ITEM PHOTO BY KATIE MORRISON
The Lynn English JROTC Drill Team will compete in the Marine Corps JROTC National Championship.
By BRIDGET TURCOTTE
LYNN — The Lynn English JROTC Drill Team is stepping up its game to compete in the Marine Corps JROTC National Championship in Irving, Texas.
They were chosen out of more than 234 groups nationally and will go head to head with 14 other teams. The Marine Corps is paying for each of the 40 members to travel across the country for the big day, said Sgt. Maj. Ken Oswald, who leads the group.
“I’m extremely excited,” said Marlene Rivera, a senior. “It’s the highlight of my whole year. It’s my first time but I’m ready to take it on.”
Rivera has been on the drill team since she was a freshman four years ago. She’s been to competitions in and out of state but said her most memorable was earlier this month when a win against Gloucester High School qualified them for nationals.
“The fact that we actually placed overall best and are able to go to Texas is amazing,” she said.
The team will also compete in the All Service Drill Competition Feb. 16-17 in New Jersey, and the All Service Nationals in Daytona Beach, Fla., in May, a competition the team won in 2006.
Last year, they won the National Junior ROTC Olympiad Division in Orlando.
“They have dominated for the last 10 years at local competitions, whether they were at Gloucester, Beverly, North Quincy, Lowell,” Oswald said.
They participate in both regular drill and exhibition, a form of drill where the performers can add their own personality to the routine as long as they keep military-like aspects.
“The kids here do quite well with that,” he said.
But being a part of the drill team is about more than just the competitions, said Oswald. The program is just as much, if not more, about structure.
Students practice every morning for more than an hour. After school, they are required to attend study hall until 3:30 p.m., then practice again until 5 or 6 p.m.
“Each student must have passing grades,” said Oswald. “The study hall is very important. They have to be well-rounded in everything.”
“At first it was very frustrating,” Rivera said. “It’s hard to coordinate your hands and your feet to move the same way. But I kept practicing. It’s very strict and it also gives a lot of discipline. It’s a completely different structure from the whole school — it’s just different and that’s why I like it. I’ve had people tell me ‘why are you on that team?’ and I decided no, this is great.”
Another misconception about ROTC programs is that the majority of the students enlist in the military after their high school graduation, he said. In reality, about 80 percent of his team members have gone to college and few have joined the armed forces.
For most events, the team raises money through fundraisers and by paying dues for travel expenses and uniforms.
“We tell them ‘we’re not here to recruit you, we’re here to teach you structure, teach you to be a leader, teach you to be a pillar in the community,’” he said. “And that’s what we do.”
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Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @BridgetTurcotte.