Drills

This is taken from my new site about drills.

It is intriguing to me that the word drill has two very distinct connotations. I started developing a website about drills, thinking of course, of the tool that bores holes. However, as I began to do my research on drills, I found a whole other world of drills. A world full of sports athletes practicing their game. I wasn’t even aware that such a world existed! This, then, got me wondering about all kinds of drills.

Being a woodworker and handyman, I, or course, knew about the electric drill. This is the common tool that you plug into an outlet, tighten a drill bit into the chuck, and bore holes in wood, metal, plastic, or masonry. I am also intimately familiar with the ever so popular cordless drill. This has the same functionality as the electric drill previously mentioned, but lacks an electrical cord. Instead, a rechargeable battery provides the power to energize the motor to spin the drill bit. And, of course, there are variations on this theme. There are hammer drills, or percussion drills, that not only spin the drill bit, but also hammer the bit in at the same time. This makes quick work out of boring holes in things like concrete, masonry, and stone. And then there are pneumatic drills that are powered by air. Air is fed through a hose from an air compressor to the drill. This air spins the motor that drives the drill bit. These are usually preferred in a shop environment as they are quiet and don’t use as much electricity.

But the other world of drills is rather intriguing. In the sport of soccer, there are hundreds of soccer drills. Drills for goalies protecting the net; drills for kicking; drills for ball handling. The same is true for volleyball. There are tip drills and smash drills and spike drills. But what I couldn’t believe was the swimming drills! There are drills for butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle.

And yet another use for the term drill is the practice maneuvers we have for emergencies. Who can forget the favorite of all students in school: the fire drill! We’d be sitting in math or science class, dreaming of what we’d be doing in a few hours when school was over, or trying to use our psychic powers to get the hands of the clock to move faster, when all of a sudden we’d hear the distinctive ringing of the fire bells! The teacher would calmly have us line up and, single-file, parade us outside a safe distance away from the school.

After school, usually on a Friday night, we’d attend our school’s football game. During half-time, the band would take the field and march around playing the Alma Mater and The Fight Song. And, of course, they’d be accompanied by the drill team! And when the Drill Team practices, they call it drills.

So, as you can see, my study of a tool that bores holes has opened my eyes to a whole new world of drills. Never again will I see a soccer practice the same way again. Nor will I drive by a school and not remember those fire drills.

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