This is a time-line of how it happened, and let me tell you, it wasn't easy, but after it was all over, I knew it was worth every second.
June, 1998: Present the idea to have a drill team at my local middle school to the school's principal and athletic director. The team would consist of 7th and 8th grade girls during the boys basketball season. No sport was offered for girls during this time. The conditions met was that the season would last from late October through the end of December, all girls must meet state requirements (have a recent sports physical, 2.0 GPA), and that an adult would be at every practice (I'm 17, not a legal chaperone).
September, 1998: Make a sign up sheet in the school office of interested girls. Hold a parent meeting to talk about cost, practice and performance times, etc. The parents decided to pay for the uniforms (white tennis skirts, blue t-shirt, white shoes & socks, black bloomers) rather than worry about fundraising. The total cost was about $50. They also decided that rather than having just one or two parents rotating practices, they'd all try to help and watch them.
October, 1998: Practices start every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning from 6:30-7:30. Uniforms are purchased from Big-5.
November, 1998: The team performs at middle school games on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6. Practices are cut back to twice a week.
December, 1998: The team gets a chance to perform at two high school varsity games. Too soon, the last performance comes and we say our goodbyes.
