victorcoly Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 From Hop's 8/7/06 blog: - FUTURE - I have meeetings on the 24th, the 2nd, and a board retreat. I have decided to propose a revamping of YEA! so that we can do what we do ... better Overall the general purposes of YEA! are good, and I agree. for the most part (believe it or not!!) with what Hop is attempting to do. However, given his upcoming "retreat" with the board of YEA, and a proposed "revamping," I dare bring it up once again..... Give Crossmen the same chances as Cadets for competitive success!!!! I now many have replied and posted before that any young person can audition for any corps they so choose under YEA's umbrella, but can anyone explain the distance bewteen Cadets and Crossmen's scoring and placement if Bones is getting an "equal shot" under the tuteledge of YEA?? I mean an TOTALLY equal shot to include the same caliber of creative teams and staff members, talent pool, etc.... For 2006, it looks as though Crossmen may miss possibly finals, yet again.... and below is a review of the past six seasons placements, with what seems to be a downward trend for Bones the past two or three seasons. 2005 -- Cadets 1st; Crossmen 14th 2004 -- Cadets 4th; Crossmen 11th 2003 -- Cadets 2nd; Crossmen 9th 2002 -- Cadets 2nd; Crossmen 9th 2001 -- Cadets 2nd; Crossmen 7th 2000 -- Cadets 1st; Crossmen 9th I, for one, would love to see Bones back in the top 6, or at least knocking on the door of that group! Why have they had a difficult time the past two seasons?? Is it talent level?? Is it lack of a creative design team as close to the caliber of Cadets?? Or could it be that Crossmen are being limited under YEA's umbrella?? I do not create this thread to bash George Hopkins, or YEA, but simply to challenge Hop to truly consider how Crossmen will be treated, and their needs addressed if YEA is truly to be revamped as he said! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 the biggest thing that can help Crossmen is staff continuity. if you keep changing staff every year or so, you get no consistency Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortAndFast Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 I believe the Crossmen's issues are pretty much the same as other corps in their general competitive area: retaining good staff, recruiting new members, consistently designing good shows that don't exceed the abilities of your members, and so forth. The Crossmen maybe haven't done as well as, say, Spirit or Glassmen in navigating these waters, but they've done better than some other corps. To a large extent, these are problems that YEA can only help to a limited extent. They can put more money into, say, staff, but they're constrained by the overall YEA budget. YEA is able to help with some problems that other corps struggle with: administration, fundraising, transportation needs, logistics, etc. On the flip side, from my perspective as a Cadets alum and a donor, YEA definitely does want the Crossmen to have their own identity, their own programs, their own competitive strengths, and so forth. So they're limited in how much they can or should have Cadets staff interfering with design or instructional issues. But if you've got thoughts on what YEA should change, why don't you email them to George? He certainly reads his email! But be specific about what you'd like him to do differently. If you'd like him to spend more money on the Crossmen staff/design team/props/etc, keep in mind that YEA already loses money on the Crossmen each year. If you'd like him to get more talented members into Crossmen, keep in mind that George can't force anyone to march there - if he tells them they must march Crossmen, they can as easily leave the YEA camp and go to Crown or Boston or Bluecoats or Glassmen or ... But I assure you that George Hopkins, a Crossmen alumnus, would love to see them back in finals as much as you would. And I'm sure he'd listen to any reasonable suggestion towards that end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekleve Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 2005 -- Cadets 1st; Crossmen 14th2004 -- Cadets 4th; Crossmen 11th 2003 -- Cadets 2nd; Crossmen 9th 2002 -- Cadets 2nd; Crossmen 9th 2001 -- Cadets 2nd; Crossmen 7th 2000 -- Cadets 1st; Crossmen 9th While your point still stands, I thought I should point out that Cadets came in 3rd place in 2002 and 2003. I really hope Crossmen get over these couple of years and bust back into finals. I loved them so much in 00-02. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victorcoly Posted August 8, 2006 Author Share Posted August 8, 2006 But if you've got thoughts on what YEA should change, why don't you email them to George? He certainly reads his email! But be specific about what you'd like him to do differently. If you'd like him to spend more money on the Crossmen staff/design team/props/etc, keep in mind that YEA already loses money on the Crossmen each year. If you'd like him to get more talented members into Crossmen, keep in mind that George can't force anyone to march there - if he tells them they must march Crossmen, they can as easily leave the YEA camp and go to Crown or Boston or Bluecoats or Glassmen or ...But I assure you that George Hopkins, a Crossmen alumnus, would love to see them back in finals as much as you would. And I'm sure he'd listen to any reasonable suggestion towards that end. I have emailed George, and will continue to do so. As for YEA losing money on Crossmen, I would have to say that during the "revamp," maybe some forethought needs to be put in to how much is allocated to each corps. I have no idea if Cadets' budget is double what Crossmen's is or not, but if one of the big challenges for Crossmen is staff retention, then that may be partially due to not being able to pay them a competitive salary. While people have commented here and there on BAC and Crown's involvement pre and post YEA, I have to wonder if those two corps breaking out from under the YEA umbrella was more positive then detrimental. Yes, George is a Crossmen alum. That, in itself, will hopefully bring a newer focus on a more balanced approach to the two fine drum corps within the YEA ranks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cire Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 im not sure if its true or not, i heard that the "better" people at YEA auditions, are sent to the cadets and the others are sent to crossmen.. anyone know if that happens/happened? just curious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecoats88 Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 im not sure if its true or not, i heard that the "better" people at YEA auditions, are sent to the cadets and the others are sent to crossmen.. anyone know if that happens/happened? just curious my understanding is that kids come to the tryouts and audition for the corps of their choice. I'm sure that if someone auditions for Cadets and doesn't make it they are probably directed to try the crossmen. However, I don't believe that the auditionees perform for both staffs and then the cadets pick the kids they want for the cadets and leave the rest for the crossmen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleu Raeder Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 Some of it is, "do I want to audition for a corps where the odds of winning are higher?". Consistent winners attract more and better talent regardless of the activity. Given the choice and no particular attraction to a corps where would you audition? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victorcoly Posted August 8, 2006 Author Share Posted August 8, 2006 Some of it is, "do I want to audition for a corps where the odds of winning are higher?".Consistent winners attract more and better talent regardless of the activity. Given the choice and no particular attraction to a corps where would you audition? Brief.....to the point....and probably true!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleu Raeder Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 (edited) Another phenomenon is the 'home-town' corps phenomenon, the further from first place that you are the more likely your group is made up more of 'local' folks. Talent level, being dictated by the pool available, is likely to be vastly different than what the championship corps has available to them. I would dare say that folks failing audition on the Cadets side of the hallway do not even venture into the Crossmen side, because they had a goal of making Cadets and when that didn't pan out their desire/pride/ego etc. would not 'allow' them to. "I have just auditioned for, and not made, a consistent world champion. Why would I want to march with a corps that may not make finals (as evidenced within the past few years)?". Edited August 8, 2006 by Bleu Raeder 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.