Two cheers for Chargers

MARTY JAMES
Napa Valley Register
April 26, 2011

As a San Diego Charger Girl, Lauren O’Bryon always takes a minute or two before the game and then at some point during the game to look at her surroundings at Qualcomm Stadium.

It involves mostly just looking into the stands — which are filled to capacity on Sundays during the fall — as a way of reminding herself just how fortunate and appreciative she is to be associated with a National Football League team. It’s an honor, said O’Bryon, to be on the field with the other members of the Charger Girls, the official dance team of the San Diego Chargers.

“We’re all there for the same reason, supporting our football team and showing our love of dance,” she said in a telephone interview from Southern California last week. “It’s almost a surreal feeling. You can’t even put it into words. It’s just an honor, it’s definitely an honor.

“It’s something very special and meaningful, obviously.”

O’Bryon’s sister, Jennifer, who is also a Charger Girl, expressed the same feeling.

“Being a member of the Charger Girls is my proudest accomplishment,” said Jennifer. “I honestly love all aspects of it. I love having the opportunity to perform, get involved in the community and make lifelong friendships. It’s a life-changing experience.”

Lauren, 29, and Jennifer, 25, got their start in cheerleading and dance growing up in Napa.

Lauren is a 1999 Vintage High School graduate who was a cheerleader for three years and the team captain her senior year. She took up dance at the age of 4 with Academy of Danse in Napa and was on a competition dance team, performing jazz, ballet and lyrical dance.

“I pretty much went to school at Vintage and then had cheerleading practice after school and then drove straight over to the dance studio and then came home and did my homework,” she said. “My high school days were pretty packed full with dance and cheer. It was very structured, but I still was able to do well in school and maintain a 4.0 (grade-point average) in high school. It kept me busy, but I think it kept me on track.”

Lauren was also on the dance team in college at Sonoma State and performed at home basketball games.

Jennifer is a 2003 Napa High graduate and was a spiritleader her junior and senior year after transferring from Vintage. She was an All-American dancer both years and named as a Top All-American her junior year. Napa went to nationals in Orlando, Fla., during her senior year.

“(Coach/director) Hollie Schmidt is such an inspiration and I feel so grateful to have had her guidance in high school,” said Jennifer.

Jennifer stopped competing after high school and mostly took dance classes during college.

But in 2008 she tried out and was chosen to the Charger Girls.

Both Lauren and Jennifer are entering their second year together with the Chargers. The organization’s dance team, made up of 28 members, was formed in 1990 and has since become one of the most premier dance teams in the NFL, according to the Chargers’ website. Lisa Simmons is the team director.

“Although being a Charger Girl is a part time job, much time and hard work is devoted to the position,” the website said. “As an official representative of the Chargers’ organization, the Charger Girls are very active in the community. They have donated their time to such charity groups as the Junior Seau Foundation, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Children’s Hospital, the American Diabetes Association, and D.A.R.E., to name a few. The Charger Girls have traveled extensively, including trips to Sydney, Tokyo and Berlin. Because of their growing popularity, the Charger Girls have appeared on numerous television shows on the local, national and international level.”

The 2009 season was Lauren’s first year with the Charger Girls; her sister took that year off.

The O’Bryons are the first sisters to make the Chargers’ dance team.

“It’s incredible that we get to share this rare experience together,” said Jennifer. “We’re so close and it’s nice to be able to share that sisterly bond with the rest of the team as well.”

Over 400 women, age 18 and over, auditioned for this year’s squad at the Jenny Craig Pavilion at the University of San Diego and the Omni Hotel in downtown San Diego. Those trying out were evaluated by a panel of judges on dance ability, showmanship performance, poise, and public speaking skills. There was a cut to about 175, followed by a second cut to about 70. The team was announced on April 7.

“They’re looking for the total package,” said Lauren, who graduated from Sonoma State with a degree in economics. “The Charger Girls have a saying that it’s a part-time job but a full-time commitment. A lot of us have full-time careers outside of Charger Girls. It’s not something that we do for the money. We all do it for the experience that we gain from it.”

Lauren owns a mobile dance company, WEBBY Dance Co. of San Diego, which travels to preschool and elementary schools to teach dance and creative movement on location. The company serves over 200 students.

After graduating from college, Lauren returned to Napa and coached the junior and senior competition team for Academy of Danse for two years.

Jennifer is currently working on obtaining her state teaching credential at Cal State Los Angeles to become an elementary school teacher. She makes her home in L.A.

Game days are a full day for the Charger Girls. They are required to report to the stadium five hours before kickoff. They spend two hours rehearsing on the field, then change into their signature uniforms. Before kickoff, they are in different sections of the stadium, doing promotional work as representatives of the organization.

They perform at home preseason and regular-season games. The Charger Girls are grouped in lines of seven members and rotate around the field during games.

“I think there’s something about being on a team that you learn many values, that camaraderie that you can’t find anywhere else than within your teammates,” said Lauren, a San Diego resident. “You learn from each other, you work together. Your teammates make you work harder.

“You’re all there for the same reason — you love dance, you love performing. But you create such a bond that’s much more important than that. I think the Chargers organization does a great job of selecting the best 28 that they can out of that 400 that shows up that first day. You’ve really got great women out there.”

Charger Girls are issued a uniform at the start of the season. They are paid $75 per game.

They go through a lot of different seminars, including public speaking seminars, nutrition seminars, boot camps, and team-bonding exercises at a minicamp. They also learn choreography.

“It’s been something special that my sister and I have gotten to share, being on the team together,” said Lauren.

Lauren is confident that the NFL, which is currently experiencing a labor dispute, will play this year.

“We are continuing on as normal. We had our auditions and we’re going forward with our minicamp. We’re confident that an agreement will be reached and we will have a season. We’re excited for that coming season.”