First Sergeant Donald Hollman, Clarke Central High School’s Drill Team instructor, stands at the 9/11 remembrance ceremony on campus in 2018. Hollman has been the head coach of the CCHS Drill Team for five years and believes his students learn much from it. “(Students learn) teamwork, attention to detail, accountability, continuous improvement, how to win or lose with grace, video study, accepting constructive criticism, leadership, followership, importance of fundraising, planning/briefing skills, memory skills, applying the JROTC curriculum to real world situations, competitiveness, punctuality, preparation, friendship with other schools and respect.” Photo by Ana Aldridge
After almost a yearlong hiatus, the Clarke Central High School Drill Team, a branch of the JROTC program that performs armed and unarmed marching patterns and routines, returned to competition on Feb. 13 on the CCHS campus.
First Sergeant Hollman, the CCHS Drill Team instructor, has been preparing the team for the 2021 season since November of 2020.
“We practice mornings (7 – 8:30 am) and afternoons (4 – 6 pm) Monday through Thursday. We practice the different drill routines because attention to detail is important to competing in a drill competition,” Hollman said. “After a drill competition, we review video of our performance to dissect what we did well and what we need to improve.”
The team’s 2020 competitive season was cut short due to the pandemic, and the new season has been altered due to safety concerns.
“Hosting a drill competition during a global pandemic looked different than a ‘normal’ drill competition.”
— First Sergeant Donald Hollman,
CCHS Drill Team instructor
“Hosting a drill competition during a global pandemic looked different than a ‘normal’ drill competition. Each school was assigned a report time and competition start time. They moved throughout the different events, competed in what they were signed up for, and then departed for their home school. This kept the number of schools actually being on campus to a minimum and allowed us to adhere to the school district’s COVID-19 plan/protocol.”
Staff Sergeant Da’oud De Lane, a sophomore, has been on the Drill Team since his freshman year. According to De Lane, the team has had to adjust practices due to COVID-19.
“We start the day off with temperature checks and sanitization check-ins. We then go to grab our rifles, get in an orderly formation and begin marching with a chosen commander,” De Lane said. “We have different counterparts to drill that include Exhibition (the toss and flip of the rifle) and Color Guard (where we present flags).”
