Responses to comments are posted at the end of this article.
A lot of people have told me that they have one split but not the other, or are very close to their splits but just can’t get there. Also people have told me that they stretch all the time with no improvement.

If your splits are not improving, it may be because you are stretching incorrectly. Remember that you should warm up your muscles before you stretch. You should actually be warm and sweaty before you begin stretching. This requires at least a ten minute jog, if not more. Warming up is not just walking a lap or running a few yards. When you are warm, you can feel the stretch much better.

Remember also that you should be stretching consistently (stretch both legs, for instance, not just one side of your body). Touching your toe for two seconds is not stretching either. Feel the stretch, the longer the better. A couple of minutes per stretch is excellent.

Lastly, splits require flexibility in more than one area. Stretch everywhere, and make sure you sit in your splits (or as close as you can get to your splits) for a few minutes after stretching.

If you are still having problems, feel free to leave a comment and tell me about it.

Edit 1/18/07: My posts about stretching the splits are for all kinds of splits (center, side). All other types of splits (like splits in the air) are just like normal splits, except with leg strength added.

Edit 2/25/07: Kerry–for the splits, the back leg should be perfectly straight in the end. Don’t worry if you’re not there yet, it’s just a little extra stretching. Try to gently push that back leg straight. Another way is to try to sit up straighter because it pushes your pelvis down to the ground and sometimes straightens that back leg. If your front leg is close to the ground, then stretch until the end of the week to see what happens. If you’re still a bit off the ground, then try lenghthening your stretching sessions. Getting extra warm before stretching helps. The best stretch for getting your front leg down is to just go down as far as you can and hold it for a minute or two. Then do some other stretches, and try it again. Concentrate hard, and you will find yourself getting nearer to the splits. For tryouts, all teams are different. Usually, the majority of people who try out are freshmen. It works like this because people who are interested in drill try out when they are freshman, and if they make it then they’re on the team . . . if they don’t make it then they usually don’t try out again because they don’t think that they can make it. Anyway, they will not expect you to know everything. Anything that you need to know will be taught to you, and if it is not, you can always ask for help. Most of the people who have never done it before will make the team based on the fact that they have potential. They usually don’t judge your perfection, but they judge things like your determination, willingness to improve, listening skills, work ethic, and your ability to work with others. If they see someone who has no experience, isn’t perfect, but works hard, practices a lot, and wants to get better, that person will make the team.

Edit 5/13/2007: Rebecca–in my opinion, it is never “too late” to start. Making the drill team is largely about your commitment and dedication. It’s not about whether not you can do the splits; it’s about how badly you want to get the splits down, and how badly you want to learn drill. If you truly want to make the team, then your best bet is to demonstrate your commitment by stretching now and practicing hard during the try-out/audition process. If you need help with the splits, I’d recommend that you read this article: http://drillobsession.com/?p=93. In the meantime, good luck with making the team next year!

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There has been an unusual influx of traffic on this site today, but I’m glad! I want to thank everyone for their comments–these help me become a better writer and inspire me to continue blogging. To all those that my blog has helped–I congratulate you. Thanks for reading my posts!

Leana & Alexus: Thanks for your comments; I’m glad that I’ve helped!

Nicole: Thanks for the comment. First, I’d suggest that you run (or swim or do some other type of exercise) daily to lose the weight that you want to lose. Running in the mornings (right before you go to school, work, etc.) is really helpful because there aren’t any complaints–you can’t say “but . . . I have to do this and that” at such an early time. It’s also really relaxing because you get that “good work out” feeling early in the morning and you’re awake. As for the splits, I’d suggest that you read Flexibility to the Max and try the splits/stretching routine that I’ve posted there. Keep me updated on how you’re doing!

I really do appreciate all of you who read my blog! If you have any questions or things to say, comment and I will try to reply ASAP.

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Edit 2/25/07: Kerry–I’m sure everyone is worried about it! Practice. Do it slow and to the counts, then speed it up gradually. The way to do it is start slow, and perfect it. Then speed it up a little, and perfect it. Do this until it is up to beat with the music. It will take awhile, so don’t feel inclined to rush. If you start out slow, it will eliminate the bouncing.

Original post:
So, the moment you’ve all been waiting for .

Here is my suggested 3-step routine that will help you elevate your kicks. The only thing is, like the one with the splits, you need to be doing this everyday. I think that’s the hard part. This isn’t a week-by-week thing. You need to continue stretching, practicing, and strengthening your legs everyday. If you reserve 15 minutes a day for each step, your kicks will be 10º higher in 3 weeks. I hope three weeks is short enough for you to keep up your motivation!

This might also be a good idea to do with your team, so that everyone will have high kicks in three weeks.

Steps:

1. Stretch
You must be flexbile in order to get high kicks. Some stretches and stretching routines are in my splits article.

2. Stregthen
You need leg stretch to get your kicks high.

Everyday, you should be kicking. Try kicking with heavy clothes on your legs or heavy shoes on (no high heels!). It will force you to use more energy. It’s kind of like lifting weights, except with your legs. If you have an elastic exercising strip (I forget what those are called, but it’s basically a stretchy rubbery rope that you pull with your arms to exercise), use it. Put it around one ankle, step on the ends with your other foot and bring your leg as high up as you can.
Another one: lift your leg up in kick position as high as you can without a bounce. Hold it there for fifteen seconds and try not to waver too much. Switch legs.
It might also help to lie down on the ground and have a friend stretch with you. Lie down, face up. Point both toes and keep both legs straight. Have a partner elevate one leg as far towards your nose as possible. The strengthening part comes here–you try to elevate your leg high while your partner pushes you back. Doing it to a count/beat/music will help.
Kick to a medium tempo song, 2-4 eight counts. Kick for as long as you can do the kicks perfectly. Once you start getting sloppy, stop and take a break. Your goal is to be able to kick the amount of 8-counts in the routine, perfectly. So, keep up the endurance. Everyday, do three sets of kicks, and make them all perfect. The length of the set depends on your good your endurance is. If you can only do one eight count perfect, that’s fine. Just keep doing it everyday, and you’ll see that number go up to 1.5, 2, and eventually to the number of eight counts you will need to last. Remember that the routine doesn’t end with kicks, either! So make sure that after kicking, you still have some energy left.
The best way to improve your kicks is to keep kicking. Endurance is a huge part of having good kicks. Once you’re tired, your unpointed toes and bend knees and bad posture won’t matter–you just want to get it over with. You need to have enough energy so that you can think about these things.

3. Practice, in context
Practice your kicks in the routine, because those are the ones that matter the most. Do the whole set. If you feel exhausted by the end, you’re not there yet.

Comment and tell me how your kicks are looking.

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Every year during try-out season, people always ask me what they need to know. Of course, it differs from team to team, but generally, this is what the try-out judges are looking for.

Potential flexibility
Teams usually have to do the splits and have high kicks. They usually don’t expect that you can do the splits (or even get close) at the beginning of the year, but they do expect that you can get them by the end of the year. The key word is potential. Show them  your improvement–when you stretch and warm up, actually stretch. You will notice that you are getting flexible day after day.

Good attitude
Yes, this really matters, and it’s a pretty big decision factor, too. If you have a bad reputation, you’d better change it. No one wants someone lazy or uncoopoerative on their team, even if that person is naturally talented and sharp.

Improvement
Most people have no dance experience before joining drill. That’s fine. You need to show them by the end that you have improved and learned. If you don’t show them that you’ve gone from a non-dancer to a dancer, you haven’t made an impression.

Knowledge of Try-out Routine
Typically, there is a short routine that you must perform to try-out. You better know it! Even if nothing is perfect, but you know the entire routine, you’ve shown your dedication in memorizing the routine. That part, I think, takes a lot of work. Angles and perfect marches aren’t that big of a decision factor at this stage.

Dedication and Helpfulness
If you already know the routine and have perfected it yourself, go help someone out.  Don’t be an expert, because you’ve not reached that stage yet. On the other hand, if you don’t know the routine, practice on your own. If you’ve got that part down, then practice with someone. Make sure you try it on your own before you seek help. No one wants to help someone who doesn’t even try.

Smile
Your smile matters. Keep it beautiful and bright!

Attendance
Please don’t miss the try-out practices. If you absolutely must, don’t be scared to notify the coach. Do it right at the moment that you find out you can’t do it. Do not wait.

Other
The little things (having your hair up, no jewelery on, proper shoes, etc.) that you do wrong can add up. Don’t be late to practices. Think before you make a comment.

I hope this list helps ease your nerves a little. Remember, you can make drill if you practice. The most important part (I think) is to first practice on your own. This way, if you’re confused on some part or forgot a move, you know exactly where it is and can find someone to help you. Don’t be taught the routine then immediately go to someone for help. You are capable of memorizing the routine on your own–you just need the confidence and work ethic to do it. When you are taught a portion of the routine one day, you should be able to do it to the tempo of the music the next day. Drill requires self-motivation, practice, and dedication. Seek help for the next level–angles, sharpness, etc.

Good luck at tryouts.

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The nerves always ruin our performances. How do we get rid of that nervous feeling before we perform? How are we going to stop thinking about forgetting the routine while we’re performing–or tripping, falling, doing the wrong move. We always worry about what can go wrong, and often, one thing does go wrong because we’re thinking about it so hard.

Tips:

Know the Routine
If you don’t know it–I won’t lie to you–you will mess up unless you’re lucky. Know it. You should have known it for months!

Breathe
Simple, but helpful. Take deep breaths. It really helps you calm down.

Have everything ready long before the performance
That means making sure everything is perfect. Your hair, uniform, makeup, tied shoelaces, intact nylons, etc. You need to triple check everything so that you won’t worry about it while you perform.

Eat
Competitions are long, and sometimes we might forget to eat. Can’t perform without energy! Eat at least 1.5 hours before the performance.

Get a good night’s sleep, but an early start
Don’t wake up at 1pm (not that competitions start that late anyways), but don’t stay up until 1am. I’d say to wake up when you normally wake up (whenever school starts, probably around 8). If you sleep in, you’ll be sluggish.

No team parties the night before
Unless you can manage to all go home and get enough sleep (not likely), you shouldn’t have a team party. It sounds motivational so that you can bond and talk about the next day, but usually it leads to late nights and everyone tired the day after. If you do have a party, I’d say that it must end before dark and no junk food.

Get hair done ASAP
Drill hair (if you use curlers) takes a long time. My team used to take from 1-3 hours per person. Of course, if you use fake hair or something else, it’s not too big of a deal. If you are using curlers, get it done before dark so that everyone can go home and sleep.

Don’t practice the day before
It’ll just stress you out. Naturally, you will probably forget some moves, then be extremely nervous the next day because of your bad practice. Of course, running through the routine once is okay. Don’t stay up until three practicing (or learning the routine).

Have confidence
No harm in being confident. Lots of people say, “well, if I think I’m going to get 10th place, then I won’t feel so bad afterwards . . . if I think I’ll get first place and I don’t get it, then I’ll feel horrible”. Bad thinking. Be confident. It shows in your face. You want to win. Go win it!

Listen
Listen to the music! Sometimes people don’t and are so focused on moves, moves, moves. When they turn their ears on again, they realize that they are way off and will be lost. Sometimes the music sounds different because of the different speakers in the performing area. Be prepared. If the music skips, you can’t do anything about it. Breathe, don’t look stupid, and smile bright and confident. One time, I watched a team that wasn’t even that great, but their music skipped. They remained still, and ended up placing. That shows your confidence.

Don’t talk about how nervous you are
If you talk about it, it will spread. Don’t make it evident that you’re nervous. Keep it to yourself. Think about other things.
If you’ve known the routine, you won’t forget it
I always go crazy when someone, right before the performance, says, “how does that part go again? I forgot!” This makes everyone nervous, as well as yourself. You won’t forget it. Stop thinking about it. You’ve never forgotten it at practice.

Don’t let the audience intimidate you
Your audience is just people. You see them everyday. What’s the big deal? You won’t mess up and to them, you’re probably just a little face off in the distance.

Perform
Just perform. Perform like you do at practice. No nerves there. You know that you look way better though, because you should be confident in yourself and, hey, you’re wearing your drill outfit! You didn’t buy it for nothing. You bought that expensive customized outfit to win. And that’s exactly what you’ll do.

And of course . . . Smile!

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