The Clarke Central High School JROTC Drill Team & Competitive Color Guard practice after school on Nov. 12. Female Color Guard captain cadet Command Sergeant Major Anna Williams, a junior, has had two older brothers go through JROTC, pulling her into the program as well. “When I came in my freshman year and I tried it out I was like, ‘This is actually really interesting.’ So it just depends on who you are and how you react to certain things, like, I’m kind of a specialist when it comes to certain tasks, I will redo it so many times until I think it’s perfect enough to be turned in,” Williams said. Photo by Maya Cornish
The Clarke Central High School JROTC Drill Team & Competitive Color Guard prepare for its 2018-19 season.
One of the extracurriculars offered to the Clarke Central High School JROTC cadets is Drill Team & Competitive Color Guard, which starts in the late fall and focuses heavily on unison and memorization, according to coach Sergeant Donald Hollman.
“(We have) a drill card that we execute all commands from and the cadets they memorize the card, it could be up to 54-55 commands, and what’s supposed to happen is once they memorize the card then the other cadets they execute all the commands. It’s precision, unity and we go compete amongst other high schools,” Hollman said.
According to Hollman, the team’s size has doubled from last season, going from 25 to 47 cadets.
“(Some cadets join) for a experience, some just like the camaraderie of being around other cadets. (Others) just like to compete, so they’re just compatible (with the structure of Drill Team). Some want to do something different, want to try something different,” Hollman said.
Female Color Guard captain cadet Command Sergeant Major Anna Williams, a junior, has been a part of Drill Team & Competitive Color Guard since freshman year, and hopes to teach them from her mistakes as well as that they can grow from theirs too.
“I have made mistakes throughout the years of doing drill, so I want people to be able to see how I do and how I’ve learned and how we can get somewhere without having to be maybe a high-up school,” Williams said. “Like, during our drill meet last year, me and my female Color Guard got first place but we only got first place because we put in all that work and effort. I want everyone else to see that if they work hard enough they can get up there too.”
