I Sk8 NY—Synchro 2014-15 (Part Two)

Wow! Life is so much easier without school. I  had a dentist appointment this morning and then went to train at Walgreens. We got new territories at work, so I have a couple Walgreens stores now instead of all grocery stores. I went to see how they do things. And now I have an hour to spare before the kids get home. I totally forgot that people ever have any spare time. I guess I better not get used to it, and truthfully there is plenty I could be doing around here but shh!

Let's get back to Synchro instead.

If you did not see the first post, scroll on down so you are not coming in mid-season.

Competition 3:Porter Classic, Ann Arbor, MI Ann Arbor is about 5 1/2 hours away from home. Team moms have to ride with the team, so Seth recruited his cousin, Dan, to drive to MI with him (and our younger kiddos) that weekend. Most of the girls had extended family at every single competition so it was fun for Alyssa to increase her cheering section. I honestly think Alyssa and I saw Dan for all of 17 seconds all weekend, because I told you, they have us booked to the second, but we did appreciate his support.

Alyssa not only clicked with her teammates, but she also bonded with Olivia, who is the sister to one of her teammates. She is a sweetheart and we nicknamed her Buddy the Elf because she has a hug for everyone she meets. Alyssa quickly nabbed her for a seatmate when she found out she was riding the bus with the team. 
 
The girls have a team poster that they always hang on their hotel door and Alyssa also had a poster from her synchro sib in Ann Arbor.
 
Hanging a poster on her sibs door. 
 
This is one of my favorite pics of the season. Love these girls!


 
This may sound stupid, but in Ann Arbor, the other team mom and I literally prayed the girls would end somewhere other than last. They worked so hard and never complained. We didn't even need a podium finish, but even a 5th place would have been better than last. And then they had TWO falls during competition. The rest of the routine looked good and the coaches tried to reassure us. Falls are an automatic deduction but they had increased the level of difficulty in the routine. One fall was during the line which is a big ouch, but the other was during a transition so it is not as damaging and all of their other elements were spot on. Jeanette (the other team mom) and I were still sure they were destined for last again. We do not get to see any of the other teams perform so you never know for sure, but we had hoped for better only to be disappointed in the past so we just resigned ourselves to another last place finish. But....they placed third! Not only was it not last, but it was their first podium finish. They were beyond thrilled. They had worked their hearts out and never showed a single sign of discouragement so it was wonderful to see them receive a little slice of validation.
 
A little homecoming cuddle from Bernie.


Exhibition Skate: The Milwaukee Admirals Game After they had a few competitions under their belts, the girls had a chance to skate just for fun at the Milwaukee Admirals game. The Admirals are a minor league hockey team and they skate in The Bradley Center (where the Bucks also play). This was so much fun because there was no pressure. No one was scoring them and they could just go out and have a good time. Seth took a few pics of the girls on the jumbotron, but I can't find them now so this is all I have.

 They do this circle before every skate. They each get a turn to say something to the team. Very cute!

And they ALWAYS do the pre-game wobble. That's my friend and fellow team mom, Jeanette. I couldn't have asked to work with anyone better. We were both new to synchro but we made the best of it and had a great time.
 
We skated between the 2nd and 3rd periods so we spent most of the game in this holding area.  Of course they skated great since there was no pressure and no one judging.
 

Exhibition Skate: Holiday Ice Show The girls skated in both of the Holiday Ice Shows at our home rink.

Some of the locker room gifts we sent to Alyssa. The other team mom and I also sent balloons and Christmas gifts to all of the girls on the team. 
 
Alyssa skated in two numbers—synchro and her regular level (Freeskate 2). The girls in the FS 2 number were almost all from either Alyssa's synchro team or the Prelim team. Prelim skates at the same level as the B2 girls but they have to be under 10. They joined forces for the Holiday Show and skated to Run Run Rudolph.

Alyssa loves to cheer on the younger girls and they come to her for warm up hugs.

  


I have a DVD of both numbers from the Holiday Show but I don't know how to convert it so that it can be viewed here. I didn't love the Rudolph number because it was too easy for their level. Synchro and Figure Skating are different and in their regular numbers we get to see their spins and jumps, but the coaches didn't really put any in the routine. It wasn't really their fault, because the synchro and regular practices overlapped so often that they rarely had a full group to work with. Oh well, she had fun getting a new costume and having another excuse to skate so all is well.

Competition 4: Foot of the Lake, Fond du Lac, WI This was not an ove- nighter since it was only a couple hours away, but we did have to get there at 6:00 AM for practice ice and then we didn't skate until late afternoon. It was 40ish below zero that day. The rink was on a fairgrounds and they kept shuttling us from building to building all day. We were cold and tired when it was over! I took Alyssa to Cheesecake Factory in Milwaukee on our way home and she literally fell asleep at the table.

Sadly, we were down two strong skaters at this competition. Hannah hurt her knee at Jump America and had not been cleared to skate. Rebecca (who is in the last pic above with Alyssa) lost her grandfather that week and was at his funeral. We texted her our love, and Hannah came along and cheered for her team from the sidelines.
 

That morning, our practice ice was disastrous. They could not put down a clean skate. Alyssa's line did not get to their place in the pinwheel quickly enough and almost took down the whole team. But apparently they worked out the kinks because they went out and skated better than I had ever seen them skate. I am so sad that I don't have a recording of that skate, but I did buy some still shots from the on-site photographer and those expose even more flaws than a video does because you can see at any given second whether or not they were actually in sync. And they were pretty darn tight! They were in a field of six and they placed 2nd.
 
Alyssa is smiling! It took a long time to get rid of the scared skating face, but she finally did it.


 
They even came down from their jump in sync!
 
Alyssa anchors the pinwheel. The fastest skaters tend to go on the outside of the pinwheel and the anchors are typically strong. Alyssa, if you haven't noticed, is a little bitty thing. She has to dig in and hold on with everything she's got to keep her line anchored. She also has to lead in to the pinwheel, which is moving quickly and it was quite a challenge for her. I got this picture because it shows the hang on for dear life grit that came with this role. 
 
How's that for synchronized!
 
Okay, so we have one uncrossed foot here but they are moving fast so I doubt it was even noticeable at full speed and I think they still look pretty clean here. 
 
You can see me in the penalty box here. One of the perks of being a team mom is you get great seats for every skate. 

 
Silver Medalists!!!


Competition 5: Synchro Illinois, Chicago, IL The final competition of the season was actually our least favorite. The rink was WAY too small to be hosting a synchro competition. Dan met us down there since he lives in the area, but it was kind of a dud of an event. They didn't even give the girls practice ice or a place to change. Our girls were changing in the bathroom and their bags were blocking the door to the judges holding room. The judges came out and yelled at us and told us we should have changed at home and before the girls even skated I knew they had a mark on their back. They didn't have their best skate, but everyone who was watching said they were probably 3rd out of 5. The judges, however, had them in a tie for 4th, so yes, last place. Bummer way to end the season, but those judges gave all 4 of our teams last place so whatever. We didn't even take any pictures because the place was literally a fire hazard.

Here is a link to that skate though, if you're interested. Sad that I only have last place skates on file.

They goofed the ending here and didn't start to come out of their pinwheel on time so that is why they kind of get on top of each other at the end. Going in and out of a pinwheel is hard, so let me brag on Alyssa for a second. In an exhibition skate for National Skating Month (below) Alyssa's line did not get to the center of the pinwheel on time so instead of waiting for it to come around she just took her line and pulled them in to a different place. According to the coaches it was the right thing to do but also very risky because now she had to be the first one to break the pinwheel and she does not usually do that but she broke at the right time and no one but those of us who had seen the routine 7 billion times even noticed. I was so proud when the coaches applauded her quick thinking and composure.

Even though IL was a bust we did have a great night because we rented rooms at a hotel back by our home rink. The girls were never allowed to swim or stay up late on the road because they have such strict rules for them. We decided a season ending party was in order.

I didn't even get a pic of everyone who was there because I was chatting with the moms and trying to figure out a way that we could all end up on the same team again next year. Here is my one swimming shot.
 
None of the dads had any interest in this madhouse event, but I did let Alex and Chloe come along and we stayed up until 2 AM watching movies and eating treats. We all needed to do something fun after a crazy season.

Exhibition Skate: National Skating Month February is National Skating month. The girls revamped their routine and added stuff that is too advanced to be allowed in a regular season B2 routine. I am amazed at how far they came in the course of a season.

When the season started I did not realize that they would sell merchandise at every single competition. I also didn't know that the club had a creative committee that designs Spirit Wear for the team to purchase. So, I had this idea to design a team shirt. Since their theme was NY, I played off of the I heart NY shirts and did I Sk8 NY. It turns out they didn't need one more shirt but since this was my baby, I wanted a team picture. The girl in front refused to wear her shirt because she was hungry, so I gave her shirt to another girls who forgot hers. Alyssa lost her shirt, but had an extra because they originally sent her #9 instead of #6. She is supposed to be #6 but we have no idea where that shirt went. Next year I will either join the creative committee or stay out of the shirt business, but I thought these were cute. They do not have a bow tie on them....those are just peeking through from the girls' costumes. 

 
Skaters knees! 

 
Speaking of shirts, do you like the shirt Alyssa got me for Christmas?
 
And here is my team jacket (says Alyssa's mom and the team logo) and a cute hat that my co-team mom gave me. The hat says Synchro Skating Mom. 
 

Off Season Team/Tryout Prep (No Rest for the Weary) The day after the season ended, Alyssa tried out for an off season team called the Elite Training Team. They are practicing weekly and will skate in the Spring Ice Show (Phantom of the Opera theme). She will also perform with her NY team in the Spring Show for the final time.

Our new synchro director (who has skated on Team USA 5 times) wants to field higher level teams going forward. Our club has traditionally been a recreational competitive club, and not a hardcore competitive club. We are one of the better recreational competitive clubs, meaning we actually do get on the podium from time to time. However, there are a handful of clubs (in Chicago and Milwaukee) that skate at a different level. They do practice twice as often and pay twice as much as we do but our serious skaters tend to get to a certain point and move to those teams. I am fine being more recreational but our club's goal is to stop feeding other teams and to start competing with them. So, they formed off season teams and they are planning to field some higher teams next year. The Elite Team is doing stuff that is leaps and bounds beyond what Alyssa's team did this season and she is trying out for a team for next season that is a big jump up. If she doesn't make it and ends up on a B@ team again, that is also totally okay with me though. We have been told that our teams will probably get their trash kicked all next season because they are going to skate everyone up from where they are currently, but the only way to build is to just start building. Alyssa has tripled her private lessons, along with taking her regular classes and Ice Dancing to get ready for tryouts. She has also been taking Moves in the Field and working with her coach on her moves. MIF are footwork sequences and skills that have to be passed off by USFS judges and Alyssa just took her Pre-Preliminary MIF test and passed, which qualifies her to try out for the team she has her eye on.

Alyssa got to test with two of her best buds, Amaya and Mikaela. These three are a little bit joined at the hip and since they have the same coach they all tested back to back.

With Coach Chelsea. We love Alyssa's coach!
 
And just for fun, since I am posting skating stuff. I crocheted this on the drive home from Utah this summer. Alyssa's team is the IceStars and these are their colors.
 
And one last little tidbit. Alyssa's club won a good sportsmanship scholarship which paid for two of our bus rides this season. This picture ran in Skating magazine and it happens to be Alyssa's team. Can you see her? Left side...next to the girl in the pink headband and kind of in front of the girl in the blue jacket. Her 15 minutes of fame. 


And that is all the skating I have for now, but we have tryouts this week and the Spring Show fast approaching so I am sure I will be back with more soon enough.

This was an incredible experience for Alyssa, especially since she doesn't go to school. We both met great people and it was a great way to get to know the parents of her friends. She also worked impressively hard and never uttered a single complaint. Alyssa's coach is very candid with us. Alyssa is not a natural. She has to work hard to meet her goals but she is 100% willing. She is excited for every lesson and practice and she knows the Open Skate schedule by heart and begs to go every time the ice is open, even if she has to skate by herself. We couldn't be more proud of her work ethic or her attitude, which is why we are crazy enough to let her tryout again.

Oh...and did you know that Synchro has officially petitioned to become an Olympic sport in 2018. Synchro Worlds were last weekend and Team Finland won...they usually do. So if you want to see how amazing this sport is at its highest levels, check it out here.