So Interest is Up for Jr Corps

[JimF-LowBari]

Man - where to start....

Chuck - Yeah, I kind of remember this being discussed at least a few times on DCP and RAMD. Problem is I forget the details of what came out. Think I'm like the daughter on "Married With Children" for each new piece of info I learn, I forget an old one. :P

DanielRay - Thank you for the first hand account. My first years were with a Sr corps that was rebuilding from the ground up which was about the only way I could break into corps. If my only option was to try up with someone like Buccs I wouldn't have bothered.

MikeD/Guard Guy Mike - Possibly closer ties between a Div I corps and a Div II/III corps if the feeder system is too expensive? Not a take over or the Div I telling the Div II/III what to do. But at least the staffs communicating to make transitions between the corps easier.

[gls]

I agree with Daniel Ray wholeheartedly. So much can change for any person if the right information is available at the right time. Actually, People like us can help if we want to.

I also think that some of the responsibility lies with the Div II/III corps. They have to get just a little aggressive. Apparently, the interest is out there. As I mentioned in the New Guy Thread, it seems to me that the challenge is getting kids to want to emulate the 70's BD or PR in building a beast, rather than jumping on an established bandwagon. I'm just now getting up to date on the Star, but from what I can tell so far they are definitely a role model. But you see my point.

For those who care, and have the time and means, i think that what i described above would be a righteous contribution. At the least, it might keep a another Daniel Ray from missing a season for no good reason. Wish I could have talked to him back then.

just my $0.02.

[danielray]

For those who care, and have the time and means, i think that what i described above would be a righteous contribution.  At the least, it might keep a another Daniel Ray from missing a season for no good reason.  Wish I could have talked to him back then. 

Because of that experience, when I decided to go back and audition for a corps, it wasn't SCV, but actually BD... then ended up as DM there for a couple of years.

But... if I would have started out and spend those years at another corps, maybe I would not have been intersted in going to BD, but staying and building up the other group, or, at the very least, had more experience and perspective that I would have come to BD with. Either way, it is a no lose situation for myself or either corps.

[Jeffreelancer]

It's easy for those of us who have been around for a while to ask why those being cut don't go to a different corps (div I, II or III) since we know they are there. Someone being cut their first time out may not know much about drum corps. All they know is they saw X corps and that is who they want to march with.

I started the season with the 84 Freelancers and left for my own reasons (big mistake), but if I had been cut I would not have had any idea about other corps in the area other then SCV and BD. Granted today we have the internet and it is easier to find out about other corps, but if someone is new to drum corps they may not know where to start.

With how busy teens are today many would get cut and just give up until the next season since they have probably had a very limited exposure to the activity.

[boilerman_05]

I think the feeder option (Cadets B, Cavaliers B, Phantom B) is something that would benefit the marcher, the corps and the viewing public in the long term.

Later,

      Mike

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The Cadets Cadets :P

[JimF-LowBari]

The Cadets Cadets  :P

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I research old corps and you won't believe how many feeder corps in the early days added "Juniors" to the end of their name.

So you had the "St Whoever Golden Widgets" and "St Whoever Golden Widgets Juniors". So if you saw "St Whoever GWs was a Junior corps" you don't know which corps is being referred to.

[kansasDC]

Hello! Is anyone listening to what DanielRay said?

Excellent point and another one I wonder about...

When they find out how expensive it costs too march and that they have to take out a loan etc...will they go try out for a division 2/3 corps? I was encouraging someone to go march division 2/3 corps first ..but dang over $1300? What gives?

For a division 2/3 corps? Is this the cost of having amps or what...don't just tell me its about the fuel...

If DCI corps, all of them, don't watch it, their prices will make some kids come running to DCA cause of the fact that it's not as expensive...and they will be able to get some training from DCA to go on to division 1 instead of going to division 2/3 first. Hmm...something to think about uh?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Stephanie;

I can tell you that those $1300 tour fees are actually reasonable. My kids went to Space Camp two summers ago. It was for five days each. The total: $1340. The Div. II/III corps that are charging $1300 are the ones that start with Spring Training June 1 and start competing two weeks later. The tour fees don't even cover the cost of charter busses for the summer. Add to that food, staff, insurance, equipment, etc., etc. Drum Corps is still a bargain.

FYI: I know of a Div. III corps that toured for three weeks. Cost of charters was $44,000. Divide that by 70 members. OUCH!

Edited September 16, 2005 by kansasDC

[Jeff Ream]

1989, I auditioned for SCV. I turned 16 on the weekend of the camp. I got cut.

After getting cut, there was really no sort of, what you might call 'post-cut guidance counseling'. I was just told...

"Well... it seems that we had a lot of people turn out and only a few spots to fill, so it was pretty tough. Keep it up, keep working hard and maybe come back next year."

That's it.

Being a 15/16 year old kid, you don't really put it in perspective. You think that you pretty much suck, and there aren't a lot of options. How was I supposed to know while I really was pretty green, pretty weak, that the corps was a monster that year, and if my some miracle, I did make the line, I might've been in a bit over my head for my first experience.

Had I been given some sort of 'post-cut guidance counseling', I probably would have marched that year somewhere, and been marching again the next and the next. But, it actually took a couple of seasons for me to go at it again, because I looked at the age of most of the guys in the line there and they were 18-21, so, I thought that I pretty much needed to wait.

Bummer.

The best form of guidance would have been sitting down with someone who had been cut from the line their first time around, but went to another corps, had a great experience, learned a lot, then came back and made the line at some point later.

There should also be a packet of information on other corps (now it can be online) that I could go to and camp details and contact info for them and a sort of quite sit-down with one of the staff to give some specific direction and some idea about what I needed to work on to improve.

If one of the instructors would have told me something like...

'I know Freelancers, Velvet Knights, Troopers, Blue Knights, Marauders all still have spots. My friend teaches the line at XXXX and I'm sure would love to have you, I'll send him your name. He is a great teacher and I think you would get some great experience there and would definitely learn a lot... and if you decided you want to come to audition again next season, I'd be great."

I would have been marching one of those places, guaranteed, and I probably would have stayed.

I already had interest, I had motivation, I had support from my family, I had worked out the schedule, and I had the cash to pay for it. Those were all the things that prevent kids for marching, and I, like all kids trying out that get cut had those things under control. No one ended up educating me on my other options, so I simply sidelined it. There is absolutely no reason that any kid that gets cut from any corps should not be performing somewhere. They have already worked through the initial hurdle, they just need great direction.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

D2/3 needs to step up to the plate and promote themselves so they can be seen, and not be an afterthought. Sure DCI should help, but it's up to the D2/3 directors to make a stand for themselves.

[Quadzkid]

I know at Blue Stars Chad Armbruster or someone else in the 'front office' was actually at Phantom Regiment's camp and telling kids to make the trip over to Blue Stars if they had gotten cut from Phantom. At least thats what one kid at tryouts said brought him to Blue Stars.

This seems like a great way to get kids your way. They see you, they see how enthused you are, and they right then and there know there are other options.

[JazzRunJohn]

I know that when I was cut from a top D1 corps, they recommended me to lower tier D1 corps and DII corps....and I ended up marching in some of the best hornlines ever put on the field as a result....no worries, if you ask me.