Skyliners Junior skaters Yurika Sakai and Alana DeVirgilio only needed one word to describe how they felt after earning a silver medal at the ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships 2022: proud.

But their coach Josh Babb — who has led the team for 18 seasons — had another word in mind. When the 16 skaters got off the ice after their free skate, he thought to himself, "Finally."

But not because Skyliners Junior are strangers to the podium — far from it. The team has placed in the top three at the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships almost every year since 2010 and won consecutive medals at the last three World Junior Championships.

The reigning World medalists also broke their season's best scores in Innsbruck, Austria, at the World Junior Championships in March. The second silver for the team, which ties the highest-ever result for the United States at this event, not only represents victory after a rocky season but a fulfilling, breathtaking end to two unpredictable seasons.

"I knew what they were capable of," Babb explained. "All season, they just needed to execute what they were doing in practice. After COVID-19, it just took time to relearn how to get back into competitive mode."

But according to Babb, the ups and downs were more than understandable, considering the team shouldered having to withdraw from the 2020 World Junior Championships, re-choreographed programs and hours spent anxiously waiting COVID-19 test results.

So, while Babb and his team felt confident going into the weekend, the skaters had to remain vigilant to channel their nerves.

"Personally, I know I'm always going to get nervous before competitions," Sakai said. "But I've learned I can't force myself to be calm. Instead, I try to think of that feeling as energy to put toward the program."

Sakai added the team as a whole, however, was calm, skating connected at practice leading up to the short program. Besides, their teammates were the most consistent aspect of the last two seasons, Sakai said.

"We knew Worlds was the last competition of the season, so instead of dwelling on 'We have to skate a perfect program,' we talked about what would make us feel proud of ourselves throughout the weekend," she said. "That's the one thing we can really control. We didn't need to do anything more or less than what we had been doing at practice."

Babb said the team's collective attitude was apparent even before they took the ice for their short program.

"I used to get crazy nervous — I mean, I still get nervous," Babb said. "But they had skated so consistently well all week. About halfway through the short program, I realized it was going to be a really good skate. They were so calm, and it struck the tone that it needed to strike for the audience."

"There was so much pride in that moment," DeVirgilio said about the short program. "When the music ended, we just immediately embraced each other. We just couldn't hold that feeling to ourselves any longer. Skating clean had been one of our goals, and if anything, accomplishing that made us feel even more comfortable in Austria."

And the team's free skate followed suit. Babb said from the boards, he could see the skaters' "confidence building every time they did another element."

The connection between the athletes and the arena was so strong, the skaters weren't even thinking about their scores when they left the ice.

"I remember looking at them and saying, 'No matter what the score is, be very proud of what you've done,'" Babb said.

When the scores were announced, Babb thought they earned 122 points. He was thrilled, knowing his team had medaled. But over the screams from the skaters and cheers from the stands, Babb misheard the score — it was actually 10 points higher. The team scored 132 points and captured the silver medal.

And to Babb, the arena's reaction was worth its weight in gold. One of the main priorities of Skyliners Junior is connect with the audience, especially after the last two years.

"From a coach and a choreographer standpoint, I always go back to, 'Why do any of us skate?'" Babb said. "I think it's because we all felt a certain way watching skating. Truthfully, that's what I want the Skyliners' legacy to be — a team that can connect with and move an audience."

That legacy means a lot to the team, too. That's not only because the skaters are proud to be a part of a decorated organization, but because they know they play a role in pushing the synchronized skating forward; in making it more competitive in the United States and internationally, they hope one day it'll become a Winter Olympic sport.

Babb and Skyliners Junior want to leave the sport better than they found it for future skaters, and to them, there's no better testament than sharing that podium with Teams Elite. It was the first time in history two U.S. synchronized skating teams have shared a World podium.

"Legacy was a theme we talked about throughout the year, and that we carried with us as the season progressed," DeVirgilio said. "I like to think that weekend Team USA let a little legacy on that World podium. I hope it carries the sport into the future."