CWEA Education Monday Session

Monday Sessions 3/10/2025:

Welcome to the HOME STRETCH - for the CWEA Competitive Season! It has been an incredible year so far - and it’s time to savor all the remaining moments you have with your program. Oh, and time to GET. TO. WORK.

In this email, the goal is to give you information to get everyone locked in for these last few weeks that can also carry over into WGI Season for those of you going to World Championships.

If there is a topic you’d love more information about, email your ideas to [email protected] to get it covered.

All the best,

Jen Barton

CWEA Education Coordinator

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PHYSICAL TRAINING

These last grueling weeks of the season can take a toll on both the body and the mind. If your program has not been taking time to cool down and stretch, it is highly encouraged to have a dedicated time for this process. Whether 5 or 15 minutes, cool down and stretch at the end of a long rehearsal or camp day is crucial for recovery. We have two end-of-session routines for you, one 15 minutes and one at 5 minutes - these are on YouTube, so you can send out to your students for at-home use as well. Nothing beats a great wind-down after a productive day - staff included:

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PERFORMANCE ANXIETY - Content by Katie Greene Kegley

As the stakes grow towards the end of the season, you may see a shift in your performers’ level of confidence before walking on the floor. Paired with the mindfulness journals, we have a great video for you that can help support and care for your performers’ nerves.

AIA Color Guard Judge Katie Greene Kegley has used her background and training to put together an instructional video to help address some helpful hints in guiding your performers through the inevitable anxiety that accompanies performing in front of a large audience. You can access this great resource here.

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WHAT DO THESE NUMBERS MEAN?? - Content by WGI Judge Josh Potter (AIA Education Coordinator)

Over the last few weeks, scores may have been consistent for your team, and they may have been volatile. Before digging too deep into the story of the numbers, make sure you spend some time looking at the back of the sheets to know the criteria and progression through the boxes. Knowing where a particular subcaption lands in the box and box thirds can give you a pretty targeted idea of where your team has strengths and weaknesses. Seeing the spreads can also help inform you.

This article by Josh Potter dives deep into the story of NUMBERS - check out the PDF below to go deeper into the story a recap can tell you about your team and their ranking and rating.

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IT’S GAME TIME - Content by Jen Barton, CWEA Education Coordinator

The number of weeks left is down to ONE HAND - gulp! You’ve had multiple performances and a LOT of feedback from judges, overview judges, and even from your own video study. Now is the time to put on a few different hats to push your competitive season across the finish line. Let’s talk about it:

1. EDITOR - The Editor hat is the one that you should use CAREFULLY. Making changes should be done very minimally - know your group and how long it takes something to gel together and move from understand to demonstrate. Does that phrase need to change, or does it just need to be better?
   1. EXCEPTION: Look at every single transition, equipment changes, set changes, exits and entrances. These moments are often the deciding factor, competitively. In these scenarios, I consider these ENHANCEMENTS, not CHANGES.
2. CRITIC - The Critic hat often goes hand in hand with Editor. Think and consider carefully the segments of your show - and use the framework of the sheets. The Critic hat is the one that will help you organize your rehearsal/class/training time with priority and hierarchy.
   1. The Critic will help you choose what to continue digging into and what to let go. Is it worth it to continue working on this? I have gotten varying judge feedback - what is my intention, and can I make it clearer?
   2. The Critic will help you see another level deeper - what if we changed facings? What if that ripple went the other way? What if we added musical shaping? What if we crafted the entrance for the snares from the prop?
3. CLARITY - The Clarity hat should be your anthem (forgive me for the mixed metaphor there….). Clarity relates to achievement and excellence - universal concepts for all classes in all divisions. Here are some considerations:
   1. STAGING - one of the most important topics for you to insist upon clarity is staging. Do visual-only reps (color guard - hold your equipment at strip/tuck and just do the body/drill responsibilities).
   2. PATHWAYS - applies to staging (do people cross pathways? Does the flow make sense? Do entrances and exits all hold good space) as well as color guard equipment carving pathways.
      1. Clean the body first.
      2. Stand in the end zones and the corners - get your eyes off the center of the floor. If you have more staff than just you, video the runs from these locations, or set up phones/tables/cameras to have multiple views from the same run through.
   3. TIMING - how are you insisting your performers spin/play/move together? What are the concepts that are encouraging them to gel in time? How crazy are their eyes and do they have the information as they change orientation on how to maintain timing (as you prep for this toss, Emily can’t see anyone - direct your attention down to Emily and make your flag Emily’s flag; Jackson is the closest to the dot on this next move, more likely to be accurate - as the form settles, guide to Jackson, etc.)
   4. PRODUCTION - clarity of intent, storytelling, contour/journey, and energy must be CLEAR.

Next - how much time do you have? This is the key factor. Hopefully you have a To-Do List - one that has been well-loved throughout the season - maybe it’s a living doc that you and your staff work on together or it’s something that you process through and disseminate out to your stakeholders. Either way - it’s decision time (Critic Hat).

1. Work to assign an ideal time frame to complete each task on your To-Do List.
2. Assign a priority to each item on your To-Do List.
   1. Time Frame and Priority will assist you in deciding what and when you are tackling.
   2. Don’t forget technique and training!
3. Count all the rehearsal, class, and camp time from here to the end - INCLUDING SHOW DAYS.
4. Make some type of graph or spreadsheet that has these events and the time frame.
   1. Don’t forget normal set up, tear down, stretch/cool down/physical training
   2. Don’t forget rehearsing show-style set up and tear down!
   3. Don’t forget the ACTUAL time it takes to do a run through (or two!)
5. Plan out your tasks within your time limit. Consider show days and your routine and procedures.
   1. Your tasks will take longer than you think - consider this. Plan a task, and have a back-up task that is quick and short
   2. If you have multiple staff members, attack multiple tasks at the same time - how can you leverage divide and conquer?
   3. Consider performance runs, show and tells, section runs, solo runs, etc. so performers can see their peers, other sections, and other components of the show and celebrate successes.
6. Be prepared to pivot and adjust as needed. Plan for success, prepare to be flexible.
7. Commit to excellence and consistency.
8. GET. TO. WORK.

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We cannot wait to see how you all close out the season - we are rooting for and cheering for you ALL to end the season as strongly as possible, achieving all of your goals and enjoying incredible performances.

Celebrate successes, enjoy the process, and commit to the work. Enjoy being amazing. Savor this incredible experience we all share. This is when you enjoy the magic of what we do. Every day is a new chance to be extraordinary - don’t waste any time being ordinary, friends! Time to SHINE!

See you on the floor, Championships style, VERY SOON! Can’t wait!