Drill Team Startup

[Titan 25]

One thing you can do (as long as your wing commander will allow it) is find a place to practice around the center of your state and recruit cadets from other squadrons. That's what my team does since no squadron IN UTAH has the man-power to have a single-squadron team. It's called the 'Super Team' theory; holding tryouts statewide and accepting the cadets with the most dedication and character. For the recruiting to work, your team will need to offer something that everyone will want: organization. If you are organized and your team has good morals and a good vision (after getting the word out to everyone in the wing) you can expect an outstanding turnout. You will also need to set a high standard of good behavior, constant practice, and refrain from playing favorites. Every cadet will have an equal opportunity to be on the team. Do not look at skill, look at their level of willingness. With this, I'll tell you that it all comes from the dedication of the commander. If you can prove to people that you will be with them all the way, they will follow you all the way.

It's a very good idea, as long as you can enormously dedicate yourself.

One question... How far do you plan on going?

If your answer is wing:

-Get 13 cadets
-Make sure they all have uniforms
-Come up with a simple 5 minute innovative routine

If you answer is regions:

-START NOW (recruit members and start holding practices no matter how many people you have to start out with.)
-Practice like crazy. I don't know when your wing competition is but it's probably soon.
-During practices, spend HOURS on volleyball, drill, mile run, and knowledge
-Come up with an amazing innovative routine

If your answer is NCC:

-START NOW (recruit members and start holding practices no matter how many people you have to start out with.)
-Practice insanely, all the time, with intensity
-Hold practices EVERY WEEKEND or whenever you can do it. The more days of practice, the better. It will be up to you guys to get at least 30 hours of practice a week.
-Take that 5 minute innovative routine and spend almost half of your practices learning to execute it PERFECTLY (same with standard)
-Get your cadets practicing outside of DT practice (Make them run on their own every day, practice volleyball, and send them study material)
-For you guys to even compete in the mile, your team will need an average of 6:15. To win, 5:45-55.
-Bond as a team and learn not to argue because arguments and drama WILL pop up. Become a family and learn each others strengths and weaknesses and build off of them.
-Optional: Develop a unique drill style. Go to youtube and watch some of the NCC drills and see the many different styles.


SOME ADDITIONAL TIPS:

-Go through all of the study material (modules 1-6, Leadership for the 21st Century: Volume 1, NCC regs, PT regs, and current events) and make study packets with every bit of information you can find. Use these Q&A packets to study off of to get SUPER fast at panel quiz (so you know the answer before it is finished being read) and for the written exam.

-Don't just try to get 30 hours a week, try to get more if you can because it is going to take SO MUCH dedication to win.

-If you can, find someone who will volunteer to help your team as a volleyball coach. I know that it helped our team A LOT last year when we enlisted the help of an olympic volleyball coach. If you can find ANYONE who knows the proper procedure of volleyball play, get them to show up at every practice and help your team develop a game plan. It is going to be VERY difficult to get to the right level of teamwork to play at NCC. We practiced for 5 hours at every practice last year and still came in fourth in that event. But don't let that discourage you. You might be able to recruit some really good players and volleyball will be a breeze for your team.

-Ultimately, it's about becoming a team that can work together and building character and leadership. Always remember that and be patient with your cadets when things get tough. The stupidest little things can ruin a team to the point of people not willing to work with each other.

-There is so much more to know about NCC. If you want my help or the help of any of my fellow national champions, please send me a PM or an email. Preferably email for a fast reply.

[Ron1319]

I agree 100% with everything except the overemphasis of innovative.  It's fun, but it's one event out of seven.  From a return on investment standpoint, it's not smart to invest that high of a percentage of time IF you have less time to invest.  Our cadets won't be allotting 30 hrs/week between now and NCC.  Our innovative routine is targeted to be about 3-3 1/2 minutes and I believe execution weighs more heavily than filling the time.  If the goal is to go to wing comp, put together what you can for now.  If that's four moves and it lasts a minute or two, prove you can do it and smile about it!

[DakRadz]

Words

And with this, I forgo CAP Drill Team.

Seriously, that's pretty extreme... Other than wing, which I feel got the short end of the stick, as that certainly isn't a winning recipe.



What about CAP competing in AFJROTC drill comps? This just occurred to me... Think about- if nothing else, it's good practice. It could even be the sole form of competition, and that would definitely draw cadets (lots of trophies available- good for recruiting).

[Eclipse]

-Don't just try to get 30 hours a week, try to get more if you can because it is going to take SO MUCH dedication to win.

Ridiculous.

What we need to do is dial this back to the way it was (I am sure) originally intended - squadron based teams only with no one buying new uniforms, or paying volleyball coaches, and a limitation on the number of hours a week you can practice.

I would also make progression of drill team members mandatory while assigned to the team, as I have seen far too many cadets decide the rest of CAP is less important than NCC, or delay promotion because of being on the team.

[HGjunkie]

Geez, 30 hours a week?

That's 5 hours a day for 6 days out of the week. No way.

I do more than that in homework alone.

[Ron1319]

I watched the cadets verbally push each other to promote at practice on Sunday and the highest ranking cadet officers are in a race to see who can finish the program first.  You're going to have to trust my assessment that they are behind and that fire is very, very good for them.  In other words, with the right prodding, it's having exactly the desired effect.  I told them as much.

I'm a bit curious if the 30 hrs/week was a typo.  I used to spend 30 hrs/week on CAP but I was an intern working 40 hrs/week at IBM and CAP was pretty much the only other thing I did.  That was actually when I wasn't doing drill team, for the most part.

My cadets definitely do not have a spare 30 hrs/week.  They're going to have to be efficient.

[Eclipse]

20-30 hours a week is fairly common for many commanders and staff, especially if they are playing in the sandbox themselves, but 30 hours on one thing is not reasonable.

[Bluelakes 13]

When I was with a drill team we practiced every Sat & Sun about 8 hours each.  We did get 3rd place in NCC twice in a row.

I can't imagine how cadets can pull 30 hrs/week.  How do yo uget senior supervision doing that?

But then again, Utah did get 1st place in NCC two years in a row.   :clap:

[Spaceman3750]

The year I did color guard as a cadet we practiced every Saturday for 12 hours. We had a couple CG weekends down at Scott AFB with another squadron.

That said, as a squadron ESO I might spend many hours planning, preparing, or playing (depending on the week), but I don't think I've ever quite hit 30.

[Titan 25]

I agree 100% with everything except the overemphasis of innovative.  It's fun, but it's one event out of seven.  From a return on investment standpoint, it's not smart to invest that high of a percentage of time IF you have less time to invest.  Our cadets won't be allotting 30 hrs/week between now and NCC.  Our innovative routine is targeted to be about 3-3 1/2 minutes and I believe execution weighs more heavily than filling the time.  If the goal is to go to wing comp, put together what you can for now.  If that's four moves and it lasts a minute or two, prove you can do it and smile about it!

Well I'm just saying that that is what we did. It'll also be good to even things out and get an even amount of practice in each event. The reason we spent so much time on innovative and standard is because we wanted to kick butt in that event. It was a huge determining factor towards our win.

-Don't just try to get 30 hours a week, try to get more if you can because it is going to take SO MUCH dedication to win.

Ridiculous.

What we need to do is dial this back to the way it was (I am sure) originally intended - squadron based teams only with no one buying new uniforms, or paying volleyball coaches, and a limitation on the number of hours a week you can practice.

I would also make progression of drill team members mandatory while assigned to the team, as I have seen far too many cadets decide the rest of CAP is less important than NCC, or delay promotion because of being on the team.

It was never originally intended to be squadron teams. The wing commander reserves the right to choose any group of cadets he wants to go to regions whether there was a wing competition or not. There was absolutely no previous indication of it being squadron teams only (even though that seems to be the popular thing to do.) Super teams are purely the wing commander's decision and even heightens the competitiveness at NCC. Even with this, there are many who believe it should be squadronized. The thing is: school based squadrons such as the Puerto Rico will completely dominate as they have no shortage of perfect drill team cadets. 

On the Utah Wing drill team, we push our cadets to promote and go to squadron meetings. If they are not promoting or attending meetings regularly, they are not eligible to be on the team.

When I was with a drill team we practiced every Sat & Sun about 8 hours each.  We did get 3rd place in NCC twice in a row.

I can't imagine how cadets can pull 30 hrs/week.  How do yo uget senior supervision doing that?

But then again, Utah did get 1st place in NCC two years in a row.   :clap:

Sorry about that. I wasn't clear about that 30 hour thing. This is our practice schedule:

Saturdays 11am to 6pm. Occasional over-nighters running from Friday 6pm to Saturday 6pm. When the 2011 year starts, the majority of practices will be over night. We have some awesome senior members who realize the amazing opportunity that Utah has and come to every practice. It's tough, but they are able to; which allows us to win. 

The remaining hours come from the time we expect cadets to study and run outside of drill team. Can't let too much slip, though. 

******************************************************************************

Clarification: Don't worry about hitting the 30 hour mark. You can definitely win with the help of some amazing cadets and senior members. As long as your cadets are progressing well enough and know what drill team is truly about, that's all that matters. I'm only saying that the more practice you receive, the better.

[Bluelakes 13]

OK, that makes sense now.  Yes, during my clinics I urge the cadets to not wait till the team practice to... practice.  They should be running the mile at least 3 times per week, once at weekend practice, once before/after their unit meeting, and once more at school.  They should be studying the material everyday (if possible).  Put Call of Duty away for an hour at night and study a Dimensions module.  The looks I get for this are amazing!    But then again, they will need to study it to promote anyway, so why not now?

And I spend a good amount of time explaining what rank order scoring means.  There are 7 events in each of the competitions and they must all be practiced equally.   If you ace 6 out of the 7 events but get last place on one, versus another team that has 2nd place in all events, the latter team may win (ignoring the potential tie).

And STRATEGY is critical too, especially for Panel Quiz and Volleyball (and the two practicals for CG).  I've had teams win in Panel Quiz without answering a question.

[Ron1319]

Good thing I'm old enough to not have to put Starcraft II away to study. 

[Ron1319]

I just had a very interesting conversation with an ROTC cadet/college student who had been a member of CAP for 5 months in Utah.  The squadron that he was a member of changed their focus to drill team, and he said that meetings were no longer interesting, and he joined to get to fly and the squadron stopped planning o-flights.  His friends quit and he quit with them.

I think everyone should be aware of the pitfall and not let that happen.  It certainly doesn't have to.  I've never experienced that, and we were all just would never have and never will let that happen.

[Craftyx]

I would be interested in knowing who the cadet was, since Thunderbird Squadron which I was the squadron commander of during the last 3 years in Utah was the primary squadron with the most members on Drill team, but we never practiced at squadron meetings, every year we send approx 10 cadets to other National activities not including NCC, and we have had a cadet represent the squadron at CLA every year since it was founded with the exception of one. During this same 3 year time frame we sent approx 8 cadets to NESA, had several members ES qualified, so for this one person you met to complian that he was member for 5 months, and all that was done was drill team I would say is wholly not the case.

We also have built the squadron to now include several mission pilots, who do most of the oflights for the utah wing and have for the last couple of years, now with that said, if he joined in the winter, we dont do many o-flights during that time frame, due to the extreme weather in Utah, and this is the time frame Drill team trains on the weekends, we are aggresive recruiters, but I do realize that because you are asked many times if you want to join drill team, could translate in the mind of a young person to "hey thats all they do" Even though we have done kc-135 flights, ground team and es training, been the host of a group of Swedish Air cadets, that we invited and hosted ourselves not a part of IACE, we have members in the squadron from the EU and they extended the invitation and they came, we flew them around with the NOC's approval and hosted them for a whole week.

We also were squadron of Merit for the 3 years I was the commander, based off of the squadron of merit criteria, I dont know if you know what that is, or the report that is made available to commanders every year end, it shows recruiting, retention, number of cadets who attended thier first encampment, o-flights, and number of cadets who reach milestones. in my 3 years we had 2 Spaatz, 4 eaker, 6 earhart, several mitchells and wright brothers, we also exceeded those squadron averages national speaking of course.

In my opinion any young person who joins the program and only lasts 5 months, didnt really give the program a chance, especially considering we have retention rates in our squadron that exceed the national average. but thats just coming from me a squadron commander who spent all my time doing all of these things, some people are doer's while others sitting around waiting for others to do for them, you can lead a horse to water but you cant make him drink, eh?

but that is just my 2 cents, I dont spend much time on here, but wanted to at least respond to your post even if it is 6 months old.

Eric I. Weeks Capt CAP

[Bluelakes 13]

ERIC!  Nice to see you on here.  I had a talk with cadet Moss at NCC this year and I thought of you.  You probably know that RMR had a CG and DT from the same squadron.  Great group of cadets. I took a photo of them with Gen Carr and am going to write a few paragraphs for the Volunteer. Cadet Moss' quote was something like (dont have my notes handy), "we are here for the experience and we will be back next year because we want to become just like Utah!"

Classic.

[Eclipse]

Congrats on the success above.  Any cadet who quit 5 months in probably wasn't engaged enough to even understand the question, let alone answer it.

With a strong leader(s), a solid program, and good unit numbers, there should be no issue with cadets and
seniors being able to do whatever they want within CAP, that's the whole point.

The problem is when members and staff pick and choose their activities based on their personal choice and
inclinations to the detriment of the unit and the rest of the members.  Those are situations which are all too common nationwide, and something like DT can be a visible symptom of other issues.

Further to that, at the wing level or higher, there needs to be consistency of program, expectations, and awards.  We have far too many wings not running their own encampments, no effective leadership in the big-3
staff roles, and who excel by chance, not choice.

Everything we whine complain discuss here as challenge, NESA/HMRS/NBB attitudes, DT member arrogance and division or resources, inappropriate missions or other activity involvement, poor uniform wear, everything, is a product of poor leadership and the unwillingness to have direct, uncomfortable conversations
with a few bad actors who spoil it for every one else.

[321EOD]

ERIC!  Nice to see you on here.  I had a talk with cadet Moss at NCC this year and I thought of you.  You probably know that RMR had a CG and DT from the same squadron.  Great group of cadets. I took a photo of them with Gen Carr and am going to write a few paragraphs for the Volunteer. Cadet Moss' quote was something like (dont have my notes handy), "we are here for the experience and we will be back next year because we want to become just like Utah!"

Classic.

Hi James
It was great to meet you briefly at NCC - thank you for calling the RMR teams up for the photo shoot with Gen Carr - they were VERY proud of their achievements and I think Cadet Moss spoke for both teams about "becoming just like Utah"! Of course he meant to say "as successful as Utah" :-)

Thompson Valley Squadron has a proud history of competing against Utah at Regionals, with many cadets from both teams being FB friends! Eric Weeks is a legend and we thank both him and Arielle for their support and encouragement as we represented RMR this year. THAT's a true reflection on CAPs core values

Yes, this was our reconnaissance year at NCC - both our Color Guard and Drill Team were already planning our 2011/2012 training calendar on the plane!

Eric - I agree with your comments - we are still able to provide a very well rounded Cadet Program in our squadron - as well as preparing team/s for NCC

Let me know if you need any information about the teams for your article - I'd be glad to help.

Signed
one very proud DCC!

[RADIOMAN015]

The problem is when members and staff pick and choose their activities based on their personal choice and
inclinations to the detriment of the unit and the rest of the members.  Those are situations which are all too common nationwide, and something like DT can be a visible symptom of other issues.

Last time I looked everyone (especially senior members) are volunteers in CAP who can decide what they want to do and when they want to do it.    I don't think you gain anything when you (try to) force an adult member to do something they really don't have an interest in.   It's readily apparent to the cadets when this is happening as well as to other senior members.

IF you don't have the right mix of staff with appropriate interests, than one has to go out and recruit the talent with those interests.       
RM



     

[Eclipse]

The problem is when members and staff pick and choose their activities based on their personal choice and
inclinations to the detriment of the unit and the rest of the members.  Those are situations which are all too common nationwide, and something like DT can be a visible symptom of other issues.

Last time I looked everyone (especially senior members) are volunteers in CAP who can decide what they want to do and when they want to do it.    I don't think you gain anything when you (try to) force an adult member to do something they really don't have an interest in.   It's readily apparent to the cadets when this is happening as well as to other senior members.

IF you don't have the right mix of staff with appropriate interests, than one has to go out and recruit the talent with those interests.       
RM

When you accept the role of commander, you have to abdicate your personal interests in favor of what is best for the unit and organization.