Tony Flores Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 I decided to do an all day drumcorps day today and went to Div II/III Finals and what I saw simply blew me away. The Academy is a corps on the rise folks, they have a hornline that could highly compete with any of the 8 - 12 place corps in Div I. They only lack in the visual and Percussion aspect. But man can them horns play...if you want a taste of that hornline, just buy the APD and you will see what I am talking about. I am not a musician anymore nor am I in the music ed field, but I know a good brass section when I hear one. I think Academy should dominate Div II for 2 more seasons then if the finances and the org is just right...make the jump to div I. Way to go Academy...I am looking forward to your '07 production, what ever it is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebu Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 I decided to do an all day drumcorps day today and went to Div II/III Finals and what I saw simply blew me away.The Academy is a corps on the rise folks, they have a hornline that could highly compete with any of the 8 - 12 place corps in Div I. They only lack in the visual and Percussion aspect. But man can them horns play...if you want a taste of that hornline, just buy the APD and you will see what I am talking about. I am not a musician anymore nor am I in the music ed field, but I know a good brass section when I hear one. I think Academy should dominate Div II for 2 more seasons then if the finances and the org is just right...make the jump to div I. Way to go Academy...I am looking forward to your '07 production, what ever it is What he said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgoth Bauglir Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 (edited) I have to disagree. Just because a corps shows some new success does not place them in any position to compete with everyone. Give them another 10 years to retain this success and maybe they will be ready. But to say a div II/II corps has any chance of competing with anyone in the Top 12 on any sustained basis is pretty out there. Look at Magic. They got the highest score ever in Div II/III and even made Div I finals that same year. Now look where they are. Look at Pacific Crest. Or even KK. They used to be Div II/III as well. Success in once division is not comparable at all to success in another. Competing in Div I is just not the same thing. Let Academy enjoy the success where they are without placing enormous expectations on their shoulders. Edited August 13, 2006 by Morgoth Bauglir Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcat Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 From .org: "As to whether the corps will attempt to step up to Division I activity anytime soon, Richardson says that’s “up to the gods. We submit the application every year to get feedback on what we’ve done right so we can keep doing it, and improve in other areas,” he said. “If we’re going to take that step we want to do it in a way that we can be good citizens to the activity and bring something positive to Division I.” Sounds like they're petitioning to me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newseditor44 Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 From .org:"As to whether the corps will attempt to step up to Division I activity anytime soon, Richardson says that’s “up to the gods. We submit the application every year to get feedback on what we’ve done right so we can keep doing it, and improve in other areas,” he said. “If we’re going to take that step we want to do it in a way that we can be good citizens to the activity and bring something positive to Division I.” Sounds like they're petitioning to me... Good for them.. they are a class organization with some very bright people at the helm. They will do what is best for their kids and drum corps in general. What ever they decide it will be the right decision. Congrats to Academy on a great show and a great season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanderer Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 I decided to do an all day drumcorps day today and went to Div II/III Finals and what I saw simply blew me away.The Academy is a corps on the rise folks, they have a hornline that could highly compete with any of the 8 - 12 place corps in Div I. They only lack in the visual and Percussion aspect. But man can them horns play...if you want a taste of that hornline, just buy the APD and you will see what I am talking about. I am not a musician anymore nor am I in the music ed field, but I know a good brass section when I hear one. I think Academy should dominate Div II for 2 more seasons then if the finances and the org is just right...make the jump to div I. Way to go Academy...I am looking forward to your '07 production, what ever it is Great job, but Div I is filled with recent Div II corps that "could highly compete with any of the 8 - 12 place corps in Div I". The recent additions of Blue Stars (14th), Capital Regiment (16th), Mandarins (17th), Seattle Cascades (19th) and Esperanza (22nd) have made the non-finalist much stronger and more entertaining, but none have performed finals night. Capital Regiment felt they'd taste finals by now but they hit a wall with a 16th place finish. Many said Blue Stars were a lock for finals, but they'll be doing well to repeat at 14th next year. It seems to get harder for these corps, not easier. I'm sure all the rest were thinking finals as well. The fact is that the top 12 (even the top 17) corps are better than you think. Southwind couldn't make semi's and their brass line was much better than The Academy's. Of course, this never stops the latest Div II champion from feeling they're finals material. Nothing against the Academy, but my skepticism is based on historical reality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newseditor44 Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 Great job, but Div I is filled with recent Div II corps that "could highly compete with any of the 8 - 12 place corps in Div I". The recent additions of Blue Stars (14th), Capital Regiment (16th), Mandarins (17th), Seattle Cascades (19th) and Esperanza (22nd) have made the non-finalist much stronger and more entertaining, but none have performed finals night. Capital Regiment felt they'd taste finals by now but they hit a wall with a 16th place finish. Many said Blue Stars were a lock for finals, but they'll be doing well to repeat at 14th next year. It seems to get harder for these corps, not easier. I'm sure all the rest were thinking finals as well. The fact is that the top 12 (even the top 17) corps are better than you think. Southwind couldn't make semi's and their brass line was much better than The Academy's. Of course, this never stops the latest Div II champion from feeling they're finals material.Nothing against the Academy, but my skepticism is based on historical reality. Great points and I share your sentiment. One correction, Cascades made finals in 2002, and I believe Blue Stars were finalists in the early DCI years, which doesn't really count in the context of your post but worth mentioning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeBob Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 Personally, I hope Academy stays Div II for a good long while and, in so doing, encourages others to give Div II/III the attention they deserve. Nobody ever says "I decided to do an all drum corps day and attend Div I Finals." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandmaster Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 Great job, but Div I is filled with recent Div II corps that "could highly compete with any of the 8 - 12 place corps in Div I". The recent additions of Blue Stars (14th), Capital Regiment (16th), Mandarins (17th), Seattle Cascades (19th) and Esperanza (22nd) have made the non-finalist much stronger and more entertaining, but none have performed finals night. Capital Regiment felt they'd taste finals by now but they hit a wall with a 16th place finish. Many said Blue Stars were a lock for finals, but they'll be doing well to repeat at 14th next year. It seems to get harder for these corps, not easier. I'm sure all the rest were thinking finals as well. The fact is that the top 12 (even the top 17) corps are better than you think. Southwind couldn't make semi's and their brass line was much better than The Academy's. Of course, this never stops the latest Div II champion from feeling they're finals material.Nothing against the Academy, but my skepticism is based on historical reality. It seems to me that you are trying to make the case that Division I should be limited to 17 corps and the rest should just stay in Division II. I keep hearing from old time corps folks how sad it is that there aren't as many corps in Division I as there used to be, so what is it be? If there are 17 corps Division I, somebody has the come in 17th place and if there are 30 Division I corps somebody will have to place 30th. That's just the way it is. It wasn't that long ago (in the total history of DCI) that you could have said "none have performed finals night" about Boston Crusaders or Carolina Crown or Glassmen. It takes time to build a corps to top 12 level, but if you don't try you definately won't make it. I still remember one time when a first year corps made the top 12. Maybe we have just created an "attitude" of making the top 12 is the only thing that matters? If that's the case we ALL lose... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillygwm Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 I decided to do an all day drumcorps day today and went to Div II/III Finals and what I saw simply blew me away.The Academy is a corps on the rise folks, they have a hornline that could highly compete with any of the 8 - 12 place corps in Div I. They only lack in the visual and Percussion aspect. But man can them horns play...if you want a taste of that hornline, just buy the APD and you will see what I am talking about. I am not a musician anymore nor am I in the music ed field, but I know a good brass section when I hear one. I think Academy should dominate Div II for 2 more seasons then if the finances and the org is just right...make the jump to div I. Way to go Academy...I am looking forward to your '07 production, what ever it is I didn't have the pleasure of seeing them this year, but caught a clip on the cybercast. I was very impressed with their music book. Unfortunately, as you mention, successfully competing in DI is as much about finances as anything else. With fuel prices, the financial end will be even more important. I would hate to see another promising corps get squeezed out because they felt they needed to spend beyond their means to keep up. It's just a shame that the top finishers from D II/III aren't allowed to compete in Quarterfinals anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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