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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, February 2, 2003

McKinley drill team pays price of excellence

By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

The McKinley High School drill team practices in white T-shirts with their credo emblazoned on the back: "Re-live the legacy." There's a large brown stain on the left shoulder of each cadet's shirt, a telltale drill team mark that comes from slamming the 9 1/2-pound rifles against their bodies over and over. "That's not just dirt," they proudly explain, "That's blood."

That's how much McKinley wants to win the upcoming championship. They're willing to bleed for it.

But no one wants the win more than coach McHuy McCoy.

McCoy gets almost starry-eyed when he talks about the McKinley High School Drill Team's illustrious past. "McKinley was the mother of all drill teams in Hawai'i," he says. "If you look at all the trophies in the auditorium, McKinley won every team award there was to win, statewide and national, for years and years, from the '70s to the early '90s."

But then, the team faltered and interest faded. There were a number of dark years when drill team was all but forgotten on the McKinley campus.

When McCoy was a freshman, the seeds of a comeback were planted. For the most part, they were planted in him. Something about the drill team — the early morning and late afternoon practices, the grueling workouts, the precision of slapping, spinning and throwing rifles in perfect unison, even the bruises and blisters — instantly appealed to him.

Coach McHuy McCoy, with cap, keeps a sharp eye on the McKinley High School Phantom Tiger Drill Team as they practice. The coach, only 19, graduated from McKinley and won the national championship in his senior year.

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"It was the discipline," he says. "I was a munchkin, a really irritating kid in intermediate school. I joined ROTC and I got focused."

He got so focused that he made it to the national drill team championships in his sophomore year, placing fifth in the nation in the solo exhibition arms category.

"At first, I was being thrown around by the rifle instead of the other way around," he says. "But I got stronger, and drill team gave me a sense of direction, a sense of belonging. It carried me through school. The times when I was down, it kept me going. I'd say, 'Well, tomorrow is drill team. I can make it till then.'"

Then, the team suffered a crushing blow. They lost their coach. "Job, busy, bailed," McCoy explains with a no-hard-feelings shrug.

But the call to reclaim former glory was too strong to be denied. Undaunted, McCoy stepped in to serve as coach. He was in the 11th grade.

On his watch, the team started winning again. Last January, McKinley won the coveted West Point Cup in statewide competition. It was the first time in eight years the team took home a first-place trophy. Since then, there have been five consecutive first-place wins for the team.

"Since we didn't really have a coach and it was just a student-generated thing, the win was even sweeter," he says.

McCoy did a good job being his own coach as well. He went back to the national championships two more times. In his senior year, he took home first place. He's the reigning national champion in solo exhibition with arms.

Not that the drill team is completely without adult supervision. The team comes under McKinley ROTC instructors Lt. Col Jeff Tom and Staff Sgt. Charles Pittman, two people McCoy credits with giving him "so much support and encouragement."

But still, it's impressive to see how disciplined, how precise, how cohesive these kids are under the leadership of a kid.

"I invite parents to come, and when they see I'm just a kid myself, they're surprised," says McCoy. "Then they see that their own children are so capable. Some of them really doubted their kids. But kids are very capable."

McCoy graduated in June, but volunteered to stay on as coach for the team. They call themselves the Phantom Tigers, to symbolize how they "came out of nowhere."

The team is made up of freshman guidon Lawrence Anderson; sophomores Herman Wu, Brace Tyler, Leo Boyadjian and Daisy Dulatre; and juniors Leimomi Devenport, saber spinner Denise Sala, and commander PhuKhanh Le. There are no seniors on the team, which means good things for next year but definite disadvantages in the moment.

"We can't out-muscle the other teams. They're much stronger than we are. They can throw higher and farther. We have to win with precision and creativity."

The creativity comes with moves inspired by hula, capoeira, hip hop — just about anything. "I can trip over a rock and say, 'Oh, I like that move,'" says McCoy. He also draws ideas from the team members.

On the field, it's all business. The cadets jump to every command. McCoy doesn't even raise his voice. Someone drops a rifle when his back is turned. He hears it hit the ground but doesn't say anything. Before he even turns around, the entire team is on the ground doing 10 pushups. "Respect isn't even an issue," he says. "On the field, I'm coach. After practice, we'll all go to McDonald's and hang out. We have sleep-overs, order pizza and watch Austin Powers. But when it's time to drill, we drill."

McCoy is a member of the King's Guard, an elite drill team steeped in Hawaiian tradition. He is applying to college, thinking ROTC and then the military. But in the meantime, the Phantom Tigers have his attention and his heart.

"Yeah, you learn how to spin a rifle, but at the same time, you learn so many things about character," he says. "Drill team gives you something you can carry with you your whole life."

The last competition of the year, the King's Guard Drill Meet, is March 8. "This one is for all the marbles," says McCoy. He's careful about boasting, but it's clear the Phantom Tigers are out to win. "We don't speak with our mouths. We speak with our drill."

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.