Synchronized ynchroizedS tingSkating Ska by MARY JOHANSON
G
race is a nineteenyear-old young girl who has experienced some challenges and struggled to find sports programs through her school connections. In her early elementary years, when her brother began to skate and play hockey, Grace found that there were no skating programs available for children with disabilities. By the time she was twelve, Coach Johanson had begun to include children with challenges in her new program. Grace began her journey with her friend Alex and together they continued to become Special Olympians. Their travels have included competing in Austria and Iceland, and winning Gold medals! With the subsequent development of the Unified Hockettes team, Grace was able to continue with her skating dreams. She described “feeling so excited” when she was chosen for the synchronized team. Erin Donovan has been the director and coach of the Hockettes Synchronized Skating Program
28
MARCH/APRIL 2022
since 2002. She began the first unified team in 2018. Since being a part of the team, Grace expresses that she feels very energetic and strong, and values the support she feels from her teammates. Her mother, Marie, reports that Grace was unable to ride a bicycle prior to learning to skate. By the time she was thirteen and had participated in the Learn to Skate program, she mastered this skill. The overall improvement in her core stability, balance, body awareness, and ability to plan and execute accurate movements has
carried over into all aspects of her life. Both Grace and her mother report that the benefits from team skating are invaluable. Grace credits all her coaches, including both individual and team coaches, for “helping me on the inside and supporting others to be successful.” Emma is a skater who is on the highly competitive Junior Hockettes team. Emma’s team coach, Erin Donovan, invited her to become a part of the unified team as a peer mentor. 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. In her role as a peer mentor, Emma helps the girls who experience challenges with warming up and learning to sequence the steps. She talks with them, and finds creative ways to guide them to learn a new program. Emma considers this a normal part of the sport, mentoring others, as is done in any
