With the end of football season in November also comes the end of the drill season. In their green and white uniforms, the drill team performs at every pep rally and during halftime at every home football game. They have practice every day after school, using it to prepare for their performances and to be in the stands cheering on the football games. While the drill team is well known at our school, many people still wonder what drill is.
Our school’s drill team is what is often considered a “dance drill team.” Drill originated from military drill teams, which are groups of people that march and do routines based on military drills. Dance drill teams evolved from military drill teams as well as pep squads, eventually becoming what we know drill as today. The style of drill is based on precision as well as sharpness, and drill routines often include kicklines.
The routines performed by our drill team are all choreographed by the captains and co-captains, and done to either music mashups or songs played by our school’s band, with a new routine each week.
Peyton Oviedo, one of the captains, says that making mixes and routines is one of her favorite parts of being captain. She also loves the experience and all the girls on the team. Peyton joined the drill team the year after COVID, when her mom (who was also on drill) showed her an email regarding tryouts. She first joined drill alone, but now in her senior year, she says “I love all the friends I made from it,” and talks about how she is so happy to know all the people she has met through drill. She recommends that members of the team make sure to have fun, and to not get too stressed out and lose the enjoyment in it.
Captain Amanari Magaña really enjoys creating counts and picking songs for the routines, as well as working with her other captains to put together a performance that they’re proud of. Her sister and mom were both on drill in their high school years, and she joined as a freshman after watching the team perform at pep rallies. Amanari also appreciates the community that she has built during her years on the team, “creating lifelong friendships and memories [she] will always cherish.” She always tells the team to make sure to practice over and over again. “Even though it sounds repetitive, it always makes our routines look cleaner.” She says that it’s especially important so that on Friday the team is more excited to perform and feels more confident in themselves.
Grace Alatorre, one of the two co-captains, also loves choreographing the routines. She enjoys choosing the songs and making the counts, and says that “it’s so exciting to see it come together” once the team learns the routine that she made. She first joined drill in her freshman year with her friend, Itzia Chavez, who is also co-captain. She is thankful to all the new friends that she made during her time on drill, and she thinks it’s important for the team to always try their best no matter what, and to stay smiling and happy when performing.
Itzia Chavez, the other co-captain, says her favorite part of being co-captain is being able to see the team bond with each other. She says “a good relationship within a team is super important, and seeing these girls bond with each other genuinely warms my heart.” She joined the team her freshman year with now co-captain Grace after seeing drill’s halftime performances. One of her favorite parts of being on the team is the friendships she made along the way, saying that the girls she has met on the team “have become some of [her] closest and most trusted friends” and that she “would give anything in the world for them.”
Our school’s drill team has a great sense of community and friendship among it. Avni Shamasunder Koppula, a member of the team, says that she joined because she wanted to be a part of a community at our school. She adds “I didn’t expect to make as many new friends as I have now,” and that all the girls on the team feel like her sisters. Lily Avina, who also joined because she wanted to be a part of a community at our school, says that football games are one of her favorite parts of being on the team. She talks about how she used to think they weren’t very interesting, but after being on drill, she has so much pride in our school and Eagle Rock as a whole.
With the season coming to an end, tryouts for the 2025 season will occur in January for anyone interested in joining the drill team. Practice will be held during the spring semester as well as over summer to prepare for the upcoming football season, when practice will happen everyday after school.
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