Drill Team
PLEASE NOTE: There has been a CHANGE in the practice schedule. We are moving from T/TH practices to M/W practices beginning 27 January. Check out the new schedule on the drill team bulletin board in the JROTC Hallway and under the “Drill Team Schedule” Tab on this webpage.
THREE SMA DRILL TEAM ELEMENTS QUALIFY FOR STATE COMPETITION
by 1SG Thomas
The Area 5 District Drill Competition was held at Palmetto High School on Saturday, 28 February 2009. All of our elements performed with distinction against some stiff, experienced, and talented competition. Three of them placed in the top, enabling them to enter and compete in the Florida State JROTC Drill Competition, to be held at George Jenkins High School in Lakeland next Saturday, 7 March 2009. The teams qualifying for State Competition are as follows:
FEMALE COLORGUARD
Commander: Samantha (Samuel) L. Coons
Team Members: Kylie Gouriluk
Sarah Williams
Charley (Charles) Allen
MALE ARMED SQUAD
Commander: Mike Martino
Team Members: Justin Gable Andrew Cerchio
Andrew Guinart Louis Fischer
Zach Brodil Clay Major
MALE EXHIBITION SQUAD
Commander: Joey Hurst
Team Members: Jordan Atha Jack Bratcher
Zach Brodil Tim Downs
Duncan Pressey Mario Ferrucci
BORN TO MARCH, TRAINED TO DRILL,
LIVE TO WIN, AND ALWAYS WILL!
DRILL TEAM!
SMA Male Color Guard: Josh Payne, Andrew Cerchio, Zach Brodil, and Mike Martino
DRILL TEAM UPDATE NEWS!
SMA Male Color Guard Earns 1st Place
by 1SG Thomas
Hey, do you remember me telling you about the SPECTACULOR performance of our Male Color Guard at the VFW Drill Meet last month? Well, their performance was just SO good that we were flabbergasted when the boys didn’t even place. Here’s the UPDATE NEWS:
There was a mathematical error in the judges’ calculations, and our Male Color Guard not only placed, but, in fact, took the FIRST PLACE TROPHY!
CSM Thomas awarded the boys their trophy at formation this morning. The award was late, but no less sweet. Congratulations to the team; you did yourselves and all of us proud!
BORN TO MARCH, TRAINED TO DRILL, LIVE TO WIN, AND ALWAYS WILL! DRILL TEAM!
SMA PRECISION DRILL TEAM
TRIUMPHS AT
THE VFW DRILL MEET
by 1SG Thomas
The Sarasota Military Academy Precision Drill Team competed with 23 other schools at the Florida VFW Drill Meet, held in Brandon on 13 December. Participating schools included Alonso, Bayshore, Bell, Bloomingdale, Brandon, Desoto, Dixie Hollis, Durant, East Bay, Gibbs, Hillsborough, Lake Wales, Lake Weir, Mulberry, Newsome, Palmetto, Plant City, Sarasota, SMA, Westport, Williston, Winter Haven, Zephyrhills, and Sarasota Riverview. Team OIC, c/COL Andrew Cerchio and Team NCOIC c/CSM Jacob Piper are proud to share the following:
The morning started out with some frigid temperatures, but that did not deter the team from giving their all, and there were many parents out there to cheer for their cadets. We thank all of you for your support!
All of the SMA teams performed commendably and, more importantly, comported themselves with dignity and the highest degree of sportsmanship. We take the greatest pride in their maturity and demeanor.
The competition began with our exhibition teams. With a temperature below 50 degrees, it is not easy to hold onto those rifles, let alone spin them, but the boys did a great job, and the Exhibition Squad took the Second Place Trophy.
Exhibition Squad: Commander: Nick Leboutillier; Members: Zack Brodil, Joey Hurst, Tim Downs, Jacob Bradtmueller, Jacob Piper, Mario Ferrucci, Jordan Atha, Ryan Kays, and Clayton Reese.
Exhibition Platoon: Commander: Clayton Reese; Members: Zack Brodil, Joey Hurst, Tim Downs,
Jacob Bradtmueller, Jacob Piper, Mario Ferrucci, Jordan Atha, Ryan Kays, Jared Kelderman, Joseph Miller, Julian Warren, and Michael Mitchell.
Next up was the Armed Regulation Platoon. The platoon was comprised of mostly first-year drillers with a couple of veterans. Their performance was nearly flawless, garnering them the First Place Trophy. Their win is a testament to the tenacity of the Commander, sophomore Louis Fischer, and his team, and to the experience and training of all team members by junior Mike Martino, along with experienced “tweeking” by senior Andrew Cerchio.
Armed Regulation Platoon: Commander: Louis Fischer; Members: Mike Martino, Andrew Cerchio, Josh Payne, Justin Gable, Clay Major, Andrew Guinart, Mario Petitti, Steven Vasallo, Saul Jimenez, Seth Kenny, Tyler Gilbert, and Jack Sweeney.
Armed Regulation Squad: Commander: Mike Martino; Members: Andrew Guinart, Justin Gable, Andrew Cerchio, Josh Johnston, Josh Payne, and Louis Fischer.
We were only allowed to enter one squad in the unarmed competition, and the Female Unarmed Squad represented us in this category. Commander Monica Cubillos had a family commitment; therefore, team member Katie Cerchio stepped up to the plate and commanded, and first-time competitor Gaby Lopez stepped into Katie’s slot on the squad. Even with the substitutions and last-minute changes by the head judge, the girls wowed the judges, and brought home the Second Place Trophy.
Unarmed Regulation Squad: Commander: Katie Cerchio; Members: Sarah Johnston, Maggie Bork, Taylor Hancher, Charley Allen, Sarah Williams, and Gaby Lopez.
First-time Commander Josh Payne and his Unarmed Regulation Platoon were awarded the First Place Trophy. It is worth noting that the platoon received only a 2-point deduction and was comprised almost entirely of sophomores,
Unarmed Regulation Platoon: Commander: Josh Payne; Members: Jared Kelderman, Louis Fischer, Gaby Lopez, Taylor Steele, Charley Allen, Justin Gable, Andrew Guinart, Jack Bratcher, Preston Snell, Sarah Johnston, Katie Cerchio, and Sarah Williams.
Color Guard is, arguably, the most competitive category, as there is no requirement for a JROTC program to have a drill team, but all must have a Color Guard. Therefore, this category has the most teams entered, and all are drilled repeatedly at events throughout the year. That notwithstanding, both our Male and Female Color Guards performed wonderfully. The male color guard was told by one of the active duty Marine Corps judges that their performance “took my breath away!” The female team competes together as a new team this year, and their performance was also fantastic! Both teams did themselves, SMA, and their country proud as they presented the US Colors!
Male Color Guard: Commander: Andrew Cerchio; Members: Mike Martino, Zack Brodil, and Josh Payne.
Female Color Guard: Commander: Samantha Coons; Members: Charley Allen, Sarah Williams, and Kylie Gouriluk.
Knockout Drill Individual Medals were also awarded as follows: Unarmed: 10th Place, Katie Cerchio; 5th Place Jared Kelderman; 3rd Place, Josh Payne. Armed: 3rd Place: Andrew Cerchio.
To recap, then, Sarasota Military Academy earned the following Awards:
1st Place: Armed Platoon Regulation
1st Place: Unarmed Platoon Regulation
2nd Place: Unarmed Squad Regulation
2nd Place: Squad Exhibition
3rd Place: Overall Score among 24 Competing Schools
4 Individual Medals for Knockout Drill
Organizing and running a drill meet is an extremely complicated and work-intensive undertaking. That being said, the VFW and the JROTC staff of Brandon High School ran an extremely professional and well-organized event, and our thanks go out to them for their professionalism. Our own CSM (retired) Swiney and his Vietnam Brotherhood, along with many veterans and active duty military personnel volunteered their time and talents to enable these fine young people to compete and “strut their stuff.” Thanks to all who serve and are STILL SERVING!
Finally, special thanks go out to our fabulous “Drill Team Moms,” Mrs. Williams and Mrs. Fischer, for always being there with logistical and emotional support and a big HOOAH and thanks to our wonderful PTCC President, Elke Olree, and her Snack Shack Team – you all go above and beyond 24/7, enabling us to keep “DOIN’ THE DARN THING!”
BORN TO MARCH, TRAINED TO DRILL, LIVE TO WIN, AND ALWAYS WILL. DRILL TEAM!
FEMALE UNARMED REGULATION SQUAD TAKES 1ST PLACE AT THE TAMPA DRILL MEET!
by 1SG Thomas
The SMA Precision Drill Team participated in its first meet of the 2008-2009 season at the University of Tampa on the same Saturday as the military ball, 15 November 2008. The female unarmed regulation squad performed magnificently and came away with the 1st Place Trophy in their category! The squad was commanded by Cadet Cubillos (second from right, above) and included the following members (left to right, above): Cadets Williams, Bork, Allen, Hancher, Cerchio, Lopez and Johnston (not pictured). After their stellar performance, they returned to Sarasota and dressed for the ball, along with the rest of the team. Go, Girls! GIRL POWER!
After a scant rebuilding year last season, the drill team is at more-than-full capacity this year, with over 90 members! We entered a team in practically every event this season, and they performed admirably as well. The following teams also competed at Tampa:
TEAM COMMANDER
Male Color Guard Cadet Cerchio
Female Color Guard Cadet Coons
Male Unarmed Regulation Squad Cadet Kelderman
Mixed Unarmed Regulation Platoon Cadet Payne
Male Armed Regulation Squad Cadet Martino
Male Armed Regulation Platoon Cadet Fisher
Male Exhibition Squad Cadet Piper
Male Exhibition Platoon Cadet Piper
Female Let 1 Unarmed Regulation Platoon Cadet Timms
We wish to thank all of our devoted parents and Elke Olree and her PTCC crew for their hard work in the snack shack for fundraising, as well as for providing transportation to the meet for many of our cadets. We could not do this without you. Thank you so much! Our next meet will be the VFW Meet at Brandon High School on December 13th. Hope to see you all there!
DRILL TEAM BEGINS…
The 2008-2009 Drill Team Season will kick off with its first practice on Tuesday, September 2nd.
In an attempt to minimize scheduling conflicts with other teams’ practices, we will practice every Tuesday and Wednesday from 1400 to 1630 (2:00-4:30 p.m.). The Venice late bus will leave at 4:30 on these days to accommodate us.
Come on out Tuesday afternoon and see what the SMA Drill Team is all about. See you there!
BORN TO MARCH!
TRAINED TO DRILL!
LIVE TO WIN, AND ALWAYS WILL!
DRILL TEAM!
(Check the flyer and competition dates under their perspective tabs on this page. Competition dates MAY be subject to change and will be updated as necessary.)
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