Overview
There are so many things JROTC instructors can do for their drill teams to make an impact on their cadets. Many of these things overlap normal JROTC/teaching responsibilities; fundraising, mentoring, and all that good stuff of course applies to drill team. But what if we got more specific? Here are FIVE things we think represent the BARE MINIMUM instructors should do if their program has a drill team:
1) Be Physically Present Consistently
Your cadets need you to be physically AT practice supervising them 100% of the time they are practicing. Student-leadership quickly devolves into Lord of the Flies when no adult is consistently present and practicing strong classroom management. And while NO instructor would EVER leave their students unattended on the air rifle range, drill poses no less of a safety issue. Being physically present on a consistent basis is key. You don’t have to be a drill expert or even engaged in what they’re doing (though obviously, that helps), but what your cadets NEED you to do is step in when misbehavior or other problems arise. You wouldn’t leave your classroom unattended for an hour or more; your drill team is no different.
2) Meet With Your Leaders
Your leaders need you to engage with them on a regular basis. You chose them and gave them a responsibility for other students’ time, energy, and resources and in order to do that job successfully, they need support. Meeting with your key leaders on a weekly basis to check in, assess what’s going well, and find out where you can be supportive of them is the bare minimum an instructor can do to make sure that their students aren’t left to figure it all out on their own. Student-led means coaching the leaders to lead their teams and the only way to do that is to sit down with them and check in!
3) Hold Your Commanders to the Drill Manual
Here’s the secret: you don’t have to know every little nuance of the drill manual or the exact ways in which competitions are shaping how drill is done. You just have to hold THEIR feet to the fire when it comes to how your team executes Regulation and Color Guard drill. If your students are stepping off to practice or teach something that comes from the manual, all you need to do is ensure that before they waste other children’s time, they know and understand what the manual says. If you’re extra motivated, you can – and should – sit down and read the manual together. But at the very least, stopping the cycle of “our seniors taught us to do it this way” or “we do this because it wins” is the least an instructor can do to safeguard the practice of military drill in competitions!
4) Build Some Culture
Many teams struggle with buy-in and attendance but simultaneously have very little by way of incentives to keep cadets coming back and working hard. Drill is a skill that takes time to realize gains and sometimes, that grind can get tedious. When it does, there will need to be something keeping them pushing through, and this is where YOU come in. While your cadets will eventually create their own traditions and artifacts/evidence of culture, you can get the ball rolling. Whether it’s encouraging the team to come up with a unique team name or starting a new team chant, you have plenty of tools in your toolbox to build a culture that supports and encourages winning behaviors. This is not a question of the chicken or the egg: the instructor is the one who can and should get the ball rolling on building culture on the team. Then, let them run with it and monitor them to ensure the intent of team culture is being met: to foster and encourage winning behaviors!
5) Watch Them Perform
When it’s time to go to competitions, there are a lot of pressures and attentions. Old friends to see, connections to make, needs to attend to. And sometimes, let’s be honest, your team’s performance may be…we’ll say “sub-standard.” But one thing your students need is your eyes on them when they compete. Be there with them. Walk with them to the floor. Stay near and watch them perform. Leave with them. Imagine if a football coach simply transported the team to their away game, showed their players where the locker room was, and then left to socialize leaving their team to figure out everything else. Now, we understand meet schedules. Maybe you can’t see every student perform every time. But making a point to see as much as you can and intentionally rotating through your teams is so much better than nothing. Remember: cadet-led does NOT mean Lord of the Flies. Your cadets need you there before, during, and after their performance!
Want to go further? In addition here at Drillpedia, we conduct multiple JROTC Instructor Seminars throughout the school year. Click here to learn more!