Ridgewood Marching Band Director Wins National Award

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. - John Luckenbill knows that his musicians need to succeed at more than just playing an instrument. They need to succeed when the music stops playing.

Luckenbill is one of only 50 people nationwide to receive the Double-Goal Coach Award from the Positive Coaching Alliance.

Luckenbill's mantra is simple: Control what you can control.

“The longer I’m here, the more they embrace that motto,” he said. “With judges and everything else, there is only so much you can control, but our marching band members know that they control the amount of effort they put in, and when they put in the right effort, good things happen.”

Luckenbill focuses on a different principle, or "star" as he calls them, each week: Trust, pride, leadership, respect, and unity.

"We pick a star and talk about what it means to us in the marching band and elsewhere in life," Luckenbill said.

Luckenbill has been the band's director for five years. He is a graduate of Michigan State University and is finishing his master's in music education at Kent State University.

John Luckenbill/Positive Coaching Alliance