Overview
Designing a successful exhibition drill routine is by far the most difficult element to master for most drill teams. It sounds simple enough: take the basics of D&C and deviate from the manual enough to create a unique and creative display of military drill. However, with the level the activity has been pushed to in the modern era, gone are the days where marching a close-order drill card and commanding, “To the Winds, MARCH” are considered an adequate portrayal of exhibition drill in even a moderately competitive environment. Whether for better or for worse, this reality pushes a responsibility normally reserved for adult professionals (think cheer, dance, marching band, etc.) onto a team compromised of students.
Presented herein are the 5 “cardinal sins” of exhibition drill routines.
1: Your routine doesn’t cover the entire drill area.
While many scoresheets have done away with “Floor Coverage” as a scoring category, favoring more amorphous categories related to marching and relying more heavily on judges briefings, a routine that does not meaningfully move the team around the floor consistently throughout the course of the performance is one that will always feel less dynamic.
Very simply, if a judge is able to park themselves in one area of the floor, they are far more likely to begin to nitpick elements of the performance. When judges are generally briefed to “grade what they know” when it comes to exhibition things like heel alignment, dress, etc. are far more likely to be scrutinized by a stationary judge than by one constantly having to move to avoid hindering the team on the floor.
2: Your routine contains portions where only 1-2 cadets move to change positions while the rest of the team waits stationary.
You’ve probably seen this one before at a drill meet or two: the team centers themselves on the judge to report in. But wait. The cadet command isn’t front and center. How can they report in if they aren’t fronted and centered? Wait…They’ve done it! They’ve had the cadet commander take some side steps and march to the front, flanking around the team while the group remains still.
Moving cadets into key positions is sometimes quite important. But not allowing them to be the sole focus of the entire routine is important-er. Any time you must reposition cadets, even inventing arbitrary motion, stationary or marching, for the rest of the group will help mask that necessary downtime.
3: You only perform 4-8 counts of stationary sequencing at a time.
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Any time you implement a sequence, especially while stationary, the duration of that sequence matters. A typical stationary drill sequence should last a minimum of 8 counts with most being somewhere between 12 and 24 total cadence counts. Not only do shorter sequences seem more choppy and repetitive, they also highlight the team’s inability to perform a cohesive, smooth section of drill. A good rule of thumb is that the 15-Count Manual of Arms is about as short as you want most of your stationary sequences to be.
This leads us right to…
4: There is a command or cue for literally every individual sequence you perform.
”Ready, MOVE!” *4 counts of drill* “Ready, MOVE!” *8 counts of drill* “Ready, FACE!” *team faces in new direction* “Forward, MARCH” *team marches to new spot several paces away* “Ready, FACE!” *team faces new direction* “Ready, MOVE!”
If this sounds like your team, fret not! Your team is far more capable, talented, and math-inclined than you’re giving them credit for. Try taking out some of those commands and moving seamlessly between segments to smooth out and polish your presentation. Can you imagine if your cheerleaders needed a prompt to start every new section of choreography? Can you imagine if the half-time show required the band to be signaled every time they moved into a new formation? Yeah, it would be painful. Yes, your cadets CAN memorize multiple sequences and perform them back-to-back. Yes, they can count past 4. Remember: commands are an effect and you don’t want to overuse any one effect!
5: You prioritize the time limits for competitions over the quality of your performance.
We know. The SOP for your next meet says the minimum required time for exhibition drill is 5 minutes starting with your first organized movement. But if your team only has 2 minutes of quality drill, taking a penalty is no reason to rush through the process. Too many teams put too much emphasis on meeting time limits and therefore put their cadets in the compromised position of performing under-practiced or made-up “filler” material just to avoid a penalty.
Rather than stressing the team out and attempting to rush them through a routine, get creative. Perhaps you take the penalty and perform an awesome 2 minutes of drill. If it isn’t the last meet, are you really trying hard to win? Perhaps you perform the 2 minutes, march the team to a different corner, and perform the same 2 minutes before repeating that a third time? Will the judges notice? Probably not, honestly. Don’t get caught in the trap of rushing through the process of creating that routine; quality trumps quantity 100% of the time!
Conclusion
Exhibition drill is daunting. We have PLENTY of resources here on Drillpedia to help you navigate that journey and we’re here to help if you’re looking for someone to jump-start the process using your cadets’ creativity!