On March 1, cadets from the MCJROTC program will travel to Yuma, Arizona to compete at the Kofa High Drill Meet, one of several drill meets in which they put their skills to the test against competing schools.
Senior Unarmed Exhibition Team Captain Leilani Ontiveros said, “I’m very excited because last year we placed first in the Unarmed Exhibition and I’m hoping to get first again. I like traveling, spending time with my team, and staying overnight because it’s super fun and we only get to do that this one competition.”
“I believe the competitions for the cadets are the culmination of all the hard work and effort they put in throughout the weeks, the months, the year, and they get to showcase that at the competitions,” said Senior Marine Instructor Master Sergeant Eric Cole.
“The competitions help the cadets be better, because they get to assess themselves against their peers. In regular practice during school, they are simply working to refine their skills and, at most, competing against their friends. In competitions, they get to show off their hard work and be competitive against many other schools. I’d say that fact is what really motivates them to do better,” said Cole.
“The regulation teams are where the teams do an inspection and then execute a drill card, with the difference between armed and unarmed being the use of rifles. Then there are exhibition teams, where cadets will come up with routines of moves they make up and get graded on precision and creativity. Finally, there are the Color Guard teams which bear the national colors and use rifles, and have their own unique set of marching commands,” Cole explained.
“My favorite parts of an exhibition routine are making changes to the routine each time based on criticism from the judges, and asking my team members for their input too, because I can’t do it all by myself. With all the other teams, your main concern is being as precise as possible, following a specific list of commands, and while that component is still there for exhibition teams, you can also leave a good impression with the style and creativity,” said Ontiveros.
JROTC Color Guard Bravo Commander Junior Madison Yang, who is taking part in the competition, said, “The hardest part of Color Guard in MCJROTC for me is just keeping up with the number of practices, because sometimes I don’t want to do them as they can be pretty repetitive. Having the discipline to do color guard is probably the hardest part of the practices. During competitions, I’m most concerned about things like our uniforms being in order and making sure everyone has their things, as well as remembering every command of the drill card while we’re competing.”
As for the Armed Regulation Team, Member Sophomore Anthony Bonifacio said, “Practice actually has a good amount of bonding time for us as we don’t want to keep up the intensity 100 percent of the time. Sometimes, it gets a bit too goofy and we have to lock back in. That balance between having a good time and making sure we still put in all our effort, when we’re marching or doing stationary movements, is something we have to have all the time.”
Despite how fun this experience is for members, the competition can be stressful.“When competitions come around I can get really nervous, start breaking down, and start feeling like I’m going to throw up. Once you step on the pad for the drill portion you don’t really feel anything as you’re just doing the moves. Inspection is different though, as you can have real drill instructors inspecting you and maybe even shouting at you.In fact, the last time I did an inspection during a competition my leg was shaking so much I was scared they’d take points off,” Bonifacio said.
“It’s always nice to see the cadets celebrate when their team places top three or wins against all of the other schools. I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of this experience and see these young adults grow and mature,” said Cole.