I'm trying out for drum captain right now, and i could use some perspective on what works well. The past few captains we have had havent been so great, I just get the feeling they don't know what they're doing. If I become captain, i want to demand respect, and have things run as smoothly as possible. Also, if you remember this captain very well, or you were the captain yourself, how did they come to power? Which one of their qualities helped them get the position? Any feedback would be stellar

I've had a few amazing section leaders in the military and drum corps. First off, respect is not given... respect is earned. I believe in leading from the front. That means those I have been chosen to lead respect me not because I am in charge but because I am always out front working the hardest, practicing the most, helping the most by providing a strong leadership example. In the military it's simple. BE. KNOW. DO. Be (a sectional leader). Know (your responsibilities and your people), and Do (your job).

Regardless, my best captain was Sergeant First Class Troy Hunt who I had in 2000 - 2001 at the United Nations Command Band (8th US Army) in Seoul, Korea. He was in the Blue Devils pit in 1985 and was also an Artilleryman during Desert Storm but switched to the Army band in the mid 90s. He brought a hardcore attitude, commitment to excellence and the willingness to make us be the best by pushing to our full potential. He would not accept anything but our best and we practiced hard to be at the top of our game. Didn't matter if we were playing for the President, on CNN or for a fallen Korean soldier who's remains were being transported back to the USA 50 years late, he demanded our best. No Excuses, not a single step back... only forward. He imprinted on me the drive to succeed and desire to always want to be better.

My two years of being an underclassman, the drum captains were just the best players. My Freshman year, the captain didn't do much, except assert his power when it benefited him to.

However, my sophomore year, the captain was very helpful and wanted to see us do well, but he was also very opinionated and sometimes pompous. He was also comical, so he helped brighten things up. He wasn't the ideal captain though, haha. Pretty good though!

My junior year, I became drum captain. It's quite the position! Let's just say I've learned a lot, and know how to do it better for next year. I would say I was a fairly good section leader, but definitely not "The Best" or the ideal captain, haha.

I came into the position because I'm one of the better players (notice, not the best by any means), but I also have great devotion to practice and improving, and I'm very tactful when dealing with people. My band director acknowledged that, and that's how I got into it.

To be a captain, you have to constantly serve as a role model. It sounds kind of over-said, but most of the members look up to you, and you need to put in all your effort into being the best leader that you can. Show up positive, show up with music mastered, regularly communicate with your drum tech and/or your band director, establish a good rapport with the rest of your section. You should make the others on the line feel important by, let's say, letting them count off (or tap off) something. Let them know they're still a very important part of the section (because they are)! I said this before, but stay positive; people tend to feed off of negative energy, and that's when things go awry. So keep your attitude positive!!

That's what I got for right now. Hope that helps. I wish you luck!!

Alright thank you guys! I think i have the playing part down, so that's good. I've noticed that the others players do look up to me, just because I know how to practice,I practice a lot, and I'm their friend along with their leader. You're so right about letting them feel important, i think thas a big issue in our program right now, the pit kids tend to fall short of being in the "drumline clique," which is stupid. We shouldn't make them feel that way.

One minor problem is that the people in drumline respect me as their leader, but they don't realize it. I've been reading a lot of books about leadership, and they make me out to be a mentor leader. I other words, I'm not an overbearing leader who gives out commands, I'm their friend to help them along the way to improvement. I just wish they would view me as a leader. My competition seems to be the person i just described. He's incredibly dedicated to the program, and he's the instructors go to guy, but the relationships with other players don't exist. He puts himself above everyone else, and hollers out commands that no one wants to obey.

But when they're asked who they think will become captain, they say the othe r guy will, even though they don't like him, and don't really respect him. But that problem is mostly minor, right? My biggest fear is that my caption head just told me and the other guy he might make two captains. In what way can i make the best of the situation?

In the band I'm in's past, not in the drumline, there has been a section leader with a title. The title makes that person feel important, nut that person is just...a bad example of a leader. But then there's been another person in the same section who isn't a captain or leader with a title, but whose devotion and attitude surpasses that of the leader by title. The non-titled leader ends up having more fun, ends up actually shining as the leader, still helps out a lot, and ultimately gets along way better with the rest of the section!

From the way you're describing this person (and I'll take your word for it), it sounds like he's just the one that everyone assumes will be the captain; but from an objective standpoint, doesn't quite sound cut out for the position. I'm not sure how the selection process works for your line and such, but you can try to make it so that you seem like the better option.

A lot of younger band members always set their sights on being a leadership position in the band in the future, and then are disheartened when it doesn't happen. Prepare yourself for both outcomes.

Remember, you can still lead without having a title; happens all the time! You don't get the same "quirks" of being a titled leader. However, having the knowledge that you can still help others out and see them improve is a great reward!

Haha, high school band leadership positions sure make for a lot of discussion, right? I hope I helped somewhat, haha.

Good luck!

As someone said earlier, you have to give respect to gain respect. The best captain I had did just that, and acted almost as an older brother to the entire line.

He also put massive amounts of time and effort into teaching us cadences/technique (and never talked down while doing it) and writing said pieces so that they were both approachable for our line and great sounding.

How would i go about making myself seem like the better option?

A good section leader does not need a title; that's how I view it. Speaking from my own experience, a good section leader gets things done, doesn't place himself on a soapbox, and is able to leave their personal feelings at the door.

If you have a section leader who is everyone's friend, I've noticed the tendencies are that they try to remain everyone's friend; feelings are spared, different treatment from person to person, etc. Nothing gets done.

On the other hand if you have a section leader who stands on a soapbox and tells everyone that he's the section leader, you should listen to him, he's better than you or whatever, the kids won't listen or respect him. Nothing gets done.

Situations that put high school kids into a position of "pseudo-power" seem to end worse than the ones that don't. Ideally, I would just scrap the section leader title. However, I'm not against a situation where a student-leader rises through the ranks and the general consensus is that he is the "go-to guy."

Right now I have the best drumline captain; he works a job while at the same time takes time to sit down and talk and also help me with my chops.