The Staff Merry-go-round

[saxfreq1128]

5 minutes ago, ContraFart said:

Would the longevity argument still work if Keith Potter and Leon May were still at Crown, or Gino and Colin never left Cadets? To me a HOF designer/instructor is a HOF designer/instructor. It only took JD Shaw and Michael Gaines 2 years to bring a title to SCV and Gaines did not even write the drill his first year. 

Also if you look at BD, besides Chandler, Johnson and Glyde, everyone else in high positions have not been in those positions very long. At the same time, what BD does so well is cultivate their future leaders from inside the organization. Downey got to train his successor and still stick around as an advisor. I am sure whenever Scott Chandler retires, he will do the same. 

Longevity can be a reason for BDs success, but its not the only reason. If adding Shaw and Gaines can win you a title in 2 years and adding all the names at BAC can bring you from 12th to 2nd in 4 seasons, then maybe its more about quality than longevity. 

But then if we follow the quality thread we’d find ourselves arguing that BD’s success means it has a higher quality staff than the other top 4, and I don’t think that’s a reasonable argument. I don’t think BD’s staff is objectively superior. I do think BAC’s current staff is superior to the past staff, but we’re not comparing BAC today to BAC of yore, we’re comparing BAC today to BD today.

BD’s penchant for hiring from within the family is part of the longevity of the organization, IMO. The people you cite who haven’t been in their positions very long are often still people who were trained by Chandler, Johnson etc — that’s longevity. That’s institutional wisdom in a nutshell. 

And yes the longevity argument still works if longtime collaborators happen to move, en masse, to another corps that gives them even more support. IMO. 

[MikeZ]

42 minutes ago, ContraFart said:

Would the longevity argument still work if Keith Potter and Leon May were still at Crown, or Gino and Colin never left Cadets? To me a HOF designer/instructor is a HOF designer/instructor. It only took JD Shaw and Michael Gaines 2 years to bring a title to SCV and Gaines did not even write the drill his first year. 

Also if you look at BD, besides Chandler, Johnson and Glyde, everyone else in high positions have not been in those positions very long. At the same time, what BD does so well is cultivate their future leaders from inside the organization. Downey got to train his successor and still stick around as an advisor. I am sure whenever Scott Chandler retires, he will do the same. 

Longevity can be a reason for BDs success, but its not the only reason. If adding Shaw and Gaines can win you a title in 2 years and adding all the names at BAC can bring you from 12th to 2nd in 4 seasons, then maybe its more about quality than longevity. 

Todd Ryan?

 

Z

[ContraFart]

2 hours ago, saxfreq1128 said:

But then if we follow the quality thread we’d find ourselves arguing that BD’s success means it has a higher quality staff than the other top 4, and I don’t think that’s a reasonable argument. I don’t think BD’s staff is objectively superior. I do think BAC’s current staff is superior to the past staff, but we’re not comparing BAC today to BAC of yore, we’re comparing BAC today to BD today.

BD’s penchant for hiring from within the family is part of the longevity of the organization, IMO. The people you cite who haven’t been in their positions very long are often still people who were trained by Chandler, Johnson etc — that’s longevity. That’s institutional wisdom in a nutshell. 

And yes the longevity argument still works if longtime collaborators happen to move, en masse, to another corps that gives them even more support. IMO. 

I dont agree with the quality argument either. 

I look at it this way. Other corps have sort have caught up to BD in Brass, Drums CG and GE. Where BD has the stranglehold is visual. (which is another conversation). So since other corps are always competing for the Ott, Sanford and Zingali their really cannot be that much of a difference in quality of staff. 

I commend BD for how they pass down their legacy from the inside. I think its sort of cool. I hope that the other top 4 corps start doing that with long time greats like Doug Thrower and Matt Harloff. 

[KVG_DC]

14 minutes ago, ContraFart said:

I dont agree with the quality argument either. 

I look at it this way. Other corps have sort have caught up to BD in Brass, Drums CG and GE. Where BD has the stranglehold is visual. (which is another conversation). So since other corps are always competing for the Ott, Sanford and Zingali their really cannot be that much of a difference in quality of staff. 

I commend BD for how they pass down their legacy from the inside. I think its sort of cool. I hope that the other top 4 corps start doing that with long time greats like Doug Thrower and Matt Harloff. 

Actually BD's succes isn't so much that they have a stranglehold on any one caption.  It's that they're able to gun for multiple captions AND never drop below 2-3 in other captions for the most part.  It's hard to beat that.

[jameseuph]

5 hours ago, MikeZ said:

Todd Ryan?

 

Z

Jay Murphy. Jamie Holly. TJ Doucette

Edited August 15, 2023 by jameseuph

[Jeff Ream]

3 hours ago, KVG_DC said:

Actually BD's succes isn't so much that they have a stranglehold on any one caption.  It's that they're able to gun for multiple captions AND never drop below 2-3 in other captions for the most part.  It's hard to beat that.

and planning. so efficient at rehearsing, while generally rehearsing less than everyone else.

[Chief Guns]

2 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said:

and planning. so efficient at rehearsing, while generally rehearsing less than everyone else.

One of the highlights of every DCI season for me is attending a BD rehearsal. 

I can't put it into words how efficient their rehearsals are. It's next level. 

[copyright]

7 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said:

and planning. so efficient at rehearsing, while generally rehearsing less than everyone else.

Also going on last every night.

[Jurassic Lancer]

1 minute ago, Chief Guns said:

One of the highlights of every DCI season for me is attending a BD rehearsal. 

I can't put it into words how efficient their rehearsals are. It's next level. 

I would also commend Bloo’s rehearsals. They are very disciplined and efficient. 

[Chief Guns]

Just now, Jurassic Lancer said:

I would also commend Bloo’s rehearsals. They are very disciplined and efficient. 

Sadly I haven't had the opportunity to attend a Bloo rehearsal since they haven't came out west. But one day I would absolutely love to go. I think a Bloo rehearsal would be a lot of fun and great time.