Synchro Teams Adapt to a Pandemic Season

By Heather Paige

Synchro Teams Adapt to a Pandemic Season

2020 STARTED LIKE ANY OTHER YEAR. Synchro coaches across the country were preparing for sectionals and hoping to qualify for the U.S. Synchro Championships. At the same time, plans for spring tryouts were being put together. Fast forward to March. A global pandemic is declared, and the junior teams were sent home from the Junior World Championships. Shortly after that, the Senior World Championships were cancelled. Tryout plans were up in the air for teams all across the country and coaches were left trying to make decisions about whether to turn to virtual or delay on-ice tryouts. What we didn’t know was that this difficult decision was only the beginning of all the uncertainty that would lie ahead. The 2020-21 season was a year of unknowns and defined by how quickly coaches could adapt.

Like many of my fellow synchro coaches, May 2020 left many of us feeling helpless and unsure of how we could adapt and support our athletes. While it may have been an option to simply shut down for the season, many of us dug deep and tried to keep our teams practicing and communicating so the skaters could come back stronger than ever. My personal motto became “Show up in a way you’ll be proud to look back on.” It may seem simple, but it was far more difficult than it appears.

Hoola hoops

"My personal motto became ‘Show up in a way you’ll be proud to look back on. ’ It may seem simple, but it was far more difficult than it appears."

Virtual programming became the norm. From team meetings and practices, to competitions and collaborations, coaches were forced to look at this new virtual world and try to make sense of it. We had to understand the limitations first and then try to create programming. We had to answer questions like “How can we possibly create team unity virtually?” At Starlights, we started with small things. Even though kids were practicing at home, we had them wear their hair in buns and wear black. This added to the group dynamic and feeling of connection. We hosted nutrition meetings, and because they were at home, they turned into really fun cooking classes. The unknowns we were facing forced us to be more creative and focus on previously underserved skills. The athletes learned about the benefit of off-ice strength and conditioning, ballet, and even mental training. As the summer months continued some of the rinks began to open up, which created a new level of anxiety for both coaches and athletes.

PHOTO BY JASON THIESSE

As summer started and we slowly started to get back to the ice, we began to see the benefits of exercise in helping alleviate the skaters’ feelings of depression and anxiety that were associated with the unknowns of the pandemic. It felt so good for all of us to be back on the ice and it didn’t matter that we couldn’t connect and learn new synchro elements. Many teams across the country were trying different things to teach our skaters synchro elements. For example, in Rochester, MI, Onyx Infinity Director Helene Wolf used hula hoops to keep her Synchro Skills Team separated but still “connected”. Here in Chicago with the Starlights, we reinforced pool noodles with pvc pipes to help teach the concept of tension in a line. Team huddles were replaced with cones that were used to make sure the skaters understood what 6 feet apart actually looked like. Practices were everything but normal. At Miami University, Head Coach Carla DeGirolamo worked with the athletes to develop an online training library. “In this shared drive, we posted on and off-ice training plans, suggested extra training resources, informational articles and instructional videos. We also posted current team training videos for skaters to review and refer back to. This is absolutely something we will be continuing moving forward.” Needless to say, synchro coaches got creative in many new ways.

Pool noodles

As we approached our competitive season, it became clear that in-person events were not going to be possible, and once again we turned to virtual. Virtual competitions filled a void for those teams that were able to connect and create programs but had no opportunities to perform. The rules varied across the country and teams did their best navigating restrictions. Not only were there constraints from local governments and rinks, but also from certain parents. Managing a team of parents with different comfort levels and expectations became a whole new skillset for synchro coaches.

PHOTO BY JASON THIESSE

All in all, there was plenty to take away from this season, “The one with the pandemic”. Just because our teams didn’t compete, doesn’t mean they didn’t learn anything. They learned about so much more than skating. Carla said it best: “I think we have all gained an even greater appreciation for the sport and the opportunity to do what we love every day.” As always, synchro coaches across the country will continue to support our skaters’ wellbeing and future success. All of the new strategies we’ve put in place have ensured that our athletes will be mentally and physically ready to compete when the time comes. In the meantime, we will continue coming up with creative strategies that keep us moving forward.

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Trade your boots for slippers.

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