CTJBandPops

I would say top 3 is JBA, Churchill and Brandeis - they take medals if they all participate

too early to predict - rumor mill says #1 and #4 may not attend BOA - gotta wait and see who will actually show up

BOA SA 2017 was by far one of my favorite events in the last 10 years - so competitive and I think that was the most movement I can recall in the top 10 between prelims and finals - Avon in that mix was pretty awesome as well

our program would usually do a 3 day camp right after school lets out - and conditioning programs through the summer - that has all be handed back to the students to self manage until late July.

looks like UIL is opening up limited strength and conditioning programs for marching bands on Monday June 8th in accordance with the Governors latest directives. Details of the plans should be released later this week or early next week.

with Governor Abbott allowing the opening of "Summer Camps" it looks like band camps will open on time. Still some question if Texas schools will extend the 2020-21 school year by 30 days or even if they will convert to a year-round school cycle and how that will impact the band programs. Barring any big spike in hospitalized cases, it looks like we will have a band camp this summer. the nearest I can tell, it appears that BOA is going to leave the Regional and SR decisions to the cities/counties that host them as to if/when they will open the stadiums.

I remain optimistic and that there will be a marching season. I have been amazed at the flexibility of our kids. online learning, online band banquets, online auditions for next year's program. In many ways it has helped our kids learn that life requires that we can improvise, overcome and adapt. with that said, I do not believe that we can live in fear of this virus. in the grand scheme of things, I believe that there is a great deal of media manipulation around Covid-19 and the death tolls. Far too many are playing up the death rates of the virus. if you look at the data, there is a massive decline in pneumonia deaths, cardiac deaths, and flu deaths, to name a few, but they are all being reported as Covid-19 deaths and many of these death would have happened with or without this virus. I started going out to restaurants as soon as they opened, I look forward to businesses in Texas reopening and if families do not feel that their child is safe participating in band or school in general, then stay home. each family must make the choice that supports their belief. if kids can ride a bus to school, they can ride a bus to a football game or a band competition. if they can sit in a classroom, they can sit in a band hall, if they can practice football on a field, they can practice marching on the band pad just my thoughts.

O.K. - so I have no doubt that there are many that will disagree with my thoughts on this but, I will put it out there anyway While Texas is the king of marching band, we are not a hot spot and while we see an increase in positives, that is being driven by the increased testing - the true number to look at is the number that need to be admitted to hospitals and that continues to decline I believe that, we as a state will move forward and there will be a marching season - I believe that we will return to some form of normalcy in the coming months. I have no concerns with my son participating in band camp, or band competitions. the real questions is will there be footballs games to perform at or band competitions to compete at. We have already seen that DCI has cancelled the season - will Texas UIL and BOA do the same? Time will tell - I welcome your thoughts....... We have not had much to talk about as of late - so let's hear it ....

Tex Hill Middle School - CTJ feeder has been invited just a year after CTJ attended

agreed - wonder if it will happen - it appears that the earlier regional events compete with BOA San Antonio/DFW/Houston regional events all compete with BOA and the dome is not cheap - not to mention the labor pool needed for the dome or any event. who is hosting these events and providing the labor needed to run these - the BOA SA event takes about 350 volunteers and hundreds of hours. it will be interesting - not much info on who will attend and sponsors - time will tell if this gets off the ground. I hope it works out, - always a great time in the dome and it would make a great week with BOA, UIL and this event

Yes - CTJ currently has the Directors Choice Nationals planned for Nov 7th in the dome - they will likely perform 6 times in an 8 day span in the dome will be interesting to see if this happens - the website currently only lists CTJ and Johnson (Buda) attending time will tell if it takes off

yes - and UIL

I believe CTJ is planning to do BOA Austin, BOA Midland and of course BOA SA

I think the interest is there - just not the funding. I don't think that is would require them to compete but if there was at least a process for an after school extra curricular program that would allow the 7th and/or 8th graders to get an introduction to the sport it would help build the students that have some sort of knowledge prior to stepping into a June class and touching a flag for the first time - this may be my new project for 2020

my daughter did guard at CTJ - she was introduced at the end of 8th grade and jumped in as a freshmen - there are no middle schools that I am aware of in the district that offer any intro to guard in middle school

some how I knew that I could count on you to break down the data - Awesome

nicely put - thank you

I will open with the fact that it is a very bold statement to claim a program is the best of the decade - with that said, I respect your opinion but I must dispute it - so settle down a bit there abtwitch - this could be a long conversation because I think that many will share their thoughts. First - there are far too many phenomenal programs in Texas to state that one program has dominated the past decade Let's not forget Marcus 5X state Champion BOA SA Champs, Honor Band, Midwest Clinic X2 or we can discuss FloMo, Hebron, Reagan, TWHS, CTJ to name a few with all their accomplishments (I apologize for all the great Texas programs of the past decade that I missed) Second - Congrats to Vandegrift - they had a year to remember and should be congratulated for what it was - a phenomenal year!!! Third - I make no bones about the program I support - CTJ in my opinion should be the program of the decade School opened in 2008 - has been a UIL state finalist every year since 2010 School invited to Rose parade in 5th year - not on a BOA bid - they were invited from the open bid process performing 6 years ago today Sudler Shield Award UIL Bronze Medal in 2014 3 BOA Grand Nationals performances - 3 time finalist 8 BOA Championships since 2014 (most in Texas in past decade) including 2 Super regional wins in San Antonio Multiple TCGC State Titles and WGI Silver Medal Multiple TMEA honor band placements/performances Midwest Clinic performance just a few weeks ago Vandegrift had a great year and accomplished what no others had accomplished - winning Grand Nats on their first appearance - right year - right show - many could say that CTJ could have done the same had they taken their show to GNats in 2014 or 2017 - Or that Flower Mound could have done the same with their shows in 2015 or 2016 - there are far too many shows that can make that same claim - there are far too many that could stake this claim for their programs in the past decade I welcome the discussion

So glad you are making this a routine trip - I hope to be back in Indy in 2021 and hope we can get together again for a gathering -

That surprises me - I know very little about that program but looking at past results - they finished 23rd in Houston in 2018 and 17th in 2019 - but did not attend BOA SA. seems strange that they would just jump to GNats without attending the SR in their home state. not being critical - and if it is true then I wish them luck - that just seems like a big jump for a program to make

I think the 3 NEISD Bands that routinely do BOA competitions will be looking for a big year in 2020 Reagan - big year with their first BOA SA Gold and rumored to possibly make a run at Grand Nats next year CTJ - always a fun program that does their style of show even during a state year - after 8 top 5 and 2 golds at BOA SA - I see them coming back strong in 2020 and it will be interesting to see what they come up with - something different I am sure. Churchill - Bronze medal in McAllen tied for 2nd and only a point away from gold - did not compete in Austin or SA as they normally do - I believe their director is in her first year there - will be interesting to see them come back - they had a long history of always making finals in BOA regionals the other 4 schools in the district do not do much more than BOA-SA because it is local.

Ouch!! that has to hurt

My understanding is that is more expensive than a trip to Indy due to the extended period of time and the fact that New York is not a cheap place to stay. I recall a post earlier this year from a parent that breakfast alone for their programs was an obscene amount of money and they had 350 students there -

I agree - I have always loved the fact that our program is more about putting on a show that will be enjoyed and bring people to their feet - if it wins great - if not, it is a learning experience. to me, marching band is about being part of something bigger than yourself and making a commitment to give it your all. my freshman has been proud of every performance they put on the filed this year and I would not have it any other way

I love that we are a week outside of Grand Nats and already talking about next years shows - Looking forward to what the programs come up with - excited about what CTJ is will do next year