Giving your student leaders some teaching tools can make for a more effective and productive marching band rehearsal. Take time to identify areas of your rehearsals where student leaders can help your band learn or improve faster; band camp is usually a great time for this.
Set up a meeting with your leadership over the summer or towards the end of the spring semester to go over any areas you want them to cover with their section members. Instead of simply teaching technique, have an open discussion during the lesson on why specific things are being asked of them and how they benefit them as performers. Pull individual leaders out so they can watch the rest of the group and teach them things to look for when teaching the specific area of focus. Teach the student how to give instruction to their peers and the verbiage they should be using that aligns with you and your staff’s teaching philosophy. Go through this process with each of your student leaders and always check for understanding to ensure each of them feels comfortable teaching the materials you are expecting them to.
Depending on the amount of help you are going to expect from your leadership, this activity could take a few hours or a few days to complete. Provide each of your leadership students with at least 10 minutes of time in front of their peers, with you coaching them through it, on each area of focus (marching technique, drill cleaning, warm-ups, cleaning music).