Preview for the William St. George Drill

by Dan Laverty

This Saturday, June 30th, is the William St. George Memorial Drill. Bill St. George was a Vice President with the Nassau County Drill Team Association. The Tomcats started this drill to raise money for his son and for a scholarship. The scholarship is available to any member, or family member of a drill team. The Baldwin Tomcats drill team put a lot of energy and work into a drill that they make zero dollars on. All proceeds go to the scholarship fund.

The lineup in previous years was the bottom ten in Nassau County. This year marks the 5th annual drill and will be the bottom 10 from both Nassau & Suffolk. The following is a preview of sorts for the teams that are in the lineup. Sixteen teams are entered and it is rumored we may have more. Come on down and see some good old Firematic Drill Team Competition at Hempstead’s track on Weir St. It’s a 12:00 start but get their early for a good seat because I have a feeling the stands will be packed.

 The Tomcats took 5th place in this drill last year with 15 points. This was in a field of nine competing teams from Nassau County. So far in 2012, the Tomcats have not competed in the motorized category but did attend the 2,3,4 Battalion Drill held last Sunday.

The New Hyde Park Termites did not participate in this drill last year and so far in 2012 we have seen them at the TONH/TOB held on June 9th. The Termites took 3rd place overall and 3rd place in the TONH. A team that has seen a recent rebuilding seems to be on the rise.

The Brentwood Tigers participated in nine Drills in 2011. This year The Tigers have already participated in two drills and took a half point in B-Hose at the Lindenhurst Drill. I must say that the Tigers are a very resilient team who keep coming out week after week and put their heart and soul into what they do.

The Riverhead Ironmen have participated in three drills so far in 2012. They took 5th place at the Town of Brookhaven Drill. They appear to not have utilized their C-Truck so far this season.

The West Islip Raiders had a short season last year due to lack of manpower and will be coming into this drill with a team that no one has seen. A lot of eyes will be on the Raiders to see what they are going to do in 2012.

The Oyster Bay Teddy’s Boys played in seven drills in 2011 and maybe it was their trip to Point Pleasant at the end of August that brought this team together. So far in 2012 we have seen a resurgence of youth and a team that looks like a bonded group. Let’s all hope they continue to grow and learn and keep this team that is deep in tradition on the course.

CUTCHOGUE PANTHERS

The Cutchogue Panthers only competed in four drills in 2011 and so far in 2012 they have played in the Town of Brookhaven Drill where they took 2nd place overall. C’mon Cutchogue! Keep coming out and keep having fun. We all love to see you on the course.

GLENWOOD GREENHORNS

Last year, the Glenwood Greenhorns took 2nd place at this drill and competed in seven others. At the TONH/TOB drill this year the Greenhorns were 2 points shy of placing in the top five.

The Deer Park Bucks have not seen the tournament course in 2012 but raced in six drills last year. It has been confirmed that the Bucks have purchased the Inwood Mud Ducks B-Truck and maybe this is the item that will help this team put up better times in the B-Truck events. Let’s all hope that the Bucks’ old rig doesn’t get lost in the shuffle and goes to a team that could use it and keep it on the track.

NORTH BELLMORE RINKY DINKS

The North Bellmore Rinky Dinks have not been on the line in 2012 so far. The current Wm. St. George Champs had a 2011 season with only 1 point in a major motorized drill out of the 5 they participated in beside this drill. They have the equipment, they have the bodies but they just can’t seem to be able to put it all together recently. Hopefully this young team has been practicing and will show us all something in 2012. Can they repeat their success of 2011 and win this drill in 2012?

The Carle Place Frogs were in six Drills in 2011 and at the TONH/TOB they were on the cusp of placing in the top five TONH. They did not run C-Ladder but did run C-Hose and you know we all love to hear Bill Rowse announce "THE FRAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGS, from Carle Place!” and see them on the course.

The East Farmingdale Hares were out at the Lindenhurst Drill and apparently they have a new C-Truck in their possession. We only saw the Hares at the Suffolk County Drill in 2011 and hopefully there is some new interest and we will see more of them in 2012.

ROCKVILLE CENTRE WOODLANDERS

The Rockville Centre Woodlanders as we all know can run O.F with the best of them. The OF Co-Champs of 2011 did not utilize their B-Truck last year but seemed to be poised to get more use out of it in 2012. I know they were at the 2,3,4 Battalion but I do not recall where they placed in the drill.

The Levittown Rebels raced in a bunch of drills in 2011, with their best finish being the TOB where they took 3rd place. They have not been out on 2012 so we don’t know what to expect out of them this year. We here at The Drill Team Blog have not heard much concerning The Rebels but sometimes no news is good news.

LAKEVIEW SPARKS

The Lakeview Sparks placed a few times at OF Drills in the beginning of 2011 but injuries and loss of members saw a Sparks team struggling to keep it together towards the end of the season. The offseason brought put some new “spark” to the team’s fire with the purchase of a B-Truck that Sayville used last year. With help from Sayville and many people throughout the racing community Lakeview was able to obtain the equipment needed to put a motorized team on the track. With the tutelage of many people with many years of racing under their belts, this team has been shown how to run the motorized events. With their already acquired knowledge of the ground events and their newly acquired motorized knowledge hopefully the Sparks will take some points this Saturday and continue to take points the rest of the year. Good luck, Sparks. We’ll be watching.

The Islip Terrace Schlagers only ran 3-Man and Efficiency at Lindenhurst in 2011 and have not been out so far in 2012. We don’t know what we are going to see from this team so let’s all watch and cheer them on this Saturday.

I don’t know who will come out on top on Saturday, but it will sure be fun to watch and find out. It’s up to the above teams to put the practice in and show us all what they can do.

Good Luck to all teams participating and please stay safe.