Why we compete, from the mouthes of (older ) babes

Recently I have been pondering this whole "competing" thing with the marching band.  Two things have come into play to bring about my reflection.  The subjectivity and randomness of judging results, coupled with my coming in contact with many band directors at Newsday with fine bands who do not compete have forced me to grapple with this whole concept.  As a staff we struggle with the competition environment.  As I always do, I went on to poll some of our band members.  They were incredible with their statements.  I received these quotes.  "Competing makes us strive to be great." "We learn about real life and subjectivity."  "We form bonds which band members for the rest of our lives." "We become a family and work together to accomplish a goal."  So, as usual, and I say this many times as an adult with 6 of my own children....."The kids are fine, I am not."  I am referring to the fact that the kids are more resilient, more flexible, more adaptable to change, and more forgiving with the judging results than we as adults are.  While we, the staff and parents, are all upset about the judge's results, scratching our heads to figure out what they were looking at, our great band members are eating a hot dog and deciding if they will by the sprinkle cupcakes or the white frosted ones on the food line.  We will compete forever.  We must realize why we compete and although we aim to win, we must realize that the results, no matter what they are, in this environment are more like spinning a roulette wheel at Atlantic City.  If we win, we get excited and feel amazing.  If we lose, we knew it was just a gamble and go to the buffet.

Judging - Too Hot for the Blog

I want to meet with any parents who can stop by the field at 2pm today for about 10 minutes.  We can meet at the small bleachers next to the gate to the field. Don't change your schedule around, but if you can stop by for a quick meeting with me about the judging it would help us greatly.  No big deal, but I want us all to be on the same page before we go into these last three competitions.

The Last Two Weeks of the Season

This is an important e-mail about the last two weeks of the season.  Please read!

As director I always get complaints from parents and band members about the added night during each of the two weeks and the heavier rehearsal schedule.   Not many complaints, but enough to get me to write this blog explaining what is at stake here.  First of all, the schedule has been up since April so none of this should come as a surprise.   People start missing things due to their not being used to the schedule, fatigue, and not seeing the big picture.  Some band members have SAT and other classes scheduled on Thursday nights, fully knowing that we had these two Thursdays scheduled when they signed on with the band.  It is your responsibility to miss those things and be at these rehearsals. Our schedule is minimal and it is requred to be at each and every rehearsal.

Please realize that we rehearse 80 hours and that 11 1/2 hours are in these last two weeks. That is 15% of our rehearsals are ahead of us. Add the fact that these rehearsals are right before the Dome and on show days and the real impact in terms of concentration is pretty much doubled.  So, as a band director and staff we pretty much consider 1/3 of the rehearsals are in the last two weeks (in terms of how much work we can get done and how much better we can get).  These rehearsals combined equal band camp!  

THESE REHEARSALS WILL HAVE A HUGE IMPACT ON OUR SEASON!

OUR REHEARSALS DURING THE LAST TWO WEEKS

Thursday, October 20th - Newsday 6pm to 11pm (one hour rehearsal)

Saturday, October 22nd - Mineola Show 2pm to 11pm (three hour rehearsal)

Wednesday, October 26th - Rehearsal 6:30 to 9pm (2 1/2 hour rehearsal)

Thursday, October 27th - Rehearsal 6:30 to 9pm (2 1/2 hour rehearsal)

Saturday, October 29th- Rehearsal after Phoenix (2 1/2 hour rehearsal)

We need every single person at these rehearsals.  Students who miss any of our very light schedule will obviously be able to remain in the band because we will not hurt everyone by making a hole at this late a date. But realize that missing a rehearsal will eliminate you from the right to even interview for a leadership position. Since every single person expects one of the 25 leadership positions, this should be enough of a deterrent.  Once again, missing one rehearsal is the equivalent of 3 or 4 rehearsals in any of our competitor’s bands which would be an automatic out.

Our competitors practice 200 to 400 hours in a season.  We get it done with a fraction of that due to 100% attendance, focused rehearsals, and proper planning.  We need everyone to get enough sleep, keep up with their school work, and eat right.  We cannot afford to have anyone get sick this week.

Homework

You will be able to do homework in the Newsday stands during the show, and on the bus ride to and from Syracuse.  We have the busses with outlets in front of every seat so you can bring your laptop and plan on 10 hours of homework/study time.  We show no movies and leave that time open for you to use in any way you see fit.

New Confidential Post

There is a new confidential post on roslynbandonly.com  
Ask any of the band members for the username and password.  Your computer probably stored it from the last time you went there.  Will be up for one day.