At the beginning of the 2021-22 skating season, Starlights coaches Heather Paige and Jenny Cherry presented their junior skaters with a challenge: to learn and master one of the most complex programs in team history.

But the difficulty of their "The Kids Are Coming" themed free skate didn't necessarily come from its high caliber elements. Instead, the intricacy of the program came from the individual skaters' movements.

"There is basically not one beat of the music or one stroke in the program that does not have an arm associated or a body movement with it," assistant coach Cherry said.

But the coaches said there was a method to their so-called madness. They wanted to encourage their teenage athletes, who all have strong backgrounds in synchronized skating, to take accountability for their personal skills.

"This season, we emphasized the need to utilize short-term and individual goals to reach group goals," said head coach Paige, who has been with the Starlights for 13 seasons.

They need to set a high expectation for the athletes early in the season because if the ultimate goal for Starlights junior was to qualify for the World Synchronized Skating Championships, then they had to "train the right way from the beginning," Cherry added.

For the team, small goals meant caring less about their teammate's twizzles and placement in the open block. Instead, because of the free skate's complexity, they were forced to focus on their own.

And while the skaters had to grow into this new learning style throughout the season, some of it felt familiar. Last year, when Illinois' COVID-19 restrictions prevented the team from connecting, they spent time heightening their spirals, quickening their turns and deepening their crossovers.

So, to stay ready for the unknown and keep up with the demands of their free skate, the skaters came up with a shared team goal: To help one another stay positive.

"In the beginning, we weren't really sure how to keep one another positive," skater Amanda Rossi, 17, said. "We started by sitting in a circle and just getting to know one another, telling each other what made us happy."

But as the season went on, relying on one another for motivation became essential. Throughout the year, members of the team tested positive for COVID-19. Their international assignments in Croatia and Sweden were canceled.

To combat their disappointment, the athletes buckled down and encouraged fellow Starlights to be solutions oriented.

"Our coaches really have helped us eliminate negative words, like saying can't or don't," skater Mia Jackson, also 17, said. "So, instead of focusing on what we can't or wouldn't or shouldn't do, we focused on what was in our control. It helped us get better at taking corrections and actually implement them into our performances."  

Ironically enough, the strength the skaters needed to level up their skating skills and emotionally navigate an unpredictable season is reflected in the theme of their free skate.

"We always start with these bigger, grander ideas then find pieces of music that fit that theme," Paige said. "This program is really about being young and going through this time. It's really uplifting and powerful and focused on what the youth can do for the future."

And the choreography by Kate McSwain reflects a similar sentiment of empowerment. At the beginning of the program, the music says, "The kids are coming for you," while the team looks and points right at the judges' stand.

"[Kate] has taught us not every movement has to be pretty and dainty to look good on the ice," Jackson said. "We can make snarling facial expressions. We can make claw hands. We can look fierce and powerful."  

And those powerful movements are what has made the choreography so masterful. When the skaters lift their arms, they "aren't just going up, they're flying up." When they're hitting a pose, every second of movement before and after is intentional.

The movements have allowed the skaters to come up with their own interpretations of the free skate, too. According to Rossi and Jackson, it feels like a rebellion against others' expectations.

"We're a fairly young junior team," Rossi said, who is the only skater who was a member of the team before the pandemic. "And we were told by people outside of our team that this program would be too hard for us. The way we're skating it now, it's our way to prove them wrong."

While the team may have been underestimated, they certainly haven't been underdogs in the junior division. The Starlights were able to compete abroad at the Neuchatel Trophy in Switzerland, where they placed third.

According to Cherry, they exceeded even their coaches' expectations with their interpretation of the choreography. She also said she's watched how navigating this season's challenges has brought the team closer.

The skaters agreed.

"When we started as a new team at the beginning of this season, we always talked about the teams we used to skate for," Jackson said. "Now, we're just Starlights Junior. We all deserve to be here and put so much effort into this team. The bond we have between each other is something I cherish."

Now, as they prepare for the 2022 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado, they're sticking to the same goal-setting strategy. Each skater has a clear understanding of the role they play within the program, and the team has set a goal for scores they hope to achieve.

But their number one goal is to "feel good about what they put out there," Rossi said.