BY AURA RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO COURTESY OF VIVIAN LIN
I remember the moment clearly down to the very last detail. I sat with my legs crossed, hand in hand with my boyfriend and my closest teammates. As they announced the Open Large Military division my heart sank down to the very bottom of my stomach and my hands got clammy. I shut my eyes, squeezed their hands tight, and we all bowed our heads and hoped for the best but prepared for the worst.
“In third place… Glendale JV.” We all looked up excited but smiled terrifiedly at each other. “In second place… Bonner Lake Varsity” Our name wasn’t called, could it be? Could we possibly be USA National Champions?
Then I suddenly remembered all of the hard work that we put into our routine, the long practice hours, the sweat, the pain, and the tears. All of the times I could have spent time with my family, my boyfriend, and my friends. I remembered scrolling down Instagram and seeing all of the seniors at the beach while I was at practice. I remembered wishing I could sleep in during spring break and I remembered how far our team has come from the beginning of compeition season.
I was about to find out if everything I put myself through was really worth it. I squeezed my hands even tighter and put my head down.
“And in first place… the USA National Champion for Open Large Military is… West Covina JV.” We all jumped out of our seats and screamed. I couldn’t believe it, it was a dream. I hugged Julienne, Ashley, and Michael. It was the best feeling I have ever felt. I was officially a USA National Champion. All of our hard work and dedication finally paid off. I felt so proud of us; I couldn’t help but tear up. We went from not even placing at our first competition at Claremont High School to becoming National Champs.
On Friday, March 29 and Saturday, March 30, West Covina High School Dance/Drill and All Male made history by bringing home five National Championship titles for the first time in 20 years. On Friday, Large All Male and Open Large Military brought home the blue, and Small Military, Medium Military, Small Hip Hop, and Coed Dance qualified for night finals.
“It felt amazing becoming a National Champion. It was one of the greatest feelings ever. I honestly don’t believe I’ve ever been that happy in my life. After becoming a National Champion, it proved to me that having confidence, pushing yourself to the limit and always working hard pays off in the end. After winning when I heard we were invited to perform exhibition, it was so exciting. And after performing on that stage for the second time it was cool having our trophy in the middle of the stage and hearing everybody cheering. It felt great, no doubt one of the best memories I have had” said two-year member and senior Michael Cam.
On Saturday, Small Military, Small Hip Hop, and Small Dance Drill became USA National Champions. Medium Military got second place, and Co-ed Dance placed in third. Open Prop also performed.
Each member of WCHS Dance/Drill and All Male team who became a National Champion received a USA Nationals Champion backpack, a blue USA Championship medal and of course all of the world’s bragging rights. The team also brought home five first place trophies, one second place trophy, one third place trophy, five USA National Championship banners, a lot of pride and irreplaceable memories.
However, we did not become five-time National Champions overnight. Being a West Covina High School Dance/Drill and All Male member is an enormous commitment. Not only is it a big financial commitment but you are put through challenges physically, emotionally, and mentally.
The weekly routine of a Dance/Drill and All Male member consists of waking up earlier than the rest of all of your friends to arrive at Mrs. Julien’s room for zero period at six thirty sharp from Monday to Friday, because late start doesn’t exist for us. Going to school, having practice from at least 4 pm to 8 pm and going to competitions on almost every Saturday, sometimes Sunday, during competition season, and somehow squeezing homework and chores into your schedule.
We sacrifice so much and we put so much time and energy into our team. The team becomes your family. They see you early in the morning with messy hair and no makeup on, they see you at practice with sweat running down your face and they see you. Well they pretty much ALWAYS see you. Our team isn’t perfect. We have our ups and our downs but we always pull through together. “If we don’t pull together, we will fall apart,” said senior four-year member and Captain of WCHS All Male Justin Fu. And we did just that, we pulled together and worked harder than we thought we could; look at just where it brought us.
If you want to see our performances from USA Nationals click here http://www.varsity.com/event/1723/2013_Dance_Drill
