Corps gets ready to march

The drum and bugle group tours the country 60 days each summer.
By ROB MEYER
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- Sleeping bags litter the floor of Austintown Middle School gym. Trucks are parked in the rear parking lot, serving food.
The smell of freshly cooked hamburgers and hot dogs is in the air. Behind the trailers, the sound of drums resonates.
Teenagers are everywhere. Some are waiting in line for food, some rehearsing their drum routine. Others wait in a particularly long line so they can withdraw money from the "bank" (an envelope containing their own money from which they can withdraw cash when needed.)
Welcome to the life of the Canton Blue Coats.
Composed of 135 members ages 15 to 22, the Blue Coats are a nonprofit drum and bugle corps that travels the country each summer on a 60-day tour. Members are from as close as Northeast Ohio to as far as California, and everywhere in between.
More than 700 people from around the nation audition for a spot in the group every year.
They put on a 101/2 minute performance at outdoor shows two or three times a week. The shows include five or six other drum and bugle corps.
The group, founded in Canton in 1972 as an extension of the Canton Police Boys Club, is practicing for its upcoming tour, which begins Wednesday in Harrison, Ohio. The members will live in the Austintown Middle School gymnasium for five days.
The group chose AMS because it was the only facility available this week large enough to accommodate it.
Intense practice
But those five days won't be spent enjoying the revels of the Mahoning Valley. They will be spent practicing from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
"We practice all day, a break for lunch and dinner, practice some more and wake up and do it all over again the next day," said Dave Glasgow, associate director of the group.
The Blue Coats' 2003 summer tour will be primarily on the East Coast, with some shows in the Midwest and Southwest. The tour culminates at the World Championships in Orlando, Fla., where the Blue Coats finished seventh last year.
They will be competing against 60 other groups similar in size.
Along with the competition, a member of the Blue Coats must like to travel. During the 60-day tour, the group sleeps on the floor of various gymnasiums.
A lot of miles are logged. It is a life of constant packing and unpacking.
She enjoys it
This doesn't bother Erin O'Dore, a drum major and one of two conductors. She has been a member for three years and enjoys the constant travel.
"This is a very unique experience," she said. "You meet a lot of new, different people. It's an adventure."
O'Dore, a native of Harsham, Pa., said her favorite tour stop was in Bristol, R.I.
"It was so beautiful," she said. "We practiced on a field facing a bay. You could see all of the boats coming in and out."
Though she enjoys the travel, O'Dore said she does miss her friends from home.
"You don't get to see your friends at all over the summer for the most part," she said. "But here, you make new friends."
'Incredible experience'
Glasgow agreed. Before becoming associate director, he marched for the Blue Coats and was a drum and baritone major.
"This is an incredible experience for everyone involved," he said. "The kids learn about life skills, how to train their body and how to handle a rigorous schedule."
Glasgow has to speak over the noise the members are making around him. While some get ready to rehearse, others are still waiting for to get their food, which is paid for by performance fees, various fund-raisers and local foundations.
"The young people we have here learn how to work hard and how to pursue excellence," Glasgow said.
The closest place to Youngstown the Blue Coats perform will be their annual home show at Paul Brown Stadium in Massillon on July 27.
Tickets can be purchased on the group's Web site, http://www.bluecoats.com.