Synchro skaters- clue me in on what to expect!

[CanAmSk8ter]

I just started synchro, and I was wondering what kind of team bonding/pre-competition/just plain fun stuff your team does? What's it really like being on a team, especially a pretty competitive one? I'm excited but I'm a little nervous too b/c I'm starting late in the season, and I'm not always the fastest when it comes to picking up choreography. Help me focus on being excited instead of worrying about whether I can do this!

[Stormy]

Well, to start off, I know you have excellent and patient coaches! I am not quick to pick up chorography and foot work, either, but if I keep plugging away at it, I know I'll get it. My first season of synchro, I joined late as well, so I know how it is to learn a whole program quickly...two programs in your case! One thing that works well is to get a copy of your music and listen to it and repeat the steps in your head. I do that a lot. Team skating is like nothing else in skating. I've been on 4 different teams and each has been a different experience. Your team is bigger than any I've been on, and you probably won't get along perfectly with everyone. There will always be some personality conflicts within a lot of girls. Also, I don't know how much older you are than the others, but being older can sometimes set you apart.
For team bonding/fun stuff, right now my team is planning a party for the Bourne competition and we're doing a Yankee Swap to exchange presents. Plus, we've had team parties and such to all spend time together, we do a "power circle" before we compete. A power circle is where we all stand in a circle and hold hands, and one person squeezes the hand of the eprson next to them, and that person squeezes the hand of the person next to them, and you just keep going around the circle squeezing. It's to reinforce the power of all of us together.
Believe me you should be EXCITED! Synchro is so much fun, just wait till your first competition. It's like nothing else in skating. And for me, there's a lot LESS pressure skating with a team than solo. I don't get nearly as nervous.
Try posting this same request at SynchroBoards. I am a moderator there, and I think(?) you've already joined, but you'd get a TON more responses there.
Good luck and HAVE FUN! :)

[Kristin]

I started Synchro for the first time this year also so I'm not an expert but am happy to share what I have found so far! I find that walking thru the steps to the music in my living room helps A LOT in regards to learning how to do them automatically. All the girls on our team do walk-thrus off-ice and you usually don't have to do hours and hours of practice, 15 min./night is usually all you need to refresh things in your mind. This can be a great way to still practice if you can't get any ice time or if you started late in the season.

One other thing that helps me when I am hooked up to the team and we are doing some run thrus is to tell myself "DO THE STEPS." It is easy to forget the steps when you are hooked up and people are on either side of you pulling you this way or the other. Just remember that they are doing the same steps you are and that if you just do the steps, you will be fine.

As an Adult team, we have gone to a Broadway-style show, celebrated our coach's new baby with a baby shower, and had 2 BBQ's in the summer.

-Kristin

[luna_skater]

Wow, where to start! I started synchro when I was 11 and have been competing for the last 13 years. It has had an indescribable impact on my life. I am who I am because of synchro.

I think those who begin synchro as adults generally have a different experience with it than those who grow up with it. I was involved with synchro through all my formative years, and my best friends today are my former coach, and the girls I skated with for all those years...from the time we were in Elementary school to the time we were finished University degrees and some of us (not myself) were married!

What to expect? A roller-coaster! There will be definite highs and lows, but the highs always make the lows worth it. Expect to have a blast on and off the ice, and spend a lot of practices busting a gut laughing. If there's one things ALL synchro teams like to do, it's have a good time.

Be dedicated...the more you give to synchro, the more you get out of it.

The teams I was on when I was younger did a LOT of team bonding. Now that I skate Adult, we do a bit less because everyone's lives are so busy. It's nearly impossible to get every skater to come to every single practice, let alone get them to come to off-ice activities! I've always found that the best team bonding happens at the first "away" competition of the season. You get to know everyone really well on the road and in the hotel rooms. The few weeks before the first comp., practices are often really tense. But then the first competition is always a great bonding experience.

Be confident in yourself. My former coach always made sure that no matter what our feet were doing, we had our heads up, shoulders back, and huge smiles on our faces. Never let on that anything is less than perfect! Tell yourself that you can do anything...you can.

The one thing that my team always finds the time to do is sing "Lean on Me" in a circle before we get on the ice at a competition. It really makes us want to work for each other on the ice.

Good luck! Don't worry if you feel intimidated at first. Once you adjust, you will love it. It took me a few years of synchro before I truly fell in love with it. And when I joined a new team, there was another adjustment period. But it's worth it to stick it out!

I second Stormy's suggestion to check out SynchroBoards. I'm a mod there, as well. It can get heated around competition time, like most boards, but it is a great resource.

[mikawendy]

I'm not always the fastest when it comes to picking up choreography. Help me focus on being excited instead of worrying about whether I can do this!

I've never done synchro, but here's what I do to learn choreography. Each day that I learned new choreography, I make sure to go over it in my head sometime later that day. Then on the days when I'm not on the ice, I run through it in my head at least once, to remind myself.

I hope you have a great time! There are several relatively new synchro teams at my rink, from young kids to adults, and they all seem to have a really great time and a really great team spirit.

[luna_skater]

Another note about learning the steps....never hesitate to ask for help! There are always skaters (often the captains) who are more than willing to come early or stay late after practice to review steps, especially for those who join late in the season.

[quarkiki2]

I'm in my second season of synchro. Our team is only 3 years old and we've only competed three times, but I very much like the experience. It's a great way to really get to know other adults.

I started synchro after I'd only been skating a year and I know that I'm nowhere near as good with my feet as most of the other skaters. It's OK, though, because I think I more than make up for it in attitude and dedication.

I think the biggest thing to recognize is that EVERYONE brings something to the team -- there are some that are great skaters, some that are good with choreography and some that have terrific presentation -- all of those things are very, very valuable and combining them is what makes the team successful.

I came to synchro from a dance background and, thankfully, that means that I learn choreography very, very quickly. I am very, very willing to help teammates learn choreography and frequently hold impromptu runthroughs on or off ice for whoever is around. My feet aren't always in the right place when I'm skating, but I know where everyone is supposed to be and when they're supposed to be there. I also count the program during practices, competitions and shows so that everyone is on the same beat and so that our coach is only doing three things at once instead of four, LOL! I'm the human metronome of the team and am very glad to do all that I can to help.

Our team is made up of people of all ages -- at 31 I think I'm one of the younger ones -- there may only be one in her twenties. Our oldest member is 67. We've got beginners, like me, who have been skating for fewer than five years, learn-to-skate instructors, and one who toured with Disney on Ice. But again, everyone bring much to the team.

I think the biggest detriment to team unity is negativity. If you've got a team member who won't even TRY the steps/hand-holds/choreography, it's really hard on the rest of the team. Especially if they are vocal about it (like asking the coach to change the program just for them, etc.). I guess my philosophy has always been that I'm gonna try it and if I can't get it right away, I'll practice until I can do it.

The biggest thing I had to get used to was the speed at which we move across the ice -- waaaaay faster than I skate by myself. It took me about 9 months before I really felt comfortable being hooked other people and booking across the ice -- now as we're choreographing our new program, it feels like we're slow as molasses, LOL! We'll speed up as we get more comfortable. You do get pulled this-way-and-that, but no one should ever be hanging on you -- you only carry your own weight. The pulling is due to momentum, but as you get used to a program, you learn to anticipate where you'll be pulled.

Our coach this year has us ordered so that weaker skaters are in between stronger skaters and this seems to work well as far as keeping people moving and feeling more secure. I was pleased that I was partnered with the weakest of the strong skaters, so I think that means I'm the strongest of the weak skaters, LOL! Anyway -- my partner and I are apparently speed demons and have been zipping around pretty easily. Must be the power skating classes I've been taking, LOL!!

Best of luck -- I hope you really enjoy it!

[slusher]

I did synchro but didn't stick with it more than the year because of one basic reason. I'm a CW spinner/jumper, and synchro is mostly choreographed for the rest of the world, the CCW turners. I had to work twice as hard and took lessons on the side, I still can't do one foot twizzles the "right" way, but I was hidden in the middle of the block so it was okay. I have the same problem with our year end ice shows, but since I've been a lefty all my life, I don't take offense I just deal with it. So, it's fun as heck, but it can be more challenging if you're not strong going both ways.

[luna_skater]

CanAm, how is the synchro going?

[CanAmSk8ter]

Pretty good, thanks! I've been an alternate so far, but we think we've lost someone so I'm going to have to start skating if we're going to compete at qualifyings. I'm nervous, but I have most of the short program steps down. The idea of actually skating the long program in two and a half weeks is scaring me half to death right now, but with any luck I'll be able to pull it off. I'm having a tough time with the footwork in both programs, more the long than the short, and I have a hard time with some of the choctaws and brackets and stuff in the blocks because while I can do them I've never really worked on doing them at speed. But I feel a little better mentally, because the team really does need me if we're going to do qualifyings- right now, skating me means having enough skaters for qualifyings. Not skating me means the season is over, although our coach thinks she may be able to find someone. So I'm not worried about everyone getting annoyed that I can't do everything yet- better to have me skate and skate badly than not have me skate and not be able to have anyone skate! I ordered the video at our last competition so I'll have that to help me when I have to start learning my spot. Now I just have to work my butt off on doing faster brackets, twizzles, rockers, and choctaws. Why did I ever stop working on moves in the field?