Many tryout seasons for drill teams are coming up soon! Generally, teams hold tryouts during the springtime, from anytime around March thru May or June. The tradition is to teach all the potential team members a routine and evaluate their performance as well as several other areas (ex: commitment, determination, work ethic). If you are trying out, good luck! I have some tips for you.

Stretch, and become more flexible. If you’re already flexible, then this will be easy. Most teams don’t require that you be able to do the splits or even be flexible to start with, though they will expect it later on in the year. Though not required, it’s always beneficial to be flexible and maybe have those splits down. If not, don’t panic!

Be determined. Try hard. This is the most important part. Teams need hard workers. There will always be those naturally talented people, or the people who have danced for ten years already, but the rest of the team should be made up of people who are willing to work hard and willing to learn. At tryouts, be sure that you practice frequently. Don’t worry about making the coach realize that you’re practicing, he/she will know if you have practiced or not based on your performance. Ask for help when you need it. Maybe you aren’t the best, but based on your hard work, the coach will know that you are able (and willing) to improve. Willingness is a key part of drill.

Be happy! Making the drill team is more than just skill and determination. Coaches will be evaluating how well you work with others. Drill is a team sport, and if you are a great dancer with a bad/negative attitude, then you won’t make it. You need to be able to work well with others and cooperate. Your attitude does matter.

Be confident. Perform with confidence. This is also key. Your confidence determines how well you perform. The way you perform is important to the coaches because that’s where you will be showing off your skills at competition. Several people have the problem of “I can do it when no one is watching” but then get nervous as an audience arrives. I know it is a huge problem, but you will need to battle it. Read the next tip.

Battle nervousness. I found this article that may help you battle nervousness (it is written for public speaking, not drill, but I think that the content is important). The way I usually did it was a self-talk. I just talked myself out of nervousness by realizing that I knew the routine in the back of my head, and that the audience was not doing anything to me–why was I scared of them? By talking to myself, I was able to calm down before the performance and perform at my best.

Practice, practice, practice. It’s hard to say which part of the tryout process is most important, but this is definitely one of them! If you don’t practice, you probably won’t know the routine very well. Practice on your own and drill that routine in your head. Once you’ve got that down, tell a friend to watch you and critique you. It takes a lot of practice, and making yourself practice requires lots of determination. Just keep pushing yourself.
Don’t stress about the details. Most coaches aren’t concerned about how perfect your angles, arm placement, smile, etc. are. They are more worried about how much you practiced, and how much you are willing to commit and improve. They are looking for potential. If you have the potential to achieve a great smile and wonderful angles, then that’s what matters.

Good luck at tryouts, everyone.

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