Consider small school programs before you make blanket statements.

In many cases, students as young as *seventh grade* are in the marching band. A kid in 9th grade with two years marching experience is equal to a kid in 11th grade with the same. There's likely a huge difference in performance ability, true, but there's always a difference between small and large schools. That's why the PML exists.

And there are in fact MANY people that coach sports that never played that sport. Sonny Dykes comes to mind - he never played football, and his team just played for a national championship. Neither did (RIP) Mike Leach. Or Hugh Freeze at Auburn. For that matter, neither did Vince Lombardi, Bill Walsh, or Paul Brown, who are all very important names in the history of the NFL.

I've never performed on a bassoon. But I can teach it.