by having JONZ change and debut new costumes before the rest of the corps in the ballad, but that's not quite the same as how BAC did it, which was masterful.

I could write a novel, but I'll stop there. Again, sorry for wall of text! xD

[rpbobcat]

3 minutes ago, denverjohn said:

How did I ever survive a childhood that included metal monkey bars, stainless steel slides, and wooden see-saws? Oh right. Common sense and a few band-aids here and there.

You left out Bactine 🙂

Can't say that, in general ,I disagree.

I do expert testimony involving kids who got injured on playground equipment.

In one case we found a flaw in a design, that required the manufacturer to redesign a particular

piece of equipment.

In every case I've been involved with, the equipment was designed and fabricated by a well known manufacturer, and installed by a certified installer with a third party certification.

But, if there's a lawsuit, the lawyers go into everything including, how often the equipment was inspected.

Was there preventive maintenance ?

Were any repairs ever made ?

If so, what ?

Does equipment stay out year round ?

Today's playground equipment has more "safety stickers" then you can imagine.

If corps aren't following all applicable "rules" ie Code and not documenting things like "damage", they're

playing Russian  Roulette with their future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jeff Ream]

13 hours ago, craiga said:

Look, I have no insider knowledge of the Cavies, SCV, or Crown.  It just seems to me to be logical and look back on some corps' decisions in 2021 to not put forth a serious show....I just think it is possible that there are some chickens coming home to roost.

Cavies had a show last year. Crown kinda did....top 4. SCV didn't, 5th. So what chickens are coming home to roost?

[lawdn]

2 hours ago, 84BDsop said:

Dude...this is the first competitive year since going co-ed.....give it a few years before asking that.

I noticed on another thread they had few age-outs this year. Hopefully they have good retention and can build on that with a strong show design.

[LabMaster]

11 hours ago, Den8uml said:

I believe they were already renewed for multiple years after their original 5 year ended.  May have had unconfirmed info tho 

They were renewed last year, ahead of their 5 year expiration.

[rpbobcat]

4 minutes ago, LabMaster said:

They were renewed last year, ahead of their 5 year expiration.

Does anyone know if staff contracts have anything similar to

college coaches, where there are "buy out" clauses ?