North Forsyth High School offers many sports and activities for its students. One team that is not commonly known is the Raider Team. The team is  mainly composed of students that are in ROTC. They attend many competitions that require hard work and teamwork. Jessie Burnett is a member of the team and has positive statements about the team.

Since many students are unaware of what the Raider Team is, here is a quick rundown of what is done on the team. All of the competitions done are composed of obstacles. These obstacles are somewhat similar to the ones done in ROTC and require teamwork in order to meet the desired time effectively. On top of that, the Raider Team also creates many new friendships and  helps develop communication and team building skills.

Jessie Burnett joined the Raider Team in her senior year of 2018. She joined after one of the ROTC Commanders encouraged her to try out. “I wish I would’ve joined sooner” she stated as she now enjoys competing every weekend. Burnett is part of the female team, and she is responsible for a few of the events in the competitions. For example, she stated, “ I run long distances while carrying heavy objects, I do a bunch of climbing jumping, and swinging to get over obstacles.” Overall, she has to be prepared to do several different events in one competition. In order to do so, “I wake up at 5 am to come practice with my team in the mornings and we stay after school until 5:30 pm” said Burnett.

Since plenty of time is spent at practice, many memories and experiences are created. Jessie’s favorite memory is, “My favorite memory was when I was able to make it over the single bar without assistance.” The single bar is a bar that looks much like a pull up bar, and the goal is to pull yourself completely over the bar without assistance. Another experience Burnett enjoyed was one done as a team, which requires the members to assist each other on getting over a wall. This obstacle is also done in the competitions.

In the end, the Raider Team requires hard work and dedication. Though the practices are lengthy, they pay off. “I would recommend them [students] to join because I have enjoyed it a lot. I actually wish I would’ve joined sooner” said Burnett. Though it was just her first year, she encourages students to join because the team provides team building skills and provides new friendships.