Halfway through an already successful season and a ticket punched to the ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships 2026 in Poland, Skyliners junior enter the second half of the season with a determined mindset.

"Coming off last season, we had a lot of unfinished goals that we wanted to achieve this year," Skyliners skater Mia Johmann said. "I think that motivated us to work hard this season and step up our programs  with more tricks and performance."

That hunger has been one of the defining themes of the 2025 U.S. junior silver medalists as they push to build on last year's success. Coming off a bronze medal at the ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships 2025, the team started 2026 on a high note, with a bronze medal at the 2026 Britannia Cup and a silver at the 2026 U.S. Synchronized Skating International Classic. With seven World Junior medals and a storied history of medaling at every U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships since 2015, the team looks to add to a deep history of success.

Coach Josh Babb described the transition from last season to this one as nearly seamless, with strong returning skaters leading the way.

"I felt like the end of last season was sort of a launchpad going right into this season," he said. "When we started training at the beginning in the spring, there was a different energy from the get-go from a skater viewpoint … and a renewed focus on the goals at hand."

Skyliners skater Stephanie Sze felt the same continuity, noting how it's allowed the team to home in on their strengths and "work together as a team more."

Working together seamlessly has made the Skyliners distinctive this season. Deeper bonds and a camaraderie among seasoned teammates have only fortified the foundation already in place.

"Everyone has stepped up and is determined to achieve our goals," Johmann said. "We're giving more attack with everything that we've been doing."

While the athlete roster has remained largely the same, the team's coaching staff has undergone a transition.

Assistant coach Pam May departed after last season to lead the storied Hockettes program in Michigan, with Molly McMahon joining the staff. As a member of both the Skyliners and the Haydenettes and a former part-time coach for the Fond du Lac Blades, McMahon brings a wealth of synchronized skating experience. So far, it's been a great fit thanks to McMahon's competitive experience and personality.

"Molly [McMahon] recently retired from skating, so I think she's able to relate to us a lot better," Johmann said. "She's been helping us out off the ice with perfecting our arms and performance, and I've seen a strong correlation with that on the ice this season." 

Off-ice choreography is just one piece of two intricate programs the Skyliners has put together for this season. Babb described how the coaches and team built the programs to showcase the skaters' range and push beyond expectations.

The short program is a gangster theme with music from The Untouchables, while the free skate is a take on Carmen.

Johmann described the short program as versatile, with a highlight being every skater performing an Axel at the end.

"At the beginning, we come out with a lot of attack, and it's fast," she said. "Toward the end, it's more of a lyrical piece, so it shows two sides of us."

Sze added, "It's different from our normal Sky junior programs, which are more classical, and it's been able to show the judges how much we can attack and how sharp we can be with our movements, which is a bit refreshing."

The free skate, a more well-known piece in the skating world, also tells an interesting story by the Skyliners. Johmann described it as "showing all the different personalities of Carmen and her posse, with a focus on character shift."

"Both of these programs have been a lot of fun to choreograph," Babb said. "There's been a lot of attention paid toward the nuances in the music, and the team's done an exceptional job highlighting those."

With two extraordinary programs and a strong start to the season already, the team isn't shying away from ambition as the U.S. Championships and World Junior Championships approach.

"We want to just leave everything on the ice with a nothing to lose mindset," Johmann said. "I think if we give it our all and don't hold anything back, we'll see a reward that we'd like to see."

Babb put it even more bluntly: "I truly don't care about the results. I want them to always be able to go out and do what they know they can do and put everything they've got on that ice and be satisfied and happy with what they put out there."