By Julie Slama | [email protected]

South Jordan - The Bingham High drill team have their eyes set on winning their 11th straight national title. 

“Our goal this year is to do our best, strive for perfection and win nationals,” coach Jamyn Miller said. “We have hard-working, disciplined, driven girls who are incredibly inspiring to me. These girls strive for perfection and consistency so they perform their very best.”

After having three third-year senior veterans Kiyana Mauman, Kendyl Moss and Emily Smith perform at the state 5A contest Feb. 4 and Feb. 6 after being selected to be part of the all-state drill team and having the team place second in overall and individual categories, the Minerettes are gearing up for the Contest of Champions held March 5-7 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando.

“We put more pressure on the girls at every practice to improve daily, hit their turns, perfect their techniques and tricks. We want them to peak on competition day,” Miller said.

The team was the overall 5A champions for region 3, having won military and dance categories and placing second in character.

The competition included dance; character, which allows the team to dress and use props and music to create a story; and military, where the drill team has precise, crisp movements. Bingham’s dance routine includes 20 girls performing right and left aerials.

“It’s impressive that 20 girls were able to get the skill down, and not only learn the trick, but then perfect it together,” Miller said.

Their character routine has the girls dressed as robots in school colors.

“We incorporated silver and blue to match the school colors and bring spirit to the routine. The costumes are amazing and surprising. The music is awesome and the choreography is entertaining. It’s definitely a crowd-pleaser and people are left in awe,” she said.

Bingham is known for its military routine.

“We have beautiful lines and power and some cool military tricks,” she said.

The team wears its traditional costumes, each with 1,000 rhinestones the girls added.

Earlier this season, the Minerettes were named the overall champion at the Utah Valley University invitational on Dec. 12, the Rocky Mountain Invitational Jan. 8-9 at Corner Canyon High and at the Bountiful Invitational in mid-January.

At those, and other drill invitationals, additional routines may include hip-hop; lyrical; pom, similar to military with angles and lines, but is more light-hearted, fun and energetic and usually is performed at football halftime shows; and officer, where team captains perform any genre of dance. 

In each of the region and state routines, Miller has girls audition for the routine. At nationals, the whole team will also get to perform its hip-hop routine.

Practices and competitions aren’t all that this team performs. The drill team is involved in service projects, such as organizing their annual fall Astra Waller 5K benefit run, in honor of a former Minerette who died four years ago from cystic fibrosis. 

They also participate in a Sub for Santa for a junior high class of students with disabilities in the Salt Lake Valley. As part of their gift, they perform routines for them, and afterward hold a dance party with the students.

“This gives the girls a different perspective and they realize how lucky they are. It’s also neat that they’re able to share their talent to make people really happy, and then have fun with them,” she said.

The year will end with its Minerette Year-End Showcase, held at 7 p.m., March 16 at the school. Tickets will be available at the door.

Auditions will be held March 17-18, and in addition to reviewing citizenship and academics, dancers will need a letter of recommendation and will be evaluated for their technique and ability to dance as a team. This past year, more than 80 percent of the team were named to the All-Region Academic Team while maintaining at least a 3.75 GPA.

“Drill is different. We need them to blend with each other and perform cleanly so they appear as one. We also need the girls to be tough mentally and physically. We need smart, positive, hard-working teammates,” Miller said.