The New York Times recently dove into the world of military drill in Utah, where “sweet, good-grade types” turn into warriors.
If you’re not familiar with the military dances in drill team competitions, the best word for it is intense.
Admittedly, I am not a drill girl, but I am drill adjacent. I grew up watching my oldest sister compete in military and then I became a cheerleader.
I’ll be the first to say that military is intense — some may even say scary — and my sister can attest that I made fun of their screams and facials, but I would never say it’s not impressive.
After I got over my shock at the randomness of The New York Times article, I was happy these ladies are getting some attention.
The Utah High School Activities Association just wrapped its competitive drill season with state championships across five divisions.
And the finals drew big, appreciative crowds.
You may not think of drill when you think of high school sports, but you should. According to the National Federation of High Schools competition numbers, the sport jumped to the sixth-most popular girls’ sport with 206,262 participants in 2025, marking a nearly 14% increase.
As mentioned before, I was a cheerleader and power tumbler and, in my prime, could do double backs (two backflips in one), double fulls (two full turns in a flip) and have guys throw me in the air while I was twisting and flipping ... but I could never do the headstands these drill girls do.
Stop reading this article and please stand on your head while kicking your legs in different positions, all while your upper body doesn’t move. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
Welcome back. I’m going to go ahead and say you couldn’t do it. Neither could I.
So, thank you to The New York Times for taking a look at the highly competitive drill world in Utah, because these dancers within a day are not just changing costumes multiple times, but seemingly changing personalities as they compete in dance, military and show.
While I’m giving the Utah drill world their flowers, I’d be remiss not to expand that to the dominance the state of Utah has in the entire dance and cheer world. I’m looking at you, “DWTS” pros, and our college teams year after year winning at college nationals.
Back to military drill. I’m not asking you to not laugh or make fun of military, because honestly, it’s kind of ridiculous. But make sure you have some respect behind that laugh.
I’ve spoken my piece on drill — don’t get me started on why NFL dancers are called cheerleaders.