| Total Views: 114 - Total Replies: 8 |
|
Our school at the moment is going to be doing some demostrations around town. I am faced with the discision of wether it be open enrollement or by invitation. how are you supposed to put together a demostration/entertainment team with out playing favorites? should there be two teams? When I think of Entertainment team I think of the Wow factor and lets face it not every one has the wow factor. I then am faced with the notion that every one should be allowed to participate on the team wether they are flashy or not Right? Cause lets face it everyone deserves time in the spot light to show off there stuff. I have thought of having 2 teams, 1st team be demostration that would be strictly katas or forms. where as the entertainment team 2nd team would be the team with fancy tricks and what not. how would that come across to the students? Would they see it as me playing favorites or would they actually see what my point of view? What a sticky situation. any input would be great! thanks
|
|
| POSTED BY: mangoman on 05/07/2008 17:44:25 |
|
I will tell you why my daughter doesn't do demo team any longer.
Demo team used to be an honor. A priviledge for those that truely excelled.
Then a few years back, just days before a major demo, a handful of parents complained to the GM that their kids should not be excluded from the demo. So at the last minute, the GM caved in to the pressure and added 4 kids to the demo and re-worked everything.
It was terrible. The entire demo was out or sync. Hardly anyone successfully broke their boards. Just everything about it was terrible.
For the next year, the legitimate demo members practiced and practiced. They were threatened that they would be removed from the team if they missed more than 3 practices during the year. They perfected every aspect of the demo and again, just a week or so before the day of the demo, the GM added a handful of kids that had not participated in any of the practices.
We and a few other demo team parents protested and when the GM insisted that the new additions be incorporated, my daughter and 2 others withdrew from the demo to avoid the same humiliation that they suffered the year before.
The moral of my story is come up with a plan, but stick to it. If you only want your advanced students on the demo team, than make that very clear. If you want a way to incorporate the less skilled kids than make their roles very clear to them at the beginning and do not waiver.
|
| Back To Top |
|
Invite only.
Sorry, but if you do not then it will become more of a county or rec league. If the parents can influence the outcome, where is the history, art, dicipline? why is there no spell chheck here?
I've coached for years, my kids play (we are in the south) in the church leagues (6,8) i got tired of the parents and coaches living vicariously thru the kids. at batting practice one day when i was teaching my daughter to pull the ball to 3rd and then to push it to first to advance a runner, based on foot stance. the coach in the next batting cage was yelling at the boys telling them that they swing the bat like 5 year old girls(which she was) it did not end quietly of nicely.
lines are drawn for a reason. if it is a demo, them let it be an honor to be choosen for that, don't let the eddie haskels win.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Still Runs with Scissors
|
| Back To Top |
|
| POSTED BY: doughboy on 05/07/2008 21:10:09 |
|
holding an audition usually works better than invite only. audition will create less complaints in general, although it has potential to generate a lot of complaints from the rejects, kinda like how those really crappy "singers" complain how simon cowell doesn't know what he's talking about.
for audition though, have specific categories. for example, instead of just picking 20 people for the team, pick 2 people who would do patterns, 3 for breakings, 3 for self defense, 2 for sparring, 2 people for choreographed fighting, etc. this will allow people to audition for a specific part of the demo, and when there's a smaller limited number for each part, people seem to be more understanding when they get rejected.
you can do both auditions and open. while those who auditioned will do all the fancy stuff (the "crowd pleaser"), you can also involve others to do simple things, such as doing drills in lines or doing patterns in groups.
--------------------------------------------------------------
i'm delicious
|
| Back To Top |
|
If your school is doing demos around town... FORGET tryouts. You don't need them.
Get student volunteers... get some great technicians, along with your more average and YES even below average students. Show them all off in a positive light.
With the little ones... pick something they're good at and show off their discipline and enjoyment.
With the other kids, show it all...
Get some adults in there too... even the white belts...
Make sure to mention, that there's room in the arts for everyone, IF they are willing to get out there and try their personal best.
The kind of demos you're talking about doing, are promotions for your school. Just getting the 'best students' out there, may discourage the public from signing up with your school. It's very easy for a member of the public to see a black belt throwing a round kick straight over her head, and then for that same member of the public to clap, whistle, and say to themselves, "No way in heck can I do THAT!!"
That does your school no favors. That does the public no favors beyond giving them some entertainment. They will not be coming to you to sign up, because you unwittingly said to them, "You've got to be athletic in our school... average people need not apply."
The idea of a good public demonstration, is to give the public some unique entertainment, and inspire them to give your school a call for some training of their own.
You do that, by presenting the martial arts to the public as something they CAN do. Something that is FUN to do. Something that will truely benefit their lives.
You do THAT, by featuring a good and accurate cross-section of your student body... from the beginners, to the top performers, and every shade in between.
Therefore, no tryouts... just stick up a volunteer signup sheet and tell every one of your classes if they want to get in on the action, to sign up. Tell the kids classes that their parents must of course, give their permission and that you'll ask their parents for that permission. (Then FOLLOW UP ON ALL OF THEM!) On that signup sheet, STRESS that there WILL be a practice session a week before the demo, so the students will know they need to build two or three days or more into the demo schedule...
Schedule a demo practice beforehand, once you've got your students listed. And go through it with them.
Keep it fun, and fast paced... You want the crowd's undivided attention. Peaks and rests... Your peaks are the top performers... the rests are showing off everyone else in a positive light. You have higher ranks knocking out boards... let the lower ranks get in on that same act on their level, attacking kick-pads or hand targets... show your instructional style with the lesser talented with high spirited praise-correct-praise... let people SEE how they can expect to be treated when they come to your school to learn. (Little two minute drills are sufficient... you want to keep your demo moving at a quick pace to keep your public interested and watching for what's next.)
By the time that demo is over, you want the walking public to be motivated and inspired to become a part of the school.
THIS ALL SAID...
If you are trying to put together a competition team... TRYOUTS ARE CALLED FOR. That's not a demo team... that's a competition team.
So... having TWO teams is NOT a bad idea, if you do competitions with a team, and then also do public demos.
And yes, you can have the competition team be part of the public demo as well. They'd be great for the 'peaks' of the demo... as a demonstration that you can handle BOTH top performers and average folks too. If you want to also show the positive and supportive enviornment in your school, those top performers can hold the kick or punch targets for the less gifted, waving them in and encouraging them.
The whole school can really shine at a public demo, and CAN draw in quite a few potential signups.
DO take some coupons for free trial lessons... good for a month if they come in within one week of the demo... and good for a week otherwise. Make sure to give them and a business card out to members of the public you meet. To enhance that... DO, before you conclude the demo, invite the public to come up and meet you and talk to you (and some of your senior black belts who are friendly and outgoing.)
So... try two teams. ONE, is what you could term a 'competition team'... and the other, is your school team.
The competition team... you do tryouts.
The school team... is made of whoever in your school will volunteer. (Encourage everyone to join the fun.) Use the competition team to 'augment' your public demos also.
Best of luck!!
--------------------------------------------------------------
Getting through life takes just a LITTLE bit of insanity!*g*
|
| Back To Top |
|
| POSTED BY: moose on 05/08/2008 05:08:31 |
|
|
ranger1100ky wrote:
If your school is doing demos around town... FORGET tryouts. You don't need them.
Get student volunteers... get some great technicians, along with your more average and YES even below average students. Show them all off in a positive light.
With the little ones... pick something they're good at and show off their discipline and enjoyment.
With the other kids, show it all...
Get some adults in there too... even the white belts...
Make sure to mention, that there's room in the arts for everyone, IF they are willing to get out there and try their personal best.
The kind of demos you're talking about doing, are promotions for your school. Just getting the 'best students' out there, may discourage the public from signing up with your school. It's very easy for a member of the public to see a black belt throwing a round kick straight over her head, and then for that same member of the public to clap, whistle, and say to themselves, "No way in heck can I do THAT!!"
That does your school no favors. That does the public no favors beyond giving them some entertainment. They will not be coming to you to sign up, because you unwittingly said to them, "You've got to be athletic in our school... average people need not apply."
The idea of a good public demonstration, is to give the public some unique entertainment, and inspire them to give your school a call for some training of their own.
You do that, by presenting the martial arts to the public as something they CAN do. Something that is FUN to do. Something that will truely benefit their lives.
You do THAT, by featuring a good and accurate cross-section of your student body... from the beginners, to the top performers, and every shade in between.
Therefore, no tryouts... just stick up a volunteer signup sheet and tell every one of your classes if they want to get in on the action, to sign up. Tell the kids classes that their parents must of course, give their permission and that you'll ask their parents for that permission. (Then FOLLOW UP ON ALL OF THEM!) On that signup sheet, STRESS that there WILL be a practice session a week before the demo, so the students will know they need to build two or three days or more into the demo schedule...
Schedule a demo practice beforehand, once you've got your students listed. And go through it with them.
Keep it fun, and fast paced... You want the crowd's undivided attention. Peaks and rests... Your peaks are the top performers... the rests are showing off everyone else in a positive light. You have higher ranks knocking out boards... let the lower ranks get in on that same act on their level, attacking kick-pads or hand targets... show your instructional style with the lesser talented with high spirited praise-correct-praise... let people SEE how they can expect to be treated when they come to your school to learn. (Little two minute drills are sufficient... you want to keep your demo moving at a quick pace to keep your public interested and watching for what's next.)
By the time that demo is over, you want the walking public to be motivated and inspired to become a part of the school.
THIS ALL SAID...
If you are trying to put together a competition team... TRYOUTS ARE CALLED FOR. That's not a demo team... that's a competition team.
So... having TWO teams is NOT a bad idea, if you do competitions with a team, and then also do public demos.
And yes, you can have the competition team be part of the public demo as well. They'd be great for the 'peaks' of the demo... as a demonstration that you can handle BOTH top performers and average folks too. If you want to also show the positive and supportive enviornment in your school, those top performers can hold the kick or punch targets for the less gifted, waving them in and encouraging them.
The whole school can really shine at a public demo, and CAN draw in quite a few potential signups.
DO take some coupons for free trial lessons... good for a month if they come in within one week of the demo... and good for a week otherwise. Make sure to give them and a business card out to members of the public you meet. To enhance that... DO, before you conclude the demo, invite the public to come up and meet you and talk to you (and some of your senior black belts who are friendly and outgoing.)
So... try two teams. ONE, is what you could term a 'competition team'... and the other, is your school team.
The competition team... you do tryouts.
The school team... is made of whoever in your school will volunteer. (Encourage everyone to join the fun.) Use the competition team to 'augment' your public demos also.
Best of luck!!
|
I like the way you have set all of this out.. Good Stuff. I recently had a public demonstration, it was a march For our Labour Day Celebrations, our "Team" of 12 were ALL volunteers and they walked around 2km doing everything from kicks to punches,blocks and 1 and 2 step sparring drills all whilst on the move i might add! All the team members did extremely well and it became more of a social event than a demonstration of what we can do as TKD practitioners. I beleive we had 9 new members join our club from that one little outing, and our club also won 2nd prize in the event for sports teams, $50 extra to add to our equipment list, not bad for a small country town..... Demo teams for schools/clubs should be a mix of every walk of life to show the public that anybody can do it. Demo/comp Teams Invite etc only. Just my 2 cents worth. All the Best Moose  |
| Back To Top |
|
We just finished our Gaithersburg demo and are having our Frederick demo this Saturday. A demo team should ALWAYS consist of students who will present the school in the best light possible. This is a sales pitch and a chance to really show off the school. You do not necesarilly have to have only the top students, but you do need to have ALL very competent students. Remember, the people watching will assume that the students are top students. Also keep in mind that when mistakes are made, most of the audience will not know unless it is blatantly obvious (such as boards not breaking).
In my opinion, the demo team should be hand picked. Students on the team should all be able to perform at their belt level competantly. They need to be able to do any group forms in time with the rest of the group. The top students should be saved for all the flash & trash.
Parents of kids not on the demo team should have NO avenue of complaint. This is a martial arts demonstration, not field day. A demonstration team should consist of several levels of students so that potential customers don't feel intimidated and feel that they cannot do the art or feel that their kid isn't athletic enough to take the class.
Why no tryouts? Because every single class that a student attends is a tryout. The masters know who is at what level. Also, the master of the school is well within his/her right to hand pick who they wish to represent THEIR' school upon which their own personal finances depend.
Daniel
--------------------------------------------------------------
교사 Yidan kumdo, bodan taekwondo
|
| Back To Top |
|
To every one who has offered up advise on this topic I thank you. You have helped open my eyes to a better way of doing things.
|
| Back To Top |
|
Glad to throw two cents worth out to you ma'am!:) Grand Master Jhoon Rhee runs a fine group. I'll tell on myself a little here, agewise. When I was a kid, the first punches I wore with my sparring gear, were Jhoon Rhee model punches. That was in 1981. Keep on kicking ma'am!
--------------------------------------------------------------
Getting through life takes just a LITTLE bit of insanity!*g*
|
| Back To Top |
|
|
