When Pam May became the new on-ice director and head coach for the Hockettes synchronized skating teams last May, junior team member Charlotte Tang could immediately tell things were going to be different.
 
And why not? May has done just about everything in synchronized skating since she started coaching in the late 1980s, including winning a trophy case full of awards.
 
"I knew that she was a well-known synchronized skating coach, and I felt like she had a plan to go forward and was organized," Tang said. "I think she still has that same mindset … 'Let's keep working toward this goal,' and I feel like she is clear what she wants, especially when it comes to lineup and getting the calls."
 
But Tang also appreciates the personal touch May offers.
 
"She definitely pushes me in particular, because I kind of struggle with spatial awareness, and she has given me specific steps to gain a sense of where I am in a group of 16 people," she said.
 
Her junior teammate, Annalisa Albers, agreed.
 
"She's pushed me out of my comfort zone a lot," Albers said. "My posture has improved, my turn quality has improved and my speed has improved."
 
May shifted from Skyliners on the East Coast, where she had served for more than 12 years, to the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Hockettes, which is steeped in history as the first synchronized skating team, founded in 1956.
 
That alone was enticing enough to make the move.
 
"I just needed a change," said May, who lives in Prior Lake, Minnesota, and flies out to Ann Arbor weekly. "I think after you do the same thing over and over, you just need a change.
 
"[The Hockettes] are trying to build back, and I thought that was interesting to me. It was time for something new. As much as I miss the [Skyliners] people and the kids, it was a nice change for me."

Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club President Kate Patil is glad May is on board, and she agreed with Tang and Albers that things changed almost overnight.
 
"I think the thing that was most evident immediately, she kind of elevates the rink," Patil said. "She is someone who is friendly, approachable, but commands respect. She has a kind of appreciation for clean and crisp edges and the fundamentals of skating skills.
 
"All the skaters, all ages, were far more focused. We were calling it jokingly the Pam May effect."
 
May's resume in the sport is impressive. She and head coach Josh Babb led the Skyliners senior team to 10 national medals and four World Synchronized Skating Championships appearances. She was also assistant coach for the Skyliners junior team, helping it win six national championships and six World  medals. She guided the Skyliners intermediate team to national titles in 2016-17, and the Skyliners novice team to three U.S. titles in 2017-19. 

Before Skyliners, May led Team Braemar in Minnesota to the World Junior Championships and multiple national junior medals. In 2011, under her leadership, Team Braemar was a World Junior  bronze medalist. In 2009, Team Braemar earned  the French Cup junior title.

She was nominated for U.S. Figure Skating Developmental Coach of the Year  in  2012, 2013, 2017.

Thus, May is going to leverage all that experience and success in rebuilding the Hockettes to prominence.
 
"We're trying to build up synchronized skating in the area," she said. "My goal is to build the program so that they, too, can be a World team. Team Braemar went to internationals and earned medals, and then Skyliners, and it would be fun to do that with a third organization."
 
Lack of numbers was an issue when May first arrived at the Hockettes, so she didn't have tryouts, but that will change in March, which speaks to her ability to build a program. She said she is working to make sure every level at the Hockettes is filled.

But it's more than that. There are intangibles that come into play.
 
"The organization has trust in what I do, they are phenomenal," she said. "Honesty and a hard work ethic go a long way in this sport, and being honest with the kids' abilities and teams' abilities and moving them up step by step is how you accomplish that goal."
 
That shouldn't be a problem, according to junior Jenny Lee, who has been with the Hockettes for a decade.
 
"At first, it was hard to adjust," Lee said. "But since she's come, I feel like they've almost been flowing in a better way. She's brought in a lot of amazing choreographers and she has a lot of connections, so we are able to get people with different backgrounds and experiences."