The Madison Scouts are pleased to welcome back Nick Monzi as educational director and announce the 2020 caption leadership including Tim Darbonne (visual caption head), Chelsea Arenas (guard caption administrator), Tykeem Rainey (guard caption coordinator), Sarah Rillo (guard caption manager), Ross Gordon (brass caption head), Ryan Ellis (percussion caption head), André Wilson (battery coordinator), Eric Pujari (front ensemble coordinator), and Aaron Tucker (audio caption manager) .

Nick Monzi – educational director

Nick Monzi currently serves as CEO and Co-Founder of Learn Fresh, a national education nonprofit dedicated to enhancing student’s STEM and social-emotional achievement through sports and entertainment. Nick earned a bachelor’s degree in Entrepreneurship and Marketing Management from Syracuse University, and completed his master’s degree at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

In the marching activity, Nick has served as an instructor, designer, administrator, and performer for schools and organizations across the country. Previously, he served as an instructor and coordinator for the Madison Scouts from 2012-2018, and performed with the Blue Devils, Carolina Crown, and Phantom Regiment.

Tim Darbonne – visual caption head

Tim, an alumnus of the Blue Devils, spent 7 years on their visual staff, earning 4 DCI World Championships and 4 Best Visual Awards. He has designed and taught for ensembles in 20 different states and three different countries, earning numerous Superior ratings, Best in Class awards, State Champion awards, and BOA Regional Finalist awards. Tim made his drum corps design debut in 2011 with Music City and then went on to be the drill designer for Pacific Crest. Tim was a co-founder of the Louisiana Stars where he was also the Visual Designer/Supervisor in 2014 – 2015. Tim was also the drill designer for The Guardians during the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

Tim has been a visual instructor/caption head for numerous nationally acclaimed high school bands including Flower Mound High School, Hebron High School, LD Bell High School, and the Blue Springs Golden Regiment. Prior to joining the Blue Devils visual staff, Tim instructed the Academy, the Madison Scouts, and the Troopers. He returned to the Academy in 2016 as a visual consultant and was part of the corps’ first appearance in DCI Finals, finishing 11th place overall. Tim was the Visual Coordinator for the WGI Independent World Silver Medalist Crossmen Winds in 2018.

Chelsea Arenas – guard caption administrator



Chelsea is currently the color guard director at Union High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Chelsea was a featured performer with the Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps from 2008-2011, where she helped capture their 10th DCI World Championship. Arenas then continued on with the Cadets as a staff member. Chelsea has also performed with the WGI World Class Champion Pride of Cincinnati during their 2010 and 2012 seasons. Most recently, Chelsea performed in Japan with “Blast! the music of Disney” during the summer of 2016.

Tykeem Rainey – guard caption coordinator



Tykeem is an active choreographer and technician in the San Antonio, TX area at Ronald Reagan High School and Winston Churchill High School. He was a member of the Madison Scouts from 2008-2011. Upon aging out, Tykeem served as an intern and staff member from 2012-2014. During the off season, he had the opportunity to march with Impact Independent in Northern Virginia from 2008-2012 and won the WGI Independent A Gold Medal.

In 2014, Tykeem had the opportunity to perform in the Tony and Emmy Award winning production, “BLAST!”, which toured prefectures throughout Japan. From 2015 to 2018, Tykeem performed and choreographed “Mix it Up,” a staged theme show located at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia. In the spring of 2017, he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in History from Virginia Commonwealth University. Tykeem’s most recent summers were spent with the Blue Knights in 2018 and the Raiders in 2019.

Sarah Rillo – guard caption manager



Sarah is a choreographer and consultant currently living in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She began her performing arts career in 2007 with the Pride of Broken Arrow from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. After graduating in 2009, Sarah went on to perform with Crossmen in 2010 and 2011 and aged out of the Blue Devils in 2012. She also performed with Onyx World in their 2014 winter season and was given the opportunity to perform internationally with the Blue Devils International Corps for the 2015 season.

Sarah began her teaching career after graduating high school in 2009. Since then, she has directed, choreographed, designed, or consulted for high schools around the U.S., for both their fall and winter seasons. Sarah has also acted as a technician and choreographer for different drum corps including Legends, Academy, Phantom Regiment, and Crossmen. Sarah is in her third year as a choreographer/instructor at Broken Arrow High School, as well as a choreographer for several other high school marching bands this fall.

Ross Gordon – brass caption head

After graduating from the University of Wisconsin Peck School of the Arts with a Masters Degree in Orchestral Conducting, Ross Gordon was appointed as an Assistant Band Director at Sam Rayburn High School (Houston, TX) and is currently an Assistant Band Director at North Mesquite High School (Dallas, TX). In 2014, Ross joined the Legends, serving as the Brass Caption Head through 2019. Ross, with the support of management, a committed staff and talented members, built the Legends brass program to be one of the elite open class programs in the country. Under Ross’ leadership, the Legends brass section was a consistent Drum Corps International World Class semi finalist and open class medalist, growing from 42 members in his first year to a consistent 72.

Ross gained personal drum corps experience as a marching member of the Phantom Regiment and Carolina Crown (Jim Ott and John Brazale winner). While at Crown he had the opportunity to learn from Matt Harloff and Donnie VanDoren, among others. Ross was also a member of the Carolina Crown small brass ensemble and the world renowned Creamsicles vocal ensemble.

Ryan Ellis – percussion caption head

Ryan Ellis is an active music educator in the Cincinnati area and has performed with such ensembles as Rhythm X, Blue Devils, Bluecoats, and the Spirit of Atlanta.

Ryan has taught and designed for many schools in the Ohio area as well as for WGI groups Redline and Connexus Independent. He was most recently the battery coordinator for the Crossmen Drum & Bugle Corps. Ryan currently serves as the percussion director at Lebanon City Schools (OH).

André Wilson – battery coordinator

André has been a music educator in the Southern Louisiana area for the last decade and has performed with ensembles such as Rhythm X and the Bluecoats. Andre has taught and designed for many schools in Louisiana including Central Lafourche High School, E.D.White HS and Vandebilt HS. He most recently served on the percussion staff of the Crossmen from 2017-2019. In 2014, he was part of the inaugural staff of the Louisiana Stars, in DCI’s Open Class. He has also served as a battery technician for the Blue Stars (15-16), as well as Cap City Percussion in 2018.

André also holds a certification in yoga, as well as a certification in meditation, breathwork, and cold therapy from the Wim Hof Method, designed by the 27-time Guinness World Record holder Wim Hof, “The Iceman”. He has been an active WHM instructor at the Lewis Howe’s “Summit of Greatness” and holds workshops in the Southern Louisiana area.

Eric Pujari – front ensemble coordinator

Eric Pujari is an in-demand educator in the Midwest. He holds a B.S. in Neurobiology & Physiology from Purdue University, and currently dedicates his time to teaching high school science and percussion students.

Eric is a private instructor, technician, and an integral component of the marching programs at Centerville and Lebanon schools in Dayton, Ohio. Previously, he was an instructor for the Crossmen and a performer at The Bluecoats and Rhythm X.

Aaron Tucker – audio caption manager

Aaron is a freelance percussion educator and audio specialist living in Cary, North Carolina. He studied Percussion with an emphasis in Jazz Performance at East Carolina University. In 2002, he had the opportunity to march with the Magic of Orlando. Throughout his career, Aaron has had the pleasure of working with world class organizations such as Palmetto Percussion, Spirit of Atlanta, and the Blue Knights. He also serves as the Percussion Coordinator for Atlantic Indoor Association, and served as Percussion Director for BOA Grand Nationals semi-finalist Green Hope High School from 2008 through 2019.

In 2018, Aaron helped to guide Carolina Gold to a DCA Class A world championship and high percussion award. He is also the founder and former director of Alchemy Independent Percussion Ensemble. In addition to his various instructional responsibilities, Aaron maintains a studio of private students, and consults and designs for percussion ensembles in the Mid-Atlantic area. He has designed and taught for BOA Grand Nationals semi-finalists, and WGI World Championship Finalists.