New direction for director

Eric Bowman wanted to go big.
“When the position came open, it was kind of intriguing, like ‘Hmm, I wonder if that would be something that would be something that would work,’” said Bowman, the first-year assistant director for the Jay County High School Marching Patriots. “I called and (JCHS band director Kelly Smeltzer) asked why and I said I got tired of being alone and wanted to be part of a team.”
So he left Hagerstown, leaving behind five years in a program that saw some success in competition.
“It’s a program that’s been in the top 16 a long time and we’re able to do that, keep kids in the top,” he said. “It was a great experience. When I got there my wife had already taught there for five or six years and my kids live in that district. My kids go to school there so it was a great time to hang around with my family a little bit.”
But as Bowman left the band, he also left the role of leading his son Matt, who will be a senior in the fall and is drum major for the Hagerstown band.
“It sounds funny, but (Matt) is kind of one of the reasons I wanted to move out,” Bowman said. “He’s really thinking about doing this one day, so I really felt he needed to get out of under my shadow and see how it’s done differently. It’s kind of forced him to up the ante a little bit, but I think it’s been good for him.”
“I really enjoyed, like, just going home and stuff and talking about a good day’s work,” Matt Bowman said of the time his dad was director at Hagerstown.
“He was a really good teacher here and really I just treat him like that, treat him like a teacher.”
Despite the change, there hasn’t been any conflict between father and son over the new job.
“He’s not working for the enemy. I’ve got some connections at Jay County too. There’s no hard feelings or anything, fights at home,” he said, especially since his father played a part in his devotion to marching band. “I could say that it was all in my heart, but it isn’t. He’s a big influence in my life. I’m far enough along in my music to move on and it’s good for him.”
Smeltzer said he is impressed with the roles Bowman has taken on this band season.
“He’s being a band director with Jay County and being a dad for Hagerstown and goes out and supports his son,” Smeltzer said.
Bowman’s past experience and ability to teach has helped him fit right into the Marching Patriots’ staff in his first year with the program, so much that Smeltzer thinks it’s made a marked impact on the performance of the band this year.
“When I got on board they had a show concept kind of picked and we kind of took that and molded it and ran with it and that really worked well,” Bowman said.
“With about 24 years of experience, he’s brought an immeasurable amount of success to our program,” Smeltzer said. “He’s been great with the visual program this year, does a great job of understanding drill and how drill should work and how kids need to prepare in order to make the drill successful. He’s done a good job of motivating the kids this summer and knows what it takes to drive the kids to the level of excellence we need to have.
“They trust him,” Smeltzer said. “They trust him a lot and they believe in him and understand his expertise and that’s why they buy into what he’s doing and that’s why we’ve been doing very well this summer, I do believe that. He’s brought some great insight and some new ideas to the program and how to make this a more successful program.”
And there’s been some fun along the way, too.
“The summer things have been just a lot of fun just kind of learning the traditions,” Bowman said. “I have to confess I still have to do a better job learning the school song. I got burned on that the other day at band camp, so the pressure’s on for me to learn the school song.”
So despite the 45-minute drive back and forth between home and JCHS, Bowman said the experience has been a rewarding one.
“I’m really enjoying it. I’m glad I’ve got this opportunity and it’s been great to be part of a team and the kids are awesome,” he said.
“The support in the community is unreal and that’s the unique thing, it’s unique to very few programs and this is one of them,” Bowman said. “People were out when we left today, waving along the sidewalks, every time you go to Walmart someone knows the band and that’s a really unique situation and a lot of fun.”[[In-content Ad]]