It's Okay To Struggle

The school that I teach at has a phrase our director loves to say,

"Embrace the suck"

I love how simple and how powerful this statement is. It tells the performers to understand that they're in a position where they're new and the only thing that can happen is improvement. New performers will do one of three things, be naturally talented and instantly understand how to march, struggle and understand that they will improve, or struggle and believe that improvement is impossible. Luckily, the third type of performer is pretty rare, however when you do get a performer that feels as if their ability to do the activity doesn't exist, it's imperative that you help them understand that improvement will happen, which is of course easier said than done.

Sadly simply telling a student they will prove doesn't always suffice. Think about other things in life where you're told something but you simply don't believe it because you haven't seen it yet. These students who don't believe in their own improvement don't have the belief simply because they haven't seen it yet in themselves. The key is to give them wins. These wins don't need to be very big, some can be as simple as a section leader telling them that they're doing something correct.

Basics Is Full of Wins

Basics, when done correctly, will give your performers several wins that they can use to boost their confidence. Having each student move in time at easier tempos gets their bodies moving and helps them understand that they can do something correctly. Whenever I do basics I start with something really simple: walking. I let them walk at their own pace with their own stride. Every performer can do this and it loosens them up to do whatever exercise they're given next. I often like to make them walk in time next with a natural gait. After that is when I start to build complexity, turning their walk into a march.

As you go throughout the season take note of the morale at each rehearsal. Some days students will feel like they're on top of the world, ready to perform and march with whatever technique you give them. Other days, a student may struggle to do the basics. Gauge how they're feeling and based on that give them wins that align with their needs. This doesn't mean to give them an easy rehearsal, but rather to change the pace of rehearsal to drop in small wins here and there. It'll boost morale and let them feel more confident about their performance.