How a Sydney Girl Beat Out Hundreds of Cheerleaders to Land a Spot with the San Diego Chargers
By Shireen Khalil
The Herald Sun
In school she had high hopes of becoming an international cheerleader — now an official cheerleader for the NFL’s San Diego Chargers, Angela Minucos has realised her dream.
After working up the courage to audition for the Chargers’ cheerleading squad, Ms Minucos beat more than 400 other women to become a Charger Girl.
“When you know there are going to be that many talented women competing for the same spot, it is very intimidating,” Ms Minucos said. “But I am so fortunate to have such an amazing support system.”
The former Rosebank College student was a cheerleader for the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League for two years before getting a spot in the popular San Diego squad.
“That was when my passion for cheerleading really exploded. I saw a whole other professional side to cheerleading,” she said.
“ When I returned to Australia I knew I wasn’t ready to finish and instantly began making plans to go to America and take the next step into the biggest league, the NFL.”
She said the auditions were extremely tough with hundreds of girls vying for a spot with the San Diego Chargers,
“The first interview is a one on one with the Charger a Girls Team Director Lisa Simmons,” she said.
“From there a panel interview with several Chargers executives and personnel, where by you can be asked all sorts of questions, from your personal experience to statistics and information about the Chargers organisation and its football players.”
“For me, the best part of being a cheerleader is giving back to the community.
“Taking part in anti bullying programs, healthy lifestyle initiatives for kids and raising money for important charities is a huge reason why I do what I do.”
Ms Minucos is currently living in San Diego and can’t wait to kick off the season.
“ We started our preseason training immediately following the auditions and it has been non stop since. I can’t wait for the season to begin and having all of this hard work and preparation pay off on the field when I get to dance in front of 70,000 Chargers fans!”
