The Wonderful World of Drill..

Anyone who knows me fairly well can attest to the fact that High School Drill Team is still a very big part of my life. To be honest it is probably the one thing I HATE to love! The time commitment is huge, the hours are crappy and the pay is not good at all, but the memories made are something that just can’t be replaced. And as quickly as it seems to have begun, the competition season is sadly now over. This year however has seemed to be much different than any other. When I first started I had more girls on my team than we had ever had before. I had more beginning dancers than I did advanced. And I had the least amount of motivation from over half of the girls, something honestly I had never had to deal with before! The year started out rough to say the least. We attended camp as a team in June and I can honestly say it was probably one of the most stressful times I ever had coaching. My girls did not pick up on the routines quickly, they had to be pushed to even practice and the attitudes overall were just so negative. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect for the upcoming season, but being pushy like I can be, I kept pushing these girls until they were about to break. In October we joined the Shakespeare team, and competed as the dance ensemble team. I choreographed apiece entitled “The Kill” which physically, mentally and emotionally took its toll on my team day after day. It was a very dark piece about fighting our demons and letting go of what holds us back. The girls were very receptive the choreography and to the message that we were trying to portray. Every time after the piece was performed I had 11 girls sobbing, shaking and trying to come out of and get away from what they had feared. Once we competed the piece our statement seemed to have been made very clear. The audience members, judges and other dancers were left speechless! We on the other hand were a new team, had a new vision and a first place win! That was honestly the turning point for my team. For the next 3 months we practiced and competed. We swept 3 of our competitions winning overall awards, many first places and even showmanship awards! We knew this was our year and we were determined to prove ourselves at the State Competition.

Last week we had the opportunity to compete for the State 1a Drill Team Championship. My girls placed first in 2 of the 3 routines (Military and Dance) and placed 3rd in our kick routine. Because of the lower placement in kick we ended up tying for the overall State Championship title. This forced the judges to go into a tiebreaker situation that we ended up loosing by 1 point. While we were extremely disappointed at the time, our success spoke for itself… Suddenly everyone knew who Rockwell was, team after team congratulated us, we took awards in every category and when we left we had other teams chanting our name as they walked past our bus! It was a feeling that no state championship could have ever replaced. I am honestly so proud of these girls for all of their hard work and dedication. They definitely turned from my nightmare into my dream team. March 14th (when our season officially ends) is going to be one of the hardest days in my coaching career. I will be loosing 6 seniors and a team that I will never forget. Thank you girls for making me the proudest coach ever!!! Overall State Awards: 1st Place in Military Category 1st Place in Dance Category 3rd Place in Kick Category 2nd Place overall 1A State Champions Maddie Beck, Kathryn D’Albini and Brianna Bailey were awarded All-State Drill Team members. (We were the only 1a team to have all 3 girls make the team) Madison Bartell won a $200 UDDA Scholarship Becca Wadley won 3rd place in the State Drill Down And I won Coach of the Year! (Huge honor I am still not sure I am worthy of)