Have them do simple warm up such as 8 on a hand, and diddle exercises. Make sure they learn the right technique and have them mark time while playing.
Hopefully the diddle exercises will help them learn how to do a decent sounding roll. It sounds like you have a ton of work in front of you. Good luck.

It seems to me like the big problem here isn't necessarily the fact that the drumline is BAD, it's that they don't seem to have much ethic or want to get better. "Busy schedules", you say- well, I know lots of people in highschool have busy schedules, with jobs and other activities, but if they really do want to get better (and it seems like they've taken the first step in trying to get better as they've asked you for help) then they'll have to MAKE time. Otherwise they're lost from the start, unfortunately.

Drumrchic made a good point with simple exercises.. have them always wear their drums and mark time, that'll help with marching. Eights and diddle exercises, even if you're doing R-R-L-L as quarter notes at 80 BPM, WILL help. It's the simple things that matter! Have fun, dude, and don't get mad at 'em, it's not necessarily their fault they're bad. Strive to create an attitude of exellence, and give them a work ethic! That's what will help the most.

I definately agree with getting the basics down. When I inherited the drumline and pit at the school I'm the Brass instructor at the first thing I did was go through their show music and write exercises that helped them work on the techniques that they were being exposed to everytime they played their show. Once they started to show improvement on those exercises I started to add other "basic" techniques such as the basic rudiments and such. (Being a "non-percussionist" I have spent a huge amount of time reading just about every post on this web site which has helped me learn what is needed to have a good drumline.) I also recommend that you do something to promote commeradery within the section. Once the members become like a family so to say you'd be surprised how many of them will "find the time" for drumline activities such as sectionals and rehearsals. In addition, remind them that they don't have to be the "best" drumline in the region. As long as they are steadily improving their own performance that is all that matters. (We sometimes tend to focus on trophies and awards and forget that a contest's results are the opinions of only one group of people. And the group is in fact a winner if the performance that they put on was better than their last performance.)Also if you intend on working with this group for the long term, set goals for 2-3 years from now. It's a little late to make a huge difference this year, and with the students that are graduating this year...However, the younger students will be around for awhile and you will be able to better mold the school's future drumlines.
Sorry for the long winded post.
Bill

They don't have a band class. They do all their work after school. I'll admit they've done pretty good given their situation, but man they're behind...

I have had this pretty much with the indoor line I am helping with. Their band director is a horn player and just about ignores the drum line. She has drummers playing just about what they want. I am use to a large school and when I volunteered to help this little school (400 students), I fell into a mess. No lessons, no technique, no rudiments and can't march. After a couple of months working on technique, rudiments and a lot of one on one, I have to say that its paying off. Patience is the key and don't try to fix things over night, that won't happen. If you have the time, break things down into sections and do what I call group lessons, working with the snares one time and basses another time and so on. What this does is sets up a little competition within the group and they try to learn and out play each other. Its amazing how this works, and my indoor line is living proof of this. As an example, I have a 6th grader and a 10th grader in my snare line. After working with these two, the 6th grader now plays as good as the 10th grader and the 10th grader now has better technique and does great with rudiments (she still can't march worth a damn) and plays the music better than she ever has.

I think that maybe some one-on-one time is in order. Teach the ones that want to learn, and hopefully the others will follow. If not, maybe there is some weeding-out that can be done.

1. Stay positive.

2. If they don't have any already, get them some books, like Stone's or Harr's for snares and the Logic Series for quads and bass. Start from the VERY beginning, and don't move on until they've got everything down. Patience is important. Make sure they take it home and practice.

3. Talk to them. Stress priorities.

4. Reward them. Punish them.

5. Make it fun for them. Change things around. Make sure they don't get bored with it.

First of all, it sounds as if they haven't had much exposure to the drumline world. It may do some good to even show them some DVDs. Make sure to include Drum Corps, and maybe even some WGI or other Indoor Percussion DVDs. This will show them what CAN be achieved. Seeing intense performances such as these usually motivates especially those who have yet to watch any of these groups.

When you DO get to practicing, make sure to start from the beginning. Break things down. You should probably go as far as preparing for basics, straight down to the motion of a down stroke, an up stroke, etc. Get them to get the feel of these motions, and work your way up from there. There is nothing worse than a drummer that doesnt know the basics!

Hope this helps... I've found it's very effective.