Contributed By Darrick Betro

Here are a couple tricks that will he flag work as well as add a little bit of detail to your overall equipment design!
The Color of Your Pole

It has become a recent trend to color your flag pole the same color as the flag silk. If you have a design that continues on the sleeve, use the color that is closest to the tab area. This will help create a nice long clean line when the flags are spinning, so it helps mask small timing errors and makes your flag work appear cleaner than it really may be. It is also a nice finishing touch to your flag design. This can be achieved through various methods including contact paper, vinyl tape, or even paint.

Paint can be a simple and inexpensive option. I have used both spray paint and interior latex paint (the same paint that we used on the floor tarp so that the pole matched exactly to the tarp). You just need to make sure that if you use regular paint you brush it on nice and even. If you choose to paint your pole you will have to use a clear contact paper as the final layer of protection.
Downplay End Caps

Hide Those Cheater Tapes!

You can maintain a clean look to your pole and still have cheater tapes to help your unit achieve proper hand placements by cutting strips of clear contact paper or packing tape and placing them where the cheater tapes white pole, use white tape for the cheaters. If you use silver poles, invest in a few rolls of silver mirror tape and use that to cover the cheaters and the pole end cap. No unsightly cheater marks!! The only people that should know the cheaters are there are the members and you, not the audience or judges!!

Sonya Tayeh Flyer
Jeff Queen Flyer

Up until I got my iphone I owned a cell phone, but I NEVER used it.  I didn’t know how to program things in.  I missed every call.  I was the one saying, “yeah… that’s my number but call me at home because I never hear it and I forget to check my voicemail.”  It drove my guard staff crazy.  And seriously… if they needed to get in touch with me they called the team captains (because you know every teenager is glued to their cell phone!).

But then came the iphone.  For this internet addict I now had a computer I could carry around with me to check my email and facebook.  Now my phone was there too.  And believe it or not… I no longer even have a landline telephone.

And now I realize what a GREAT organizational tool this would have been all those years I was coaching and taking kids on field trips! What a great way to organize all that information you need on a field trip and to make sure you’ve got emergency numbers on hand and can get to them quickly!

Here are some tips to prepare your Cell Phone for Competition Day!

PROGRAM THAT PHONE BOOK!

1.  Create a Guard Folder:

Create a guard section and type in every possible contact number you might need.  Student, Mom, Dad, Home, Cell,     Emergency Contacts… It might take a while to get it all in there, and maybe you’ll never have to use it.  But if an emergency does come up you’ll be glad you did it.  Plus it may come in handy when your floor crew gets separated from the team and you need to make sure everyone is accounted for!  So grab a bottle of water or cup of hot chocolate, put on your favorite music in the background and start punching in those numbers!

2.  Don’t Forget School-Related Numbers:

• Find out which administrator needs to be contacted should an emergency situation arise (the bus breaks down, a student gets hurt… or heaven forbid someone on the trip breaks school policies).  And get a second number too in case that administrator can’t be reached.
• Know the number for transportation.  I once had a bus driver so awful I had to call transportation from the competition site to request a new driver for the ride home!
• And don’t forget staff and band directors numbers.

3.  Contest-Related Numbers:

Most contests have a cell-phone contact for an on-site coordinator.  DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT!!  You never know when the bus will get stuck in traffic and you need to call to alert the contest officials you are running late.  And, while it’s best to make sure you’re prepared with all your maps and plenty of lead time… sometimes the bus just gets lost and you need to call for directions.

BACK IT UP:

It’s not a bad idea to ask at least one other staff member (if you have one – a parent volunteer if you don’t) to plug in all these numbers too.  You never know when one wrong move might send that phone crashing to the ground… and oops… now all those numbers are gone.  Back up your communication strategy with a friend!

CHARGE IT UP!

The night before the contest you’ll want to make sure your phone is fully charged.

Also – these can be LONG days!  Avoid using the phone for other “battery-draining” purposes throughout the day.  While you might have downtime to chat with a friend, play a few games on the bus or browse the web – it’s best to save the battery.

Take a charger along for the ride.  If you know it’s going to be a longer day than your battery can handle, take your charger with you.  Chances are you can find a wall outlet and recharge while you listen to your judges CDs or eat a snack.

COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR VOLUNTEERS/STAFF

Send out an email to parents with your contact information for show day the week before the contest.  Then, before leaving the school gather volunteers together and give them your number again so they can add you to their phones.  They’ll appreciate that you’ve covered all the bases!

DON’T FORGET THE BUS DRIVER

Most bus drivers these days carry a cell phone with them for field trips.  As soon as you get on the bus, exchange phone numbers with the driver.  This can make it much easier to coordinate departure or find the bus after the show (I can’t count the number of times I went walking around the entire school looking for where the bus was parked with the entire gang of parents and students following along!  NO MORE!).

AND KEEP A PRINT COPY IN THE MEDICAL BAG…

Ultimately, you’ll want to have a paper copy of these numbers along with any student medical information stored in your medical bag for the trip as well.  But if you’ve got it all plugged into your phone it can help cut down on time when responding to an emergency and help make sure that you can get in touch with everyone on your team with just an easy click.

Anything to make the competition day a bit easier and calm the nerves to let you focus on the performance and the performers is well worth the time spent in preparation! ]]> http://www.mepa-circuit.org/cell-phone-saavy-preparing-communication-hub-competition-day/feed/ 0 http://www.mepa-circuit.org/door-music/ http://www.mepa-circuit.org/door-music/#comments Wed, 24 Feb 2010 04:21:41 +0000 MEPA http://www.mepa-circuit.org/?p=479 Do you rehearse the process of what occurs once your guard steps through the doorway of a gymnasium and into the competitive arena?  I’m talking about getting everything through the door and setting it. Sometimes it appears that we spend hours upon hours rehearsing what happens once the music starts, but pay little attention to that brief amount of time between the door and the performance. Realize that there are psychological, logistical and safety matters that play into the importance of planned gym entrances and exits.   Unfortunately, we have all witnessed the performer that accidentally sets his/her equipment backwards. Invariably their mistake has a negative impact on both the logistics and performance of the show. And what about the floors that are meticulously unfolded only to realize that the entire floor is facing the wrong direction? As interesting as it is to watch that floor spin to the right position, imagine the damage to focus and confidence that occurs in the process of correcting these mistakes in front of an audience.  Rehearsed preparation will prevent these events from occurring to your guard.

Here’s the breakdown of how to best prepare yourself and your guard to experience success between the door and the music.

Psychological Preparation:

The reality is that it is so important for your guard to not only know how to enter and exit the gymnasium, but to feel confident and comfortable doing it. There is no better person to go to for advice on this topic than Shirley Dorritie.  Thankfully, she was willing to share some thoughts that can be used as tools to prepare your performers.  The following was taken straight out of an email from Ms. Dorritie:

GOALS FOR ENTERING THE ARENA:

To let your nervous system adjust to the next level of excitement.
To get used to the environment and audience.
To stay flexible and focused so you can enjoy your performance and adapt to the unexpected.

HOW TO ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS:

Make friends with the audience as soon as you enter the room so that you have as much time as possible to adjust to the excitement.  Look at them and smile, enjoy them and let yourself believe that they and the judges WANT YOU TO SUCCEED! (It’s true!)

Feel the excitement.  BREATHE and let it run through you, don’t try to stop it or block it!  Get used to what it feels like, and let yourself enjoy it.  This is why you come to contests instead of just staying at rehearsal!

Don’t get caught by surprise when the announcer says you may take the floor in competition! Check out environment and get used to it:
Where is the AUDIENCE, how big is it?
Where are the JUDGES? (How far away, how high up will you need to communicate?)
Where are the LIGHTS?  How BRIGHT is it?
What is the SURFACE like?
What can you HEAR?  How loud is the gym, the audience, the sound system?
What and who can you SEE?

Shirley Dorritie, Deliver the Goods!  Practical Strategies for Performing at the Top of Your Game When the Pressure is On!

Logistical Preparation:

As hard as this may be, instructors need to spend time rehearsing a gym entrance – from the equipment placement responsibilities of performers to the pulling of the floor.   Depending on the amount of show trappings that your guard has, this can take some time.  You may want to devote an entire rehearsal to this process. However, it would be best if this rehearsal occurred in a gym to best connect the rehearsal with the performance arena. Get your performers as comfortable as possible with this aspect of their show.   Leave nothing for chance.

Let’s face it, after time spent preparing the artistic element of a show, no one wants to get zapped with a penalty from the T&P judge.  To avoid this, make sure to check out the WGASC 2009 Policy Manual for specific guidelines and penalty information regarding entrances and exits.

Safety:

The safety and wellbeing of your performers is top priority.  Floors are extremely bulky and heavy.  It is important that everyone involved with the pulling of floors is on the same page.  The following information is an excerpt from a larger article entitled, So You Volunteered for Floor Crew….Now What? by Color Guard Educator founder/editor Catina Anderson.

It is important that we place our crew members’ safety above any worries about time limits or penalties.  Before pulling the floor, look around to make sure everyone is positioned and ready.  Then move the floor only as quickly as your slowest member can move.  Every year you see people get tripped up by the floor and fall in an effort to move as quickly as possible.  Many times this can be avoided if the entire crew simply looks around to make sure everyone is ready to move before stepping off.  Listen to the directions of the floor crew lead and coach.

When pulling out the floor you need to bend over and keep the tarp as close to the floor as possible to avoid getting a lot of air caught under the tarp.  The air creates large pillowing bubbles that can trip the performers…and once they’re there they are hard to get rid of without starting over!  So please keep the floor LOW.

When refolding the floor at the end of the show make sure that there are people at each corner before you start to pull or the floor gets really messy and hard to deal with.

NO BALLOONING: When you are folding the floor at the end you also need to STAY LOW.  If too much air gets under the floor as you fold it, the floor can get hard to handle and this can be dangerous.  Extreme instances of this are called “ballooning” and can get us completely disqualified because it is dangerous.  Even a little air makes the floor difficult to fold and carry out of the gym though…so work hard to stay low

Keep an eye out for stray equipment, bags, shoes, etc. that might get left on the wrong side of the timing line…the judges won’t stop our time until EVERYTHING (including an abandoned hairpiece) is over that line…so we need to be vigilant.

Finally, just make sure you know where the coach is and where the boundary lines are so that things move quickly.  Listen for the coach and the floor crew lead to yell out instructions and things will go very smoothly.

Last, but not least: Thanks again to both Shirley Dorritie and Catina Anderson for lending their knowledge to this article. ]]> http://www.mepa-circuit.org/door-music/feed/ 0 http://www.mepa-circuit.org/mepa-units-wgi/ http://www.mepa-circuit.org/mepa-units-wgi/#comments Mon, 22 Feb 2010 04:03:36 +0000 MEPA http://www.mepa-circuit.org/?p=528 Hello MEPA Members

Over the weekend I had the pleasure of being the contest host for the 2010 WGI Dayton Percussion Regional. Numerous units from as far away as New York came to Dayton to compete and the day was unforgettable. One of the highlights of the day was watching our MEPA units competing. 11 of the 19 finalist units were MEPA units and 4 of our units won their class. Of course you could argue that the Dayton Regional took place in the middle of our circuit territory but let me tell you what I saw.

I saw a competition in the middle of February that had groups like New Philadelphia scoring an 85.5 and Kings at an 84.9. Centerville scored an 85.1 and many other MEPA units were at or near the 80 mark. Finally, Rhythm X nearly broke 90 with an 89.175! Scores don’t mean everything and in fact, they often mean very little. The experience of our performers is what really matters and I count many of our directors as my friends and I’m proud to say that I know some of the amazing educators.

It’s no accident that MEPA units are some of the best in the country. I want to tell you a quick story. I can’t give names because I haven’t asked their permission but the names won’t be important. Yesterday, between prelims and finals of the competition, I was sitting at a table talking to a few members of the MEPA board. We were all tired from what was already a long day and just talking about anything and everything. Both of these board members have been in the activity for a long time and if I mentioned their names, most percussion directors in the area would know them right away.

They talked about how they had made contact with numerous MEPA directors in their area just to offer their assistance. One of them was telling me that he was talking to one of the directors a couple of times per week giving him advice. What really impressed me about this was that this board member was mentoring a director who was in his class. They are direct competitors.

On the other side of it, I was talking to a director of a unit and was giving him my feedback on his show. Not everything I said was positive but he thanked me and told me that he values a colleague’s opinion and was going to think more about it and asked if I would give him more feedback next time I saw him.

This week I’m highlighting the percussion side of our activity because of the regional but let’s be clear. MEPA doesn’t have some of the best units in the nation by accident. When competing directors aren’t selfish with their knowledge, it helps the activity. When directors are receptive to criticism from fellow members, judges, and other qualified people, everybody wins.

I don’t think we realize that a good portion of circuits across the country aren’t producing a fraction of the quality that MEPA produces. We aren’t spoiled. We are blessed with people who are passionate about the activity and are more concerned with being THEIR best and helping others achieve that goal.

My congratulations not only goes out to those who competed over the weekend. It also goes to every unit director, guard and percussion, who work to make their performers the best they can be but understand that the knowledge that they have gained from so many must be passed on to the many new directors who will continue to evolve our activity.

They step onto the gym floor amidst a flurry of pre show excitement, expectations of their team mates and instructors, and last minute show changes.  In the audience are friends, family, instructors, competitors and judges.  They can hear the blood pumping in their ears, hearts are racing, and their throats are dry.  Their mind is spinning with an overflow of information; don’t forget to do this, remember to do that.   If only there was an escape from this moment!  Panic fills their body. How can they possibly go on?!  Every muscle is tense as they wait for the sound of the announcer’s voice to begin their performance.

As extreme as the above scenario may seem, some performers in our activity may experience anxiety very similar to the description.  It is commonly known as stage fright or ‘fight or flight’ response.    For some individuals this may be a type of nervous energy that happens prior to the performance and disappears as soon as they begin to perform.  The feelings are manageable.  In fact, these individuals may even be able to employ their nervous energy toward the betterment of their performance.  However, there may be other performers in which this condition considerably hinders the success of their performance.  In this case, they have not yet learned how to manage their nervous energy and harness it for their benefit.  Left without help, it can become debilitating.

It is my hope that the following information can give you a few teaching tools that will enable your students to maintain power over their nervous energy before it elevates to an unmanageable state.

First of all, we need to know exactly what we are dealing with; it’s the brain.  More specifically it is the sympathetic nervous system. In regards to stage fright, it works like this: When a performer is experiencing feelings of anxiety, they are most likely giving over control to an imaginary enemy.  Often times this imaginary enemy may be their own subconscious belief that they will not be able to perform to the satisfaction of anyone – especially themselves.  But wait; there is a good guy in this situation – the parasympathetic nervous system.  In this situation, your goal should be to educate your students on how to enable and utilize this ‘good guy’ in an otherwise stressful situation.

The Importance of Breath:

As you teach your students how to be in a ‘zone’ of performance, breathing is topic that absolutely should come up.   Consistent breath is what ties together the mind and the body.  Without it, your students will not be able sustain high levels of performance.  When attention is given to breath, performers will become anchored in the moment; both physically and mentally.
In the fight against stage fright – breath is your first avenue of defense.  It will help to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system to empower the individual.  Take a quick moment and imagine yourself warming up your guard on the basketball courts prior to competition.  You start to notice panic slowly ebbing into individuals on your team.    It is important that you not allow this to infect your entire team. Depending on the age of your performers, panic can spread quickly. Stop the epidemic now and breathe!

• Diaphragmatic Breathing: Have your performers hold their hands on their stomachs.  They should be able to feel their stomachs expand as they inhale and contract as they exhale.  Their back and sides should expand and contract as well. Take at least 10 large and slow breathes.  This will enable their bodies to move more air in and get rid of stale air when they exhale.
• Even Breathing: Have your performers breathe in and out for the same amount of counts.  Example:  Breathe in 1,2,3,4,5,  Breathe out 1,2,3,4,5 (the number of counts really depends on how slowly you are counting).  This will regulate breathing and create focus/ relaxation.  Longer exhalations help reduce stress.  So, in addition to counting the inhale and exhale for an even amount of counts, you may want to challenge them to exhale for longer counts than the inhale.

So, that’s the breathing part of the situation.  Now let’s talk about slaying the stage fright monster prior to arriving at a competition site. As stated earlier, some of the overwhelming nerves may be associated with an individual’s lack of confidence in their ability.  Considering this, instructors should combat this perception by making sure they establish a strong mind set in the rehearsal process.

• Preparation: Use action in preparation to tackle anxiety.   Simulate the competitive performance environment continuously in your rehearsals. Make sure that your performers know everything that will occur at a competition – right down to mimicking the announcer’s script prior to the performance.  Talk them through every aspect of the competitive day – leave nothing for self discovery.  Perhaps you can have an open rehearsal night where friends and family can come to watch the show.  This will allow those students to acclimate in a ‘friendly’ environment prior to an actual tournament.  Take advantage of information posted on the WGASC site and utilize the facility maps found on the ‘Winter Guard Schedule’ tab to familiarize your team with the layout of the gym and surrounding areas.  They should feel as comfortable as possible with the show site.
• Practice: OK, I realize that as instructors we are an artistic and somewhat eclectic bunch that can be given to last minute changes in choreography and such.  Try to refrain from this as much as possible if you have any individuals who struggle with performance anxiety.  Save the changes for early in the week, giving plenty of practice time prior to the performance.  Practice all aspects of the choreography as much as possible to establish a comfort and confidence in the show.  New content/unrehearsed will only add to the anxiety level.
• Mindset: This is a battle against negative self talk.  Find a way to turn the mind rhetoric away from “I can’t do this!” to “Yes I Can!”  On the flip side of this, the negative talk may also contain an inaccurate and negative perception of what individuals (audience members, judges) think of the performer.  In both cases, encourage your performers to focus on what they would like to give in their performance.  Positive imagery is an effective tool to use in this.  Turn on the show music and have the performers close their eyes and visualize a perfect performance.  Do this as many times as possible.

Really this is one of those areas that we teach in color guard from the perspective of the performance; however, its value transcends our sport and has real life application and significance.  How awesome is it that we teach not only color guard skills, but we also have the opportunity to positively impact a life!

Until next week….Just Breathe. ]]> http://www.mepa-circuit.org/breathe/feed/ 0 http://www.mepa-circuit.org/show-time/ http://www.mepa-circuit.org/show-time/#comments Wed, 10 Feb 2010 04:19:29 +0000 MEPA http://www.mepa-circuit.org/?p=475 For many performers the hardest part of the performance is controlling the nerves you feel prior to and during the performance.  Here are ten tricks of the trade for preparing yourself for the best possible performance and keeping your nerves “in check”.

10.  Do your homework… for color guard that is. You know best which parts of the show you need to improve.  Even just 10 minutes a day can make a big difference in getting more comfortable with the choreography.

9. Be prepared! If you have academic obligations tend to them prior to the show day. Pack your bag the night before, get plenty of rest, set 2 alarms, and stretch before you go to sleep. This will help you relax prior to turning the lights out.

8. Conserve your energy.  Show days are long and while the time may fly by, don’t underestimate the toll it can take on you mentally & physically.  Choose wisely how you spend your time prior to the performance because in the end the main event is all that matters.

7. Hydrate the right way. Even though you may be craving a sugary sweet, caffeinated coffee or energy drink; opt for an iced half café with sugar free flavoring or forego it all together and grab a big bottle of water that will last all day.

6. Time is of the essence.  Arrive at the show site with plenty of time spare and use it wisely to prepare.

5. Visit the venue. If permitted by the show host, enter the venue and get comfortable with your surroundings. Watch another unit perform and familiarize yourself with entrance and exit locations, timing lines, lighting, and bleacher height.

4.  Revel in the rituals. Many guards have a cheer or pre-performance tradition that allows members a moment to bond and get excited prior to performing. Make it fun, friendly, & fast so you don’t lose focus.

3. Visualize & mentally prepare.  Your costume is on, your show hair is done, & your makeup is flawless. Now it is time to get your head in the game. Find a quiet corner, play your show music, and visualize yourself performing. Take a series of long, deep breaths and imagine yourself releasing all of your nerves and tension.

2. Follow the flow. Most competitions will have the same warm-up progression (body, equipment, & on deck). Allow your instructors to coordinate volunteers so you can stay focused. Don’t allow one specific toss consume your time. If you make mistakes in warm-up brush them off and move on to another part.

1. Stay cool, calm, & collected! Move with purpose as you set your equipment and survey the crowd. Take long deep breaths to steady yourself, stand tall, and get your game face on… it’s show time!

Bellbrook wasn’t looking much better on Saturday. Roughly half of the registered units were forced to cancel their performance. I’m sure that those units that were performing this weekend were tired of seeing my name in their e-mail box because often, it was more bad news or schedule changes.

What could have been, never happened, though. Directors could have been far less flexible as things changed. Even at 10:00PM on Saturday, I was texting people changing their performance times to avoid classes being split by large amounts of time. Fans could have stayed home instead of attending the Bellbrook show, and judges and other contest personnel could have used the weather as a reason to not battle the elements. In short, directors were patient, fans came out enough to fill the stands twice, and all judges and personnel were there. What could have been a logistical disaster ended up running smoothly.

On top of all of that, watching performances today made me see again this week what judges said to me last weekend. Our units are some of the best in the country. We are setting standards in the activity and all over the nation, we are being talked about. Hearing that from judges who travel the country reminded me of what we have in MEPA and what we have to continually work hard to preserve.

Thank you to everybody who worked with me to make what could have been much worse in to something great. I would like to say that I’m smart enough to make all of this work out but it’s all of us working together that makes MEPA as great as it is. The board of directors are incredible, our judges association and their leadership is invaluable, and our directors and show sponsors are flexible even when it is inconvenient for them.

1.) MEPA Apparel sales will begin at Bellbrook this Sunday. I have posted the designs online for everybody to see. We have 3 designs as well as many more colors than last year. We also have sweat pants this year. 100% of proceeds go directly back to MEPA.

2.) The MEPA Scholarship application is now online. We would like to see a record number of performers apply this year. The application is easier than it has ever been.

We hope to see you at Bellbrook on Sunday!

Tim