The Cougar battalion is working hard to prepare with the JROTC drill comp coming up this Saturday, March 5th.
A drill competition is where students from different schools compete in teams while being judged on how well they perform the tasks. Weston Ranch will send units: armed platoon, unarmed platoon, color guard, armed exhibition, and unarmed exhibition.
Each group has put in a lot of time and hard work to ensure this weekend’s competition goes well. C/CPT Crisselle Daquioag, who is leading an unarmed platoon, noted that her unarmed platoon has been practicing daily before school, after school, and sometimes during lunch.
“I have spent some time teaching determined cadets,” said Daquioag.
“It’s stressful, but at the end of the day, it’s really great to showcase all your hard work.”
C/CPT Daquioag has also expressed that she feels nervous about the competition and is also excited to represent Weston Ranch High School JROTC.
Cadet Alejandro Loera said, “This competition coming up is challenging us through adversity and see if we perform well to our standards of perfection, along with showing our skills of drill through this competition.”
Cadet Loera also explained that only a month of practice shows how well JROTC cadets work under pressure and test their time management skills essential to our adult lives.
Another cadet, Victor Perez, explains that although this competition has been stressful, it’ll all be worth it in the end. He stated, “The amount of fun you’re able to have when performing or even just while practicing with others is fun. You have to trust the process, and in the end, it’ll all be fun.”
Color Guard is a team that requires four people. Two people will have flags, while the other two have riffles. They do an LOI/routine and compete with other schools. You may have also seen color guards during school events like games and assemblies. Color guard has practiced daily and early before school, after school, and sometimes during lunch. And while they are nervous and stressed out, much like other cadets, they are also very excited about the competition. Working with the other cadets in color guard has been excellent, and they are easy to get along with.
Overall, what we see from these cadets is that they work hard and come to school early to practice for these competitions. Although they get stressed out, they still put in the most effort they can to reach their perfection and have fun while doing it.
