Utah Winter Guard Association

Although the information below uses examples for color guard, this information may be applied to percussion groups as well.

Choose a show that you and your students will like. Think about the level of your students. The most important thing to remember is you want your students to feel successful. You want them to come back next year.
Assess the ability of your members. Before writing any drill, dance or equipment work, you need to know where your students are. Spend time establishing your basics program. Set the foundation. Watch how much they improve over a two-week period. This will be a good indicator of how they will progress during the season and will guide you in designing your show.
Rehearsal time dictates the difficulty of your show. If you can only rehearse two hours a week, in a cafeteria, with no high vantage point, that will have an impact on the kind of show you will design. Plan your show around what you have to work with. Don\'t set yourself up for frustration.
Plan your rehearsal time. Be organized. Be prepared for your students. Have a schedule for your rehearsal and let the students know what the plan is for that rehearsal.

First Half of the Season

Basics should take half of your rehearsal time. I know this is scary when you are trying to design your show, but it will pay off later. When teaching the show, don\'t teach to perfection. When 80% of the students can get through it, move on. Clean and detail later. Use your basics program in your writing.
Incorporate your equipment and dance moves into your basics program. Use some of the combinations and unique moves in your basics.
Train your students - don\'t rehearse them. Judges know the difference. Your students may be able to make the flag go around the same, but the way they do it may be very different. That is what a well-rehearsed guard looks like. A well-trained guard makes the flag go around the same and every student does it and looks the same.

Second Half of the Season

Basics should be 1/4 of your rehearsal time and 3/4 dedicated to show cleaning, detailing and fixing. Never stop doing basics.
Plan on going to critique after competitions. This is very helpful. The judges are there to help you. Use them. Be sure you are prepared. Listen to their tapes. Have questions ready for them. It is your tie so use it to your advantage. You should direct the conversation. Get the information that you need.
Try not to let scores dictate whether a performance was good or bad. You and your students need to make that determination based on how your rehearsals and prior performances have been. Judges make mistakes. Don't let them determine your success.
Finally, have fun. Make sure your students are having fun. We do this because we love the activity. We love to teach. We love to work with kids. This is not an activity to prove yourself to anybody. If that is why you are doing it, then you should not teach. But if you are doing it for the right reasons, I wish you all the best and have a great season!