Last Saturday on December 10th the Hays JROTC varsity and JV drill teams had their first competition of the season, and for some it was their very first competition ever.

Nerves were everywhere, especially for the ones who were new to the drill team- which was pretty much the whole JV drill team. The commander of the JV drill team is Jonathan Darrah and for his first ever year on drill, and commanding he did really well, even with all the nerves.

“From the time I entered the deck to the end of the stationary section of the card I was terrified. Once we started marching my confidence picked up” Darrah said. You could tell while JV was standing there for the stationary section they were terrified, but once Darrah called that “forward march” the confidence levels were up on the roof and they finished the card like it was nothing.  

Varsity had a few hours to go before they walked on that drill deck, and while most of them had competed last year, their nerves were still going crazy. “Dance out your nerves guys! We got this!”

Kylie Greene is the only freshman on the varsity team, so I can’t imagine how she was feeling. She was put on the varsity team earlier in the year and grew more and more as she practiced. Greene talked about how her favorite parts of the competition were marching and she said how she really likes being with the other people in the platoon. She said how she was pretty nervous at first but once we were on that drill deck, it was like the nerves washed away. 

Other than the fact that the drill comp was messy and not really put together, both teams did really well. Varsity placed 3rd and JV’s place is still to be determined. Let’s hope for the best for the next competition.