Figure Skating Fan Zone Sport Navigation Menu Teams Schedule & Results 2021-22 Synchronized Skating Roster Cynthia Slawter Photography Pause Hockettes Level Junior Club Ann Arbor FSC Age Range of Skaters 14-19 Head Coach (es) (Years) Lindsay Grajek (3) Training Town Ann Arbor, Mich. Erin began skating at the age of 6 and immediately loved the sport. Combining Athletic Republic's specialized training equipment, science proven training protocols, and years of experience our staff will transform athleticism and overall well being. Youth growing up with disabilities often struggle with self-acceptance, confidence in their abilities, and self-esteem. Trying to practice certain elements without connection wasn't easy. Davies convinced Pinaglia to attended one of her performances, and after observing the technique and hard work involved, the pair decided to make a documentary would showcase the talent in the sport. She also assists with the Hockettes Synchronized Skating Program. Novice Teams - Novice. Though the new location added more travel time for a few skaters, for junior team member Evelyn Lemm, the opportunity to carpool with her teammates was something she will not soon forget. Components Deductions : Planned Elements Executed Elements Base Value Elm . "Skating has always been something that I've relied on through every change in my life," she said. The sport has now reached over 25 countries.. Sara sent me a preview of the whole album and when we were listening to that piece, it was really telling us the exact feeling of recognizing that youre not on your own, youre not alone, and looking inside yourself, Donovan said. A still image from the "Life in Synchro" documentary shows synchronized skaters on the ice. The big question is, will the sport be validated by the Olympics? said director Angela Pinaglia. Madonna Just like a prayer. So [we just kept] reminding ourselves that if you do your best then at the end of the day when you give it your all, you have no regrets." In a sport known for its surge of support at practice and competition, the environment is nothing but positive for everyone involved. As I was writing songs for this album, the pandemic hitand it just felt very parallel to what was going on in the world. She talks with them and finds creative ways to guide them to learn a new program. Skyliners Synchronized Skating Teams - Proudly representing the Skating Club of New York, Skating Club of Fairfield County. The Hockettes is a unified team from Ann Arbor, Michigan, that has embraced the idea that anyone can contribute to the success of a synchronized ice skating team. This led to Johansons involvement with US Figure Skating and working on behalf of skaters with disabilities at the national level. In her free time, she enjoys watching Netflix, and . Acceleration Training. Gradually, the ghosts and humans begin interacting and connecting more. Full-body circuit training with elements of HIIT for adults looking to move better, get stronger, and stay healthy. It is critical that skaters have a support system including coaches, peers, and family members to foster the success and accomplishments of the entire team. Each spoke is one of the colors of dresses. She had seen the girls at one of the competitions and became interested in working with them to improve their skills and help them to build team accomplishments. At the Ann Arbor Ice Cube, skaters put on their skates in their cars, pass a temperature check and fill out a waiver with their parents before entering the facility. We didnt really know what was going to happen in the future, but we were gonna keep working towards what we want, as a team.. No one knew when they would be allowed back on the ice together, but they kept to their goals and priorities. In her early elementary years, when her brother began to skate and play hockey, Grace found that no skating programs were available for children with disabilities. This effectively slows the game down around the athlete, helping them make quicker decisions, execute rapid responses, and complete more efficient movements which contribute to better game-day performance. Short Program Final; Free Skate Start order; Start time: Mar 02, 7:20 PM Central Standard Time; . See Copyrights. You can see the visual of when they start coming together and when theyre separated, Donovan explained. Short Program Start order; Free Skate; Start time: Mar 01, 2:30 PM Central Standard Time; . "You know that you can connect with people, because everybody experienced the pandemic. AllRights Reserved. Each adaptive skater on the team gets a Unified buddy from one of the traditional synchronized skating teams, and they work together on skills and support each other as they learn. Collegiate, Open Collegiate, Intercollegiate. We wanted to show skaters in all phases of their life and that was a reason why these teams were chosen, said Davies. At the Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club, every skater and program intertwine with each other. Each trainer is enthusiastic, knowledgeable and just good people! This was the idea that sparked the formation of the Unified Hockettes, a synchronized skating team composed of traditional synchronized skaters and Special Olympics athletes. Gone were conversations at lunch and sharing inside jokes in the hallway. Mady is a third year skater from Rochester, MI, and she is majoring in Accounting and Sports Management. Erin Donovan is the head coach of the Hockettes and the director of the Ann Arbor FSC Synchronized Skating Program. Little did she know that two weeks of the pandemic would turn into almost two years. The Hockettes is a unified team from Ann Arbor, Michigan, that has embraced the idea that anyone can contribute to the success of a synchronized ice skating team. She furthered her education, also at Miami, by earning her master's in Student Affairs and serving as a graduate assistant in the athletic department. To cultivate a safe and supportive environment that provides for the advancement of our members in all disciplines and levels of figure skating.. Visit www.LearnToSkateUSA.com to get started. She said has become a source of female-empowerment that she hopes to take part in someday. Checkout all options that Onyx-Suburban Skating Academy has to offer for beginner skaters. The Unified Hockettes is composed of half traditional synchronized skaters and half Special Olympics athletes. Additional considerations include energy systems, movement patterns, primary as well as secondary movers, hypertrophy, strength, power, and endurance. Mary Johanson is a coach from the Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club. The fresh 'Hockettes' skated away from Ann Arbor, Michigan and you may captivated visitors in the intermissions of one's College out of Michigan Wolverines men's freeze hockey team. This is a team of adaptive and non-disabled synchronized skaters who are peer mentors. There are more than 500 teams . Athletic Republic Conditioning Cords provide controlled resistance while allowing athletes to perform at game speed, greatly improving sport-specific power for hitting, throwing, running, shooting, spiking serving and/or jumping. By the time she was twelve, Coach Johanson had begun including adaptive skaters in her new program. Hockettes Synchronized Skating. The sport, founded by University of Michigan professor Dr. Richard Porter, was known as precision skating at the time. This individualized program includes regular evaluations to measure progress as athletes work to improve strength, flexibility, mobility, stability, and power so they can return to competition better than new.. He realized that theres not enough team sports activities for girls and he started this thing, said Pinaglia. . "It was the little things that you added to it that made it really even that much more fun, even though it's out of your way." A competitive skater from the Dearborn Crystallettes is featured, as is a coach of the Fraser Figure Skating Club, Peggy MacDonald. Skaters are constantly within six feet of each other, touching each other's arms and hands throughout their routines. "So I was like, this little time at home [will be nice]," Moran said. " I also coached and led my school's Powderpuff Team, an girl's flag football . Additionally, adaptive skating is now an integral part of the Professional Skaters Association, an organization to which all skating coaches are required to belong. ", 2023 Athletic Republic. Thats always been our weakness, Grajek said. The 2022-2023 season is Erins fourteenth year with the University of Michigan Synchronized Skating Team. Hockettes - Synchronized Skating - U.S. This is a team of adaptive and non-disabled synchronized skaters who are peer mentors. The skaters are powerful and strong, every arm and head movement synchronized. Each workout has an end goal in mind and produces results. In the stands, nearly filled to capacity, their fans cheer them on as they move through their routine. But the one thing in their life that was so certain was that we were going to find a way for them to still practice, and while they were there they were going to have fun doing what they loved." Lessons in skating, lessons in life, powered by Toyota. Pivot into block ok lines a bit wide 135s - one girl dropped her leg. "It's been very nice to encompass the light and the next step of the pandemic," she said. Article Skater Spotlight Thursday, January 13, 2022 By Paige Feigenbaum Sara Syms dedicated her life to synchronized skating beginning at the age of 7 or 8, all while also pursuing singles skating, ice dance, classical piano and singing in a world-renowned children's choir. "Synchronized skating is a mix between cheerleading, dance, ice dancing, and freestyle all combined into a sport with 16 people on the ice at once," explains Evie. In figure skating, four kids from the East . 16 + 3. Modules include Stability, Recovery, Sensory, Shoulder Safety, and Strength training. Training with the Senaptec strobe glasses enhances visual skills such as focus, object tracking, anticipation timing, reaction time, visualization, balance/stability, and peripheral vision. Junior Teams. Prior to coaching at Michigan, she spent time at Miami University assisting with the Varsity Synchronized Skating program and served as the head coach for the Open Collegiate team for three seasons while earning her Masters degree. This year, teams are making these adjustments on a much larger scale a pandemic scale. When they perform their long program, they are not just putting blades on ice and performing choreographed jumps and spins they are taking one of the sport's many gifts and giving it away. The coaching staff has used the word resilient to motivate the team. Ded. In July, the team finally resumed on-ice practice together in Sylvania, Ohio, about a 45-minute drive south of their home rink in Ann Arbor. Using state-of-the-art performance testing tools with synchronized video to document progress, weve tested, studied, and perfected our training programs so you can improve your play and gain the confidence to win. Synchronized skating is all about adjustments. Then, as the virus recedes and the darkness lifts, there is celebration, which the skaters portray through jumping and embracing each other. Robyn Clarke. Learn more | Team sports is something therapeutic skaters dont always get access to, Donovan, who has been with the Hockettes organization since 2002, said. Erin Donovan has been the director and coach of the Hockettes Synchronized Skating Program since 2002. Synchronized ice skating is a sport with its roots in the Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club. The team began by performing simple group numbers at University of Michigan hockey games and the annual Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club Ice Show Over the years that followed, the team put in guest appearances in the World Champions' Tours, the Lake Placid International Festival, and even in the center ring (on ice) of the Shrine Circus As if all that glamour wasn't enough, the team skated in U.S. She began the first unified team in 2018. When they were finally able to skate in-person again, the Ann Arbor-based Hockettes were forced to travel to nearby Ohio, as their home rink was still closed due to health and safety restrictions. They feel supported and appreciate that the coaches create an extremely positive environment. In 1956 a new sport was born. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. 535 talking about this. Ashley attended Miami University and earned her undergraduate degree in Journalism and Speech Communications. Free Skate Start order; Start time: Mar 04, 2:48 PM Central Standard Time; Venue: Peoria Civic Center; . "Because we're definitely more in that middle moment of the program, [where] we're understanding how difficult it was what we went through, but that we're starting to come out on the other side. You can follow her on Twitter at @EmilyM_Little. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Living in the heart of Music City, she could take her music to new levels. The coaching staffs of Arctic Edge Unity Synchronized Skating Teams (Canton, Michigan) and of Hockettes Synchronized Skating Teams (Ann Arbor, Michigan) are thrilled to announce a special partnership beginning in the 2022-2023 season to enhance skater development and parent education for the synchronized skating discipline in Michigan. Hockettes (JT), Ann Arbor FSC : Score Executed Elements Factored Prog. And sometimes I think to myself, Man, I cant believe how positive they have been.. She has made big strides in athleticism, speed, strength and most importantly confidence. Welcome to Onyx Suburban Skating Academy Welcome to Onyx Suburban Skating Academy Welcome to Onyx Suburban Skating . Ded . 2022 Registered Teams: Adult: Esprit de Corps, Team Excel, The Colonials Aspire Beginner: Gate City Synchro, Lower Cape Synchro Beginner, Nor'easters, Skyliners Black, Skyliners Blue, Skyliners Sapphire, Syracuse Symmetry, Team Excel - Beginner, Team Excel - Open, The Sharper Edge Aspire Preliminary: Charlotte Synchro, Connecticut Rinkettes, Lower Cape Synchro Preliminary, Nor'easters . The Darkest Light was recorded live in an old church in New Orleans that has been converted into a music studio, providing amazing acoustics that create a spiritual, haunting echo that is perfect for this track. Our athletes are under the watchful eye of an instructor to ensure they are being taught the right way to push themselves. "And to just take everything in stride and remember that the skaters are so capable and we all can only do what we can do, you know? Our flagship program for competitive athletes designed to build speed, power, agility, and resistance to injury. Its really beautiful.. Since being part of the team, Grace expresses that she feels very energetic and strong and values the support she receives from her teammates. We use everything from free weights and kettlebells to bands and boxes. In 1956, the Hockettes were formed to entertain between periods at hockey games in Ann Arbor, Mich., performing mainly militaristic drills on skates. Skyliners junior, which has won two World Junior medals in the last four years, is the four-time reigning U.S. junior champion dating back to . She writes the lyrics, composes the music, plays the piano, and is the vocalist for her songs. Both Grace and her mother report that the benefits from team skating are invaluable. She had been a coach for 35 years when she was presented with students with disabilities who enrolled in the Learn to Skate program. Our proven methods safely push you past your limits increasing the competitive skills required to be a champion. 2023 spring Ice Show - Neon . When they were finally able to skate in-person again, the Ann Arbor-based Hockettes were forced to travel to nearby Ohio, as their home rink was still closed due to health and safety restrictions. Created in 1956 by Dr. Richard Porter, the team first performed during the intermission at University of Michigan Hockey games and in the Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club ice shows. 2,079 followers. Hockettes skating to song written and performed by former synchro skater Sara Syms. Alison began her coaching career during high school and continued throughout her studies at Eastern Michigan University. She was a competitive synchronized skater at the National level from 1991-2001, while also testing and competing in freestyle, dance, figures, and field moves. Athletes who complete a post-surgery physical therapy program may not yet be ready for a return to full-speed play; our ACL Bridge program bridges that gap. His team was called the Hockettes. You can tell that (the skaters) are just thankful to be there, said Lindsay Grajek, head coach of the junior team. //--> The coaches and skaters used every possible opportunity to practice together, whether virtual or in-person. She and the other mentors offer encouragement and support, guiding without unrealistic expectations or judgment. She has also attended numerous international and junior worlds as a coach. We also hope to have an open clinic to see if people in the surrounding area are interested, she said. Thats when the light will appear. 2023 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships 03/01/2023 - 03/04/2023 (CST) Junior Teams / Short Program Judges' Details. "It's a combination of a lot of different things rolled into one sport." Team USA aka The Hockettes. Governor Gretchen Whitmer only allowed gyms and recreation centers to open on September 9, leaving many teams like the Hockettes without a practice facility for months. The goal of the Unified Hockettes, Donovan said, is to bring joy the joy of team skating to more individuals, especially those who dont typically receive the opportunity. She has tested and competed in figures, freestyle and dance; and she is a gold medalist in ice dancing. Skyliners Synchronized Skating Team We just had testing, and his numbers were looking great; especially with where he started. She attended Miami University and was a member of the Varsity Synchronized Skating Team all four years of college as well as team captain and club president during her senior year. Event Results for 2023 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships. Athletic Republic's private training sessions cater to athletes and adults searching for the ultimate, customized program and one-on-one attention in areas of speed and power development, sports specific training, general fitness, and nutrition. The Darkest Light is about how we cant have the light without the darkness and about having the courage to sit with your shadows and all the things youve been running from. Hockettes skater Claire Moran remembers the day that the COVID-19 pandemic flipped her world on its head. Besides skating, Alison and her husband are the proud parents to a young daughter who is following in her mothers footsteps as another synchro skater in the making! In addition, she skated and won four national titles with the program. Off the ice, the skaters count on each other to be safe for the team and follow all social distancing guidelines. ", "My daughter, Casey, has been going here for 7 months. National Qualifying Series Schedule & Results, Solid Foundation Allows Lexettes to Explore New Horizons, check out this story on usfigureskating.org, Altered Approach Propels Team Image to New Heights, Miami University Embodying Championship Mindset Heading into U.S. Championships, Josephine Lee Up for the Challenge at World Juniors, Crystallettes Test Never Tear Us Apart Theme in First Senior Elite 12 Season, Video Platform powered by CBS Sports Digital. Pure dedication is on display in every performance given by these amazing teams. the coaches create an extremely positive environment that was when my life, she. What we have noticed the most is how improved his endurance is it is a team of adaptive and synchronized... Junior 4th, 2003 North American International, Junior 4th, 2003 North American International, Junior 2nd, World. New York, Skating Club her high school graduation take part in someday self-esteem. 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