CTJBandPops

Lots of movement last week after the BOA Austin regional and expect the same after today's DFW (South Lake) Regional I would say that Hebron win was an upset - everyone expected to see FloMo with a win -Hebron winning Music, Visual and sharing GE with Flomo is a major impact. FloMo has held the #1 spot (finished 2nd) Hebron held #8 spot (finished 1st) Marcus held # 12 spot (finished 3rd) a great deal of movement last week as we saw 8 of the top 30 in Austin - smaller number today in DFW but the impact could be huge - especially with FloMo sitting in first Tuesday will tell what the changes will bring to the rankings and there should be even more with TWHS and Reagan (#5 and #11 respectively) coming up in Conroe gotta love Marching Band in Texas

we did the VIP at Grand Nats (Twice) and it was even worse (you don't want to know) - we started doing the VIP in SA 4 or 5 years ago when it was $100 - still worth it as you can get up and walk around - that is a lot of hours in a seat my wife and I get the good seats - the kids and family get general admission

Yep - i comes with food and such - best seat in the house (in the press box on the 50) but it is what it is

it is where the Daniels hang out - best seats in the house and you get to pick their brains while you are there

First week of Texas BOA shook up the rankings on Horn Rank - I expect the next 2 weeks to do some more as Dallas and Houston BOA's play out Claudia Taylor Johnson was named regional champion at the Austin Regional, beating our predicted champion Vandegrift. Johnson brought a level of energy and intensity that isn't normally seen this early in the season. Not to mention that CTJ has what appears to be their entire show on the field already, which is almost unheard of anywhere in the country and especially in Texas. That performance propelled them all the way to fourth place, and places Johnson directly in the running for a champion title at San Antonio. Cedar Ridge, Round Rock, and Vandegrift also saw gains in their rankings after exceptional performances in Austin Vandy - from 13 to 9 Round Rock from 19 to 13 ​Cedar Ridge - from outside 30 to 19

I agree it could be special and they are comfortable early on in the season - but there are a number of powers out there that are yet to be score in a BOA competition - looking forward to seeing what the next 2 weeks produce in Dallas and Houston - I just bought my VIP tickets for San Antonio - i want a good seat for this one

good point - I love stats - if you look at every band that won at one of the Texas regionals by 1.5 points or more since 2013 - they went on to win the San Antonio Super Regional.if you add 2012 (there was no Austin BOA) Marcus won by 1.65 and TWHS won by 2.30 - Marcus won SA and TWHS finished 2nd not that it means anything other than the data is the data - adding Avon to the mix of Texas bands will also have an impact

having a complete show vs a shorter version is debated as a double edged sword - it could help - could hurt. as clean as it was you could say that not working on the closer would have given them more time to polish the earlier part of the show. I doubt at had that big of an impact - I think Dan's Podcast yesterday was spot on - the scary part is that it appears that program always finishes strong - in 2015 and 2016 they did not win a regional championship (if you discount the inaugural McAllen regional) yet they finished the San Antonio SR in 3rd (2015) and 4th (2016) and I believe you would see the same if you looked at 2012 and 2013 when they had yet to win a regional but always finished in the top 5 in 2016 Vandy won Austin and finish 7th in SA - Reagan won Conroe and finished SA in 8th. with what they have on the field now and the time that they have to build and polish, this could be a show that could take down Avon and/or Flomo. from what I can see they are doing a slower year - they will not meet up with any of their BOA competition again until San Antonio as it looks like they are going to Midland. So the show that was on the field in Austin could be much different when it gets to the dome. But that is not to say that others will not make the same rise - as we see every year in the dome there are always a few that jump up that no one saw coming and this year will be no different.

1. Vandy 2. Leander 3. Reagan 4. TWHS 5. Round Rock 6. Hendrickson 7. Churchill 8. Coppell 9. Bowie 10 TWCP

and both of those bands were at Grand Nats last November - where almost all used it in the finals - it appears to be a wave of the future

i believe it was the 2 that shared the music caption in finals... but I also believe there were more than just those 2

After seeing CTJ last night in Austin, I think they learned the lesson on needing to be cleaner. I heard that the kids stepped up big by working their music over their summer and that allowed them to concentrate on the drill in camp - that allowed them to have their entire show on the field in Austin. I would have to say they just worked harder - not toned down the drill or music. I have only seen parts of the Reagan show but look forward to seeing it and TWHS in Conroe. I expect that they too will learn and tone down the soloist if what I saw in Austin is any indication of the level of performance hitting the field this year from Texas bands, we could see a good deal of very good bands not making finals in San Antonio I know it is said every year - but the competition will be insane and I will wait to see how BOA in Dallas and Houston play out before making any predictions

WOW - 8 years of following BOA and never would have guessed that I would have seen such a dominant performance - LOTS of great shows in Austin and I had the top 5 sitting pretty close after prelims - but the finals performance by CTJ was amazing (as were many others) - I saw a lot of talk here about CTJ having a full show on the field this early in the season and if it would help or hurt. I would definitely say it was an advantage. the music and movements where clean though the guard was not up to the standard they have been know for - but this early with a 3 point win, this could be a great show by San Antonio. I don't see that CTJ is doing DFW or Conroe this year, so other than a trip to Midland BOA, I don't see them with any competition until San Antonio. - lots of time to polish and improve that show stuck around for the encore performance - was worth seeing again. With some big bands going to GNats this year that will plan for big shows and Avon going to San Antonio - the Alamo dome is going to be something else this year

I am with you - When my oldest joined band we were "all in" - oldest graduated in 2015 and we remain very active and have traveled to all their BOA competitions, we fund raise for them and we now have our youngest in Middle school band so we have a few more years awaiting us. the school is a block from the house so we routinely drop by to see practices and will be heading out for Austin shortly to cheer for our band. We have a number of Alumni parents and kids that travel with us - it is not the same when your child is not competing but always a joy to see our "adoptive" kids and see the growth of the program. Planning a on BOA trips this year

so a BOA Austin that we wont get wet?

I agree with your comment on CTJ - saw the show this past week and the sound and show were amazing - whole lotta Tuba's

CTJ - 17 tubas in 2017 - going to kick your brass lets see how they capitalize on that sound

I would have to agree -Avon and Flomo are a given - but I think WL, Vandy and CTJ are set for a breakout year - it will be fun to watch

Good Luck to CTJ - glad to see that they are focused on the Grand Nats competition - bring the Eagle Home to Texas

should be an interesting year. with so many Texas bands going to GN this year (in addition to it being a 6A state year) I think a number of those Indy bound bands are taking their time in developing their shows with hopes of peaking in November for the 2 week gauntlet of BOA SA, UIL State and GN , should be another great year - some amazing shows this weekend and a number of these shows were extremely difficult from both a music and marching perspective - looking forward to Conroe next week

the top 3 in my opinion are the past 3 years winners in no particular order CTJ Reagan The Woodlands miss the old days when we had some of the Dallas big -hitters at this event like Marcus, FM, LD Bell and now Hebron - not to mention the Austin players like Bowie, RR, and now Leander would like to see the big players compete in all the BOA competitions in Austin, Houston, Dallas and then duke it our in San Antonio for the Super Regionals Just a thought

I believe that Bowie will sweep this event - just as CTJ did last year when this BOA was launched in South Texas. I think it is great to get some of the BOA big names to attend and promote the event and continue to build those programs and drive them to do more - in time we can hope that some of those programs will then compete in Austin, Houston, Dallas and San Antonio BOA Events and show bring new energy to the program.there is a great deal of talent in those programs I am surprised that Bowie is attending this but not attending the BOA in Austin the following week

Cedar Park H.S., TX Claudia Taylor Johnson H.S., TX James Bowie H.S.. TX Leander H.S., TX Ronald Reagan H.S., TX Whitesboro H.S., TX Listed in Alpha order per the BOA Site - 6 Texas bands in Indy this year this is from the BOA Site - I cannot speak to Whitesboro, as I have never seen them perform - but I do know that the other 5 Texas bands are all VERY strong in the Texas DQ BOA - all from Austin/SA Area and will all likely make finals.in Indy. the top 5 listed, have placed in BOA regional, super regional and UIL state finals in recent years and I know that 4 of the 5 have placed in Grand Nats finals in previous trips. Many of these bands will run the gauntlet this year of the BOA Super regional in SA, followed by the UIL 6A, and then the Indy Grand Nats in an 8 day span - a challenge that Avon, Carmel and Marion Catholic will all do from their homes. I feel that the State of Texas will be well represented in Indy in November and think there is a great chance the Eagle will return to the lone star state Be sure to cheer and support your TXBands in this season

I would agree with your take on the top 3 - I think any of these 3 can take the top spot but based on what I have seen of the early shows of the top 3 I would lean towards CTJ - the show has music and a marching dynamic that is beyond belief - the question is can they hit on all cylinders this early in the season. there are a number of schools that chose to do the long haul during a UIL state year - BOA SA, 6A UIL and Grand Nats in a 2 week span looks like there will be some great representation of Texas in Indy this year