Menu
Drill team competition draws big crowd
Spit shined shoes, polished sabers, lockstep marching and precision weapons handling were the order of the day on Saturday as JROTC drill teams from 13 schools gathered in the gymnasiums of the Nevada High School and Truman Elementary School to compete in the 2012 Nevada Invitational Drill Meet.
More than 400 cadets competed and countless students, instructors, parents, judges and family members were on hand to support teams from Kansas and Missouri in a competition that lasted most of the day. Some teams were all female, some were all male, others were co-ed, all were decked out in military regalia and in their best form. Color guard units and new cadets competed in the Truman Elementary School gym and the remainder of the drills were held in the high school's Wynn Gymnasium.
Some of the teams had 15-20 members others had a half dozen. There were separate categories for unarmed and armed drills. The unarmed drills were a combination of marching to cadence, intricate footwork and perfectly timed moves. Much of the maneuvering is like "choreographed movement," according to Nevada instructor, Sgt. Peter Quinlan.
Each team asked permission from the commander of the event for permission to perform on their floor before beginning their routine and thanked them when they were done. Cadence callers were barking directions, troops were answering in unison and one outfit, an all girls cavalry unit sang "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon." Yellow is the official color of the cavalry and that song has long been used to keep cadence. It was also the theme song and title of a 1949 John Wayne movie.
The armed drill competition is also a series of marching moves, but marchers carry rifles and perform precision rifle handling feats. Cadets spin, flip, toss and balance their weapons as well as use them to help keep cadence and provide a standing platform for a performance finale. At one time, the Nevada team had several rifles in the air simultaneously.
Professional soldiers were on hand to judge the event. Local U.S. Army recruiter Sgt. 1st Class John Grayson helped with the judging as did other recruiters from the Pittsburg State University recruiting office. The Nevada High School Air Force JROTC instructor and Lt. Col. David Coss said the judges did a tremendous job. "They are a key piece of an event," like this.
Trophies were awarded in several different categories. The Nevada Flying Tigers Drill Team didn't take home any of the trophies because "the vast majority" of drill teams exclude themselves from the trophy competition during their home town meets. That, according to Coss, is so the host school can "eliminate any perception" of impropriety. "We chose several years ago not to compete" for trophies in our own meets, Coss said.
Despite no chance of winning a trophy, the Nevada teams did well, according to Coss. This is one of seven drill meets the Nevada team will compete in this year. "Our Nevada teams did excellent," Coss said.
There were several teams from Blue Springs and Lee's Summit and teams made the trip from as far away as Monett and Leavenworth, Kan. Other marchers came from Neosho, Webb City, Joplin, Highland Park, and McDonald County for this event.
Most of the competing schools took home a trophy in one of the 10 categories. And even though the Nevada Flying Tigers were exempt from trophy competition they would have, according to their scores, placed first in both the Infantry drill regimen with and without weapons and second place in the exhibition with weapons and third in the exhibition without weapons category. "Over all we did really good," said Coss
