Student drums up support for 5K run to help peers

Andrew Goble, Mission Hills, did not think much about how fortunate he was to play drums until recently.

“All the great teachers, all the great drums, all the great lessons,” Andrew said. “I’ve never had to worry about it.”

Now Andrew, a junior at Shawnee Mission East High School, wants to help give that opportunity to others. After hearing about a group of students working to build a drum line at Cristo Rey Kansas City, he began to organize a 5K walk/run/jog to help them out.

“It was a way to make someone have the same opportunity I was so lucky to have,” he said.

Cristo Rey Kansas City, 211 W. Linwood, Kansas City, Mo., is a college-preparatory school that provides a corporate work study program to students. Students who attend the school work one day a week in return for school tuition.

The drum line at Cristo Rey started about the same time the school opened four years ago, President Vickie Perkins said. School leaders learned quickly that students were interested in drumming.

A program began before the school even owned a single drum, she said.

“They were drumming on phone books and that kind of thing, but they were interested in it,” Perkins said.
Now, students take a drum line course during an elective class period. They learn how to read music and the basics of correct posture and rhythms. In the last couple of years they have acquired a few drums and now perform at some school athletic events.

“It adds so much life to different things like the basketball games,” Perkins said. “The kids absolutely love it. They thoroughly enjoy what they’re doing.”

But, the group could use more instruments. They also hope for equipment that would allow them to be a marching drum line, and funding to hire a drum coach, said Kim Miles, a math teacher who sponsors the band.

The drumming students, often led by junior Tony Young, schedule extra rehearsals outside of class to prepare for athletic-game performances, she said. Financial help would allow the students an opportunity to participate in parades and competitions.

“Being part of the group is really important to them because you are only as good as your weakest player,” Miles said. “They like to band together and perform. They are learning teamwork.”

Andrew, a runner on the East track team, has worked with a company to develop the 5K. They helped him plan details like the route and timing strategies.

He said as he has planned the event he has thought about the benefits of having a drum line in his high school.

“I learned how to work in a group,” he said. “You can’t all be doing your own thing. You learn how to work with other people, and putting something out there that people enjoy is like one of the best feelings I’ve ever had.”

Having a developing drum line has already “brought a lot” to Cristo Rey, Tony said. But he looks forward to when the group can become “an actual drum line,” he said.

“We’re a drum line with people that are not experienced,” he said. “I would hope to become a drum line with experience and have a lot of motivation to do different things with it.”

The Drum Run 2010 5K Run/Jog/Walk will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 27 at Shawnee Mission East High School, 7500 Mission Road, Prairie Village. For more information or to sign up, visit www.sportkc.org.

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