Grayslake North recently started a Drill Team and held tryouts earlier in November.
The team is about inclusion and a place for students to be able to enjoy and express themselves freely. The team is sponsored by the Black Union, and head coach Ty Smith as well as manager Ava Klein, have been working on getting the team up and running.

“I decided to start the team because I want my business management degree, and there’s only so much you can do without the degree, so while I was in school I was like, hey, why don’t I just you know start something that I built from the ground that could be in my name. I also wanted to give other people opportunities that are interested in stuff like that to join something that’s more fun and not really as competitive,” Smith said.

The Black Union supports them because of how the team is fostering a community of inclusion and is a place where students can express themselves and have fun.
“What I want for the Drill Team is what the Drill Team wants for itself, which is to have a cohesive team of students that are like-minded that wants to have fun and just showcase their own interests right, and that’s what I want for them. And it’s just bringing together students that feel that this is something that is needed in the building and willing to do the work to get that started,” said Dawn Deacon, a sponsor of the Black Union and Drill Team.

At the tryouts, there were students with all different types of backgrounds or experience; however, this is only the beginning for the team as there is a lot of dedication and room for growth because of how new the team is.

“I am most excited to see either our first performance or our growth from now until the end of the school year. Yesterday we had our tryouts, and we had people who don’t dance beyond Tik Tok dances learn a routine in 15 minutes, which is insane. And they did it extremely well. Now imagine this, through all our practices and how they’re going to grow, which is what I’m most excited to see,” Klein said.

The Drill Team will be able to be seen performing in the near future. They are a team about inclusion and supporting issues that anyone can join and be a part of.