The San Francisco 49ers website has been updated with new headshots of the 2011-12 Gold Rush. No bios yet, but hopefully they will follow soon!
by Tony Cagala
The Coast News
October 4, 2011
DEL MAR – For Robin Wayman there wasn’t any nerves at all. There was nothing for her to be nervous about – she didn’t have to audition.
Wayman is the director and coach of the newly inaugurated Socker Girls Dance Team. A former Charger Girl, Wayman knew all-too-well the nerves that accompanied auditions. She had spent seven seasons with the Chargers, and now she’s directing her first dance team.
“Going through seven years of the Charger process, I…know start to finish what a season looks like,” Wayman said. Wayman is using all of her experiences as a Charger Girl to put together the dance team. She’s also receiving a lot of help from former Charger Girls, from uniform design to creating dance routines.
Wayman’s had only eight short weeks to build the team from the ground up, including designing uniforms, coming up with dance routines and, of course, selecting the girls for the team.
Leah Sewitch of Escondido was one of the girls auditioning for a chance to be a part of the first-ever Sockers dance team.
“I love to dance and perform,” she said. She’s been dancing for about 15 years, and was a little bit nervous, she said, because of learning about the audition on such short notice. But she said she was also looking to just have fun. “Obviously, I would like to make it, but if I don’t, that’s OK, I’ll keep trying. I’m persistent.”
Wayman and her team of judges selected six girls for the inaugural season, where they will debut at the Sockers home opener Nov. 19.
“I feel like the skill set I learned through being a Charger Girl over the seven years definitely has made it to where I feel I’m strong enough to run the team,” she said.
“Since it’s such a new team, I don’t want to create the same intensity the Chargers have. I want whoever wants to come and tryout to come and feel comfortable…but my goal is definitely to make the team classy, dynamic and very respected in the community like the Chargers Girls are,” Wayman said.
As an organization, we’re always trying to do something a little bit better, said Sockers General Manager John Kentera.
Kentera hopes the new dance team will not only add some extra entertainment to Sockers games but as another way for the community to connect with the team. It’s also a great opportunity for the girls who dream and aspire to become professional dancers.
Each of the girls auditioning had to showcase their individual talents and their ability to learn and perform a routine quickly.
“We just want to make sure they all have a good dance ability, they are adding to the game day experience and so, we want to make sure they can dance and look uniform as a team,” Wayman said.
The type of dancing that the Socker Girls will be doing is mainly a jazz-style, Wayman added. “If somebody was interested in trying out for the team…I would say take a ballet class and a jazz class,” she said.
The team will be auditioning new girls every year.
The San Diego Sockers are part of the Premier Arena Soccer League (PASL-Premier), the largest indoor/arena soccer league, which hosts 32 teams in six divisions across the U.S.
The Sockers home stadium is the The Del Mar Arena at 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd. For more information, visit sdsockers.com.
Read more: Coast News Group – San Diego Sockers select first ever dance team
2011 West Valley grad top onlilne vote getter
By Maghan Hunt
The Anderson Valley Post
October 4, 2011
After receiving 3,817 votes and finishing the online voting in first place, Cottonwood resident Megan Beeson, 17, has made the Sacramento Kings dance team.
“I can’t explain how amazing it feels to have accomplished such a big goal; I get to do something I’m absolutely in love with for my job,” said Megan Beeson, a 2011 West Valley graduate.
“Not many can say that they are in love with what they do, and love going to work every day, but I can.”
According to Beeson, she is most looking forward to the performing aspect of being on the team, but said she also appreciated the opportunity to become a family and make life-long friends with the other dancers as well.
“We’re only a few weeks in and already have such a great bond,” explained Beeson.
Beeson said she will have a spot on the dance team until next season’s auditions roll around sometime in June or July.
“What’s scary about that is veterans do not get a set spot back on the team every year, so we start at the bottom just like everyone else and have to work just as hard,” responded Beeson.
Another big part of Beeson’s job, and one that she is excited about, is traveling.
“I couldn’t be more excited about the traveling for the team. The dancers do not go to any away games, but we do travel for appearances, photo shoots and competitions,” Beeson said. “I love traveling, so it is going to be such an amazing adventure to see where us dancers go this year.”
Beeson said what she wants to take away from this experience is not only the family aspect, but also the people she gets to meet, places she gets to travel and the feeling of accomplishment after achieving a goal.
“I can’t thank everyone enough for all the support I have gotten along the way,” said Beeson. “I truly am so blessed to come from such an amazing town with such amazing people.”
Two Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders recently paid a visit to our troops at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas. Click here for the story and some ENORMOUS hi-res photos.
This week SportsIllustrated.com showcases teams from the Cowboys, Cardinals, Ciefs, Chargers, Raiders, and Seahawks. Click here to go there now!
This week’s NFL Cheerleader gallery is all about the pink. Click here and check it out!
The new season starts on Thursday, October 20th on CMT. Save the date!
From CMT.com:
Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, is once again the venue for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders auditions. Five hundred candidates, including several familiar faces cut in training camp last year, arrive before sunrise for the preliminaries with dreams of making the 2011-2012 DCC team. For DCC director Kelli McGonagill Finglass, DCC choreographer Judy Trammell and Executive VP Dallas Cowboys Charlotte Jones Anderson, these auditions are extremely important because they have an unprecedented number of slots to fill. Fifteen girls retired from last year’s squad leaving only 18 DCC veterans committed to returning this year. After the grueling preliminary auditions, 122 young ladies are invited to compete at semifinals the following weekend. At the semis, the candidates struggle to learn a powerful DCC dance routine and the signature DCC kick line routine. The auditions come to an end with 69 girls invited to finals auditions. Now they are one step closer to Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders training camp. After the grueling preliminary auditions, 122 young ladies are invited to compete at semifinals the following weekend. At the semis, the candidates struggle to learn a powerful DCC dance routine and the signature DCC kick line routine. The auditions come to an end with 69 girls invited to finals auditions. Now they are one step closer to Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders training camp.
