“I wanted to be involved in the school. I wanted to be a part of that atmosphere. It has been the best, the best four years of my life. Hard, no doubt, like super hard, but it's been so worth it,” said Lili Demuzio, captain of the Sky View High School Drill Team.
Lauralyn Kofford has invested in drill since her college days and is now a competition organizer and coach for drill teams all across Utah.
“Anybody who does a drill team program is going to learn real quick that it takes a big commitment. You have to get up really early every day. You have a whole team of different personalities, different, you know, settings, different home backgrounds. I mean, you just come together and you have to learn life skills to become a team,” said Kofford.
“I just wanted to build as a dancer, kinda, and just be on this team and build new friends, really,” said Breeley Bauman. She moved from Idaho to Logan, Utah to be a part of Sky View High School Drill Team.
“It just really has changed. I've noticed it's gotten a lot more intense and a lot harder,” said Brinley Atkinson.
Atkinson is a current member of American Fork High School Drill Team.
“There used to be the dominant schools, you know, that there's just nobody can compete against them. But I feel like over the years, every program in the state of Utah has really evolved. It's become more competitive than ever,” said Kofford.
This past weekend, drill teams from all over Utah gathered together at Utah Valley University to compete in their state competition.
“Oh my gosh. Like, this is it. And I, like, get all these filling butterflies and, like, my heart's racing. That's like, the best experience ever. You like, walk out there and all the teams are out there, and the tension is, like, coding. I just like, I just want to win so bad. That's the best feeling ever,” said Bauman and Demuzio.
“I just love drill I don't think there's any sport out there that pushes athletes and pushes young ladies to become incredible as much as drill team does. I'm a believer. I'm a believer in drill team programs,” said Kofford.
Bountiful High School Drill Team finished first in the Dance and Show categories at the state competition, the 22nd state championship win in the school’s history.
