In a sport like drill, consistency is key. One of the biggest challenges facing the drill team is that consistency is lost whenever advisors step

down and are replaced, and NS has had five different advisors in the last six years.

“It's hard. It's a starting point every year because every coach has different perspectives,” senior Brycelee Parady said, “a different point of

view and different visions for the team. And so it's just a start over year every single year.”

But with new coaches for the 2026-27 season taking over, optimism is high. The new head coach is Julie Reese, who has been dancing since

high school and has a wide range of experience, including dancing in Rome and at the Super Bowl.

“I danced on the drill team when I was in high school,” Reese said. “That’s where the love started. Once you have danced on drill, that love for it

never leaves. No matter how old you get.”

The assistant coach, Calli Dressen, has a different dance background that she brings to the team. She was a competitive dancer and did

tumbling and cheerleading in high school instead of drill.

“I never saw myself as a drill coach,” Dressen said. “I was on cheer in high school but I danced my whole life. I was a competitive dancer for as

long as I can remember.”

Being an NS drill coach means working with a smaller group of girls than a lot of other high schools. After tryouts, next year’s drill team will only

be about 14 dancers.

“I think I like having this small team,” Parady said. “You know everybody and you just tend to get closer, then you can tell that from other teams

when you're smaller, even though it's a disadvantage.”

It can be seen as a technical disadvantage to have a small team, but others see it as a benefit.

“I think if you have the right team and the right coaches and the right camaraderie, you can really kill it down here. And I just want to be able to

achieve that with these girls,” Dressen said.

The coaching team is already planning to work with the small team to make them the best that they can be.

“You can never become the best version of yourself by only focusing on what you’re good at,” Reese said. “I want to find their weakness. Find

the hard. Find the stuff that they tend to avoid. And then focus on improving those just as much as we focus on improving the good.”

The girls on the team are feeling the push that Reese is working towards.

“They're already pushing and showing it's a lot of hard work to be on drill and I'm hoping they can improve and so they can obviously place

better,” Parady said.

Even with the early strain for next season's work, the team isn’t backing down to the challenge.

“They respond really well to [hard work],” Dressen said. “Which is exciting because that's where you make champions is when they're not afraid

of hard work. And so I've gotten that vibe from the girls, and I just think that we're all going to work together really well.”

Beyond the drive to be champions, the love of the sport is pushing the team into action.

“These girls are ready to work hard,” Reese said. “They want it. It’s fun to see a group of girls with so much drive and passion and a true love of

dance. They are incredible and I am lucky that I get to be a part of their journey.”