I did some crazy things just to change the mood and take away from the monotony.

1)We did silent drill on the field. No playing AND no counting out loud. It would help everyone see where/when to move and who wasn't getting it.

2)We did "mini" show in the band hall. No chairs and everyone off to the sides. Then one section or group at a time would marching and play the show or parts or whatever. Yes, the step size was 1,500 to 5 but once again it should moves and playing levels. Also worked on toes up since every foot was tiny.

I just tried things. Some worked and some failed miserably but at least we were still getting some sort of reps.

Best of luck.

Do your marching basics in your drill sets instead of a basics block. You can clean the drill while working on marching fundamentals. Also, be sure to go over midpoints and crossing counts (when they cross the yard line).

Keep in mind this stuff is tedious for both the teacher and the students, but can produce results if everyone is committed enough:

1) Make sure kids freeze where you said you were going to stop in the segment, and make sure they stop at a "minus one" (the last step of the move). They have to freeze there in order for both them and you to evaluate if set arrival was accurate. They have to hold in playing position so that they can use their peripheral vision to make the correct adjustments. The biggest battle to fight is in kids listening to the instructions and applying on the rep so that no one stops early or moves on past the segment

2) Kids need to know where their spot is on each individual set and not just big hold sets.

3) You will ocasionally need to go set to set or stop in sets that are in the middle of musical phrases to check pathways and set arrivals. Number 2 above will make this a less painful experience

4) If on a parking lot, find a way to chalk a line or curve in the most exposed sets of the show, especially if its a big long diagonal. This will train their eyes and muscle memory to look for those specific dress points. Avoid chalking individual "dots" for each kid, they will rely on looking for that individual dot instead of the form

5) If a particular move is looking rough, have the kids face direction of travel a few times to really help them understand step size and pathway