It’s Friday night at 8pm, the list is up. Oh no! I didn’t get a position! What Do I Do Now!!

Here is my list of some suggestions!

1. Cool down. Don’t react. Don’t threaten to quit. Don’t quit band. Don’t send an e-mail, and don’t create unnecessary drama. Relax, you need time to realize this new reality and to take it in. DON’T DO ANYTHING FOR 30 MINUTES. Then, do something fun. Have a snack, or like I do, eat a pizza. Go to the diner or a movie with your friends and don’t talk band!
   
2. This is not the end of life as we know it. Getting a position is great but just not that big of a deal where you should be upset for days or weeks over it. If it is that important to you, then you need to reflect on what life is all about. Keep it all in perspective. See the big picture.
   
3. We are always applying for things our whole life. Sometimes we get what we want, sometimes we don’t. Remember what Bill Gates said as one of the secrets of his success, rule number one that “Life is Unfair.” Remember what Dr. Martin Luther King said “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Be strong and resilient. Bounce back.
   
4. Band directors and assistant directors, teachers etc. are human beings that to do their best to make decisions that are fair. Deciding on leadership positions is a tough task, taking into account many criteria. We strive to make the best decision for the band. Every time we choose a student leader we are taking a chance on that person. Sometimes it works out great, other times it does not.
   
5. You are defined by what kind of person you are. Be strong, have character, work hard. You are not defined by the position you are given. You are defined by your acts every day. Continue to be a great person in the band. Realize that the process is human and flawed. Show us that we should have picked you. There are disappointments in life and how one deals with them says far more about a person's character than dealing with the good times.
   
6. If you are a sophomore or freshman, be great! We are watching you, how you react, what you do after the results are out and what you achieve in terms of leadership, ethics, hard work, and compassion. Don’t do anything which will reflect poorly on you or the band, or that will hinder your chances of getting a position in the future. You still have one or two years to define your future in the band.
   
7. If you need to talk to me, do it on Monday, after you’ve had some time to think. I will let you know what you need to work on. Be ready though, you may not like what you hear. Sometimes we feel you just weren’t the right fit for a leadership position and that’s all I will be able to say. Realize that is the opinion of Ms. Miller and myself, that’s it. Don’t let us define you. We made the call and that’s all it is, a decision, not a life changing event.
   
8. As this dynasty grows and these positions become more prestigious, they will be harder to get. The pool of great leaders here at Roslyn is astounding. Many great leaders will not get positions in future years due to the sheer competition. When so many people want a position we are literally splitting hairs as to who makes the cut. Staying late and coming early to help, practicing more, going that extra yard will give you the edge. Being a great human being will give you the edge. Continue to be the best person you can be and your rewards in life will be great!

Why Did We Pick That Person?!

Many bands have wrestled with the student leader issue. No matter how hard the directors try, some people are always upset that they didn't get picked. These students then have to stay excited and remain positive participants in the band, while working under people that were awarded positions that they themselves applied for. This is difficult in keeping a band's morale high. Yes, student leadership positions are necessary. There are a myriad of tasks which must be completed in order for a competitive marching band to succeed, and the staff cannot do it alone. However, that balance of choosing the right people along with letting the members who don't get positions feel important is quite a task. Yes, everyone is important- especially in a marching band. Every person has a position, nobody is on the bench, and every single member is just as important as the drum major. When even one person is missing, we feel it immensely. Fortunately, our band members have always been winners. People who didn't receive positions helped more than ever after they weren't chosen, which is proven by the incredible rise of this program over the past 7 years.

When the list goes up we always get this, "What, how could they pick him!!!" "How could they pick her!!!" That person did this, and that, and that, and doesn't deserve it. How can we go on in this band with him/her in that position?!

Well here we are with perceptions. Perceptions are a part of life and each person has one. Inevitably, each person does not have ALL of the information. In addition, the information each person has may or may not be true. The information that Ms. Miller and I have may be different from your information. We may have information which you are not privy to which brings us to our decisions about who the leaders should be. We may or may not be able to share that information with you.

Some people are just not going to agree with the positions, no matter what. They have their perception and they have the right to have their own opinion.

What we do request is that you trust that we made the right choices and that you support the incoming slate of student leaders. For instance, millions of people voted for McCain in the election. He lost, and now everyone should rally around our new president, because it is the best thing for the whole. The truly great people can move on, and wish for the success of all the new leaders, and do everything to make sure we have the best year ever, winning the class next year.

Drum Line Recruitment Video

This is the drumline recruitment video.  Drum and Pit auditions will take place in January!

87 Drum Majors? When to Post.......The Big Question.

Some people, after the announcements last year, stated that we had 87 drum majors. I don't know why this number was chosen. Sure, 87 is a nice sounding number but 82 more than we actually had! So the drum majors and myself have joked about that 87 number on more than one occasion over the past year. Yes, last year we had 5 drum majors. Although I am a pioneer in the band director field and realized that this new trend, having more drum majors, would lead to other bands doing the same, I faced much criticism about having 5 drum majors. Like anything else, it is a new thing, and many people became upset about any change at all. In retrospect, I thought it worked out great, each drum major, in their own style and way, led the band. Not many, but some band members have told me that 5 of them made it confusing. Looking at our rehearsals objectively I did not agree at all. The 5 drum majors were utilized in different sections of the band, warming up, rehearsing, and assisting the staff throughout the season.

This year we are going with 4 drum majors. Why? Because I feel that would be a great number for the coming year. We don't make decisions lightly when running this band. Things are thought out in detail, weighing many options, ideas, as we put everything into place. Ms. Miller and I talk for hours about the changes and tweaking of the program year to year. The staff, along with the two of us meet weekly and go through all options, then Ms. Miller and I make the call. Sometimes we just don't have the time to bring everyone "up to speed" on the multitude of details that make up a decision.

Sometimes a band member, not agreeing with some of the decisions we made, comes up to me and gives me his or her opinion in a strong fashion, letting me know I am "way off base". Sometimes I explain it. Sometimes I don't have the time to explain, or it is not professional for me to go into those details for various reasons. In either case, trust me, the reasoning that brought us to decisions running the program would probably convince you that we are "spot on" or at least "in the same ballpark" as you.

When to post. Ok, there are many ways to do this. Some people in the old days put the list up, then ran to the car. Some hang it up in the morning, and the drama throughout the building shuts down the people who didn't get anything while they are in school. Hanging up a list during the day would have everyone texting each other, illegally during school hours, with most people finding out their positions via cell phone. Last year I posted it online, midweek, and many people were coming to me the very next day, very upset about not getting a position. It took up a lot of time and didn't accomplish much for anyone. The drama can upset the program, and that is exactly what happened.

I will post an entry on Thursday night about how to come to terms with the let down of not getting a position if that happens, and my advice on how to deal with not getting a position you applied for. I have an idea that I think this will work well. I will put the positions online so everyone will get the same information at the same time. Let’s then have a moratorium on calling each other on the phone for 30 minutes. Nobody answer a cell phone for 30 minutes, or call anyone for 30 minutes, just a short break time to contemplate results so that the emotion can calm down a bit. I know, of course that I cannot monitor this but a short 30 minutes will help so much. The emotions, positive or negative, about a leadership position, subside minute by minute as you realize the situation. Let's try that.

Check out the video above regarding the drum line auditions. Mark Carman made this incredible video, it is great!

See you here tomorrow on the blog for the next article "Why did we pick that person?!"

The Positions

There were many comments made all year as to why we had so many leadership positions in the Marching Band.  So many comments that we had to rethink the number of student leadership positions.  For one thing, this is an army and students need to help so that we can get everything accomplished.  Another important part of the marching band is the leadership training that comes from being in the band, whether you are a leader or not.  There are very few venues available to a high school student where they get first hand experience in the actual building of a program, whether it be corporate, a team, or a social group.  The marching band is a great group to teach these lessons of life.  A self proclaimed specialist at motivation, team building, character building, and goal setting, I am totally immersing every member of the band into these important facets of life.  I affectionately call it CD - or Character Development.  One perfect example is the building of this band and getting the judges to see and reward us for what we have accomplished.  As you know from reading this blog regularly, this is no easy task.  We were somewhat able to move the numbers, but clearly not as much as we expected.  There comes the growth lesson.  Be resilient, bounce back, come back harder and stronger and persevere.  

So here we are, we had 36 leaders last year,  30% of the band.  This year we are honing it down to 24, which is still a huge 20% of the band.  As a staff, we feel that 24 is a great number to work with..

We are adding two new positions, I originally called it Lieutenants although the name didn't quite fit.  We switched it to Chief of Captains.  I got the idea from the title "Chief of Staff" for the President.  I think it is fitting to what it will be, the captains in charge of the captains.  They will be the leaders of the program in music and marching as long as we stick to the "no talking" rule on the field when Mr. Bennett and Mr. Downey are teaching drill.  

The decisions have been made, Ms. Miller and I did the interviews and are just waiting until the end of the week to post the final list.  We want to be totally comfortable with our decisions.  It will be posted on the roslynband.com website on Friday night, November 21st at 8pm.  The interviews and essays went extremely well, we have some amazing people here at Roslyn, which makes the decisions that much harder.

I will be posting a blog daily this week in preparation for the posting of the leadership positions, to let you know how we came to the decision on 4 drum majors, announcement of next year's show, and the posting of the audio so you can start getting psyched for next year.  

I will also be posting some quotes for those of you who get positions, and those who don't. Quotes from the great leaders in our world help me to deal with those speed bumps in life. 

4th Place in the State Finals!

It was an absolutely incredible championship this morning.  The band performed the best ever, reaching their highest score of 81.25.  In this, our second year in prestigious Small School 2, we came in 4th place.  It was just a few years ago that we were in the bottom of Small School 3, and now look where we are!  The judges placed us solidly in 3rd place in music and 4th place visual, across the board.  Face it, 2e are propelling through these classes as we get better and better each year.  The performance was nearly flawless, with no tempo problems, which is a problem which will plague many a band today, dealing with the echo off the dome roof.  We mastered the dome! Our guard, drumline, winds, and pit were unbelievable!  Let's all savor our 4th place in New York! Today we will be going to the Carousel Mall at 2:30 after a short stop at the hotel, then on to Spaghetti Warehouse at 5:30 and back to the National Class to view our future competitors at 6:30pm.  Thanks to everyone for all your support!  Amazing season!  The best band ever! Roslyn Bulldogs!

Today's Schedule Revisions

Well we got the breakfast to be later since we cannot warm up at Phoenix until 12:30.  So here are the schedule adjustments for today.  We are waking up at 9, eating in two shifts at 9:30 and 10:15, and then leaving for Phoenix HS at 11:30.  We will be reporting directly to Phoenix HS where we will be warming up in the Auditorium.

Smooth Sailing and Off to Syracuse!

After two amazing and unbelievable rehearsals we are off to Syracuse.  We reached the "Old Country Buffet" at 6pm and left there enroute to Syracuse at about 7:15 pm.  We hit very little traffic, everybody is in great spirits, and we are rocking! I am on the bus writing this and morale is extremely high, we are on a mission!  Tomorrow will be an indoor show, they decided around 5pm.   Remember, the show will be at Phoenix HS which is also called Birdlebough HS.  We should get to the hotel around 9pm, check in, have some free time at the pool and then to bed for the big weekend.  I will be updating this blog daily and will let you know how we are doing.

Goal Accomplished! On to the Dome!

Wow, what a night. You totally "Performed!" The show was incredible. It was magical, musical, with great marching, great tempos, amazing guard and an all around top notch performance. The members of the staff and I were so excited about breaking the 80, a first for our program, a major accomplishment, putting us in great shape going into the final week. Finally, the judges recognized what we are doing out here! Yes, it is a great feeling. However, when I approached the band at the High School I was flabergasted! Band members were dissappointed about not achieving an 83. What was that about. All week long I was talking about breaking the 80 barrier, a very aggressive goal, and somewhat risky for me to say this all week. Somehow, in some way, the band was shooting even higher. I was going to get to the bottom of this. After summoning the drum majors to my office I found out what happened. It seems that Mr. Downey, without any approval from me, renegaded and promised, yes, promised the band ice cream if they achieved an 83. He raised the bar using a technique which has been mastered through the ages.....bribery with food. Yes, the overall goal immediately became the ice cream. Forget about the championship, that inevitable first place trophy, or breaking an 80 for the first time. The entire band, motivated themselves through visions of lining up at Carvel, choosing what topping would be on their cone, while Mr. Downey proudly opened up his wallet, secretly wishing that the band got an 82.9, winning the dome just falling short of the ice cream breakpoint.

For those of you who think I am serious, I clearly am not. I am kidding around. Yes, we are all somewhat giddy this morning, realizing the goal of 80 has made our year a total success regardless of what happens from here on with the subjective judging.

As always, the dome is entirely up for grabs. You never know what will happen until all the bands in the class are in the same room, on the same day, with the same judges. Like a diamond in the proverbial diamond mine, the band who works the hardest and smartest the last week of the season will get that diamond. The band who stays healthy, focused, and keeps their heads in the game will be the most successful. In the famous TV show the apprentice, Donald Trump calls the final stretch "Crunch Time." This is the time that really tells what you are made of. This is the time when you dig down deep and pull out everything you have to get the most out of yourself and do your "personal best."

The hits, the ten of them, how did we do? Well 1 through 6 were too soft, 7 was better, 9 was a little better, and 8 and 10 blew the roof off! We need all 10 hits to break windows, not just two of them. We will work on that this week. Our sheer power is one of our strengths, we need to be consistent.

So you ask, Mr. Patterson, what can I do this last week to help the band do its best at the dome next week? Well, I have the answer for you and have listed them below. If every single band member does the following 6 things, we will have an incredible ending to our season.

1. Get plenty of sleep, 8 hours a night, eat well, stay warm when outside, and don't get sick.
2. Watch the youtube site over an over again, watch our last show for things to fix. Make notes, list comments, and be picky, very picky, we are aiming for the top!
3. Come to the final two rehearsals ready to work, with warm clothing, on time at 6:30, without any other distractions on your mind. We need to squeeze as much into these final two rehearsals at home to make our show perfect.
4. Send me an e-mail if you want to receive the rehearsal schedule on rehearsal days. The staff spends hours planning out what to work on and change. You can know ahead of going to the rehearsal so you can mentally prepare.
5. Practice anything you need to work on, the fast runs you don't quite have down, being in tune, making yourself louder, etc.
6. Make a great tee shirt to help the band get psyched on Friday.

Last Night's Rehearsal

Last night was the best rehearsal ever!  You worked harder than I've ever seen. We went in with a laundry list of things to fix and tweak and we went through it with precision and teamwork!  Although I drove home in my car last night, it felt like I was flying.  You all rule!

I received an e-mail around noon today that Mineola has just decided to not compete at their show.  Traditionally bands have usually not competed at their shows but sometimes they do, especially if they feel that they need to get a number before the dome.  Making a decision to "not compete" two days before the competition is definitely within their rights.  What does this mean for us?  Well, our schedule will be altered a bit, so make sure you download the new one which has been put up on the website.  We will be competing at 7:15 instead of 7:30 and our rehearsal and leaving times will be modified.  Mineola, as an exhibition band, will be performing at the end of the show, after Arlington.

Besides that, Mineola's decision not to compete on Saturday doesn't really affect us at all.   I can guarantee you first place on Saturday, though, and hopefully our firsts will stack up in the weeks to come. Our goal, and I will repeat what I said last night, is to win the class at the dome.  We are trying to convince the judges that we are a top level, incredible band.  We know we are, and we have some convincing to do! Our goal is to break 80 this weekend which will put us in the hunt for the "top spot" at the dome!  If it doesn't happen, we will work harder to achieve our goals in the next few rehearsals!  The "Dome" is really the whole enchillada! 

As a side note, if you want us to e-mail you the rehearsal breakdown before each rehearsal, drop me an e-mail at pattersax@gmail.com.

I am looking forward to our upcoming streak of "first places" which will commence on Saturday.  I guarantee it!