Middle School football game

Tonight was the first middle school home game, which means it was also this years middle school combined 7th/8th grade band debut. It went extremely well. The middle school drumline has really felt like my baby so far this year, and they sounded great. I felt like my work with them this year so has been effective and efficient. I have the right kids on the right instruments, and they seem to be having a great time and they sound pretty good too. Our next game is in a few weeks, so we will be able to play a lot more by then. I wrote them a cadence last night called Fat Cat Sat on my Hat, and I think we might be able to get it worked up for the next game, as well as a few more drummy things. One of my basses didn't show up though, so I'm pretty bummed about that, but not enough to put a damper on the evenings success.

I also had a good day with the high school drumline. We had a little chat about what I expected of them and what I wanted them to expect in themselves and I think it might be good for the morale of the group. We are going to try a few new ideas for motivation, and I honestly don't see how they could make things worse, so they are bound to improve. One thing is getting them a drumline tshirt. I think it will make them feel like more of a unit. Because we are doing a Japanese show this year, I found the Japanese Kanji symbol for drummer, It looks pretty cool, I think we could put this on the back with all their names around it and it would look awesome.
I like all of them, so I figure I will let them vote on it to pick which we use.

If anyone out in cyberspace has any input on how to motivate high school students to work hard towards a long term goal, I am open to suggestions.

I am feeling much better about the high school drumline than the other day. It is amazing what a difference a day can make. Let's just hope tomorrow's away game is as successful as it should be.

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Because of the middle school football game, I wasn't able to run tonight, but it wasn't part of my original plan anyway, so I am still on track. I plan to run Saturday, Sunday and Monday night. If that happens, I will have accomplished my goal.

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Well, I'm going to go move some clothes from the washer to the dryer and hit the sack. I have an appointment with the Mid-World!