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.
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