Above: The Boy Crew (l-r) Asher Hermsen, Stefan Northrop, Colin Moore, Soren Sugar, Oliver Liu; front Avery Liu
By Joanne Vassallo Jamrosz
Figure skating has long been a sport where boys are outnumbered, but a special group is flipping the script at the Figure Skating Club of Madison.
The club is home to the “Boy Crew,” a tight-knit group of six skaters age 8 to 10 who share a passion for the ice. The boys, ranging from Aspire 1 to preliminary levels, aren’t just teammates. They’re friends who train together and support each other at competitions.
At the recent Badger State Games, where 10 boys competed, five were from the Boy Crew among hundreds of skaters. How did this group of young men come to be?
The answer is simple. A passion for skating. Skating brought them together and special on-ice friendships soon formed.
The Crew includes Oliver and Avery Liu, Asher Hermsen, Colin Moore, Stefan Northrop and Soren Sugar.
”I met Stefan and Colin in Learn to Skate,” Sugar said. “Oliver and Avery at public skate and Asher when we did the spring show. We started to hang out before club skate and play. One day, we just started calling our group the Boy Crew.”
Friendship and companionship mean a lot to the Crew, but the group means much more to coach Emily Dehmer.
“Skating allows for so many great connections and friendships, but it can be a little trickier for male figure skaters,” Dehmer said. “Having a group of similar-aged and enthusiastic boys being able to bond is special. They support each other, cheer for each other, and just have a blast running around the rink together.”
As a coach, Dehmer can see the motivation that the Boy Crew provides. They want to learn, practice, compete and participate in shows, because they know their friends want to do the same.
The boys also enjoy the support they receive from their fellow Crew members.
“They motivate me to do better and cheer me on at competitions,” Moore said.
When Stefan Northrop feels down after a particular session, his fellow Crew is there to cheer him up.
“So I feel more motivated,” Northrop said.
Support and encouragement are also part of their learning important skating skills.
“When we’re doing tough jumps and off-ice practice, I know I can survive it because I am with my friends,” Sugar said.
For Hermsen, it’s the encouragement that makes a difference.
“Everyone just encourages each other. It’s fun to hear people cheering for you,” he said. “And I like having friends at the rink.”
While the Boy Crew feels fortunate to have formed this skating group, their parents are happy they developed these special friendships, too.
“I honestly cannot believe how lucky we have been to find and nurture this wonderful group of figure skating boys,” Soren’s mother, Leah Sugar, said. “They are incredibly hard-working and kind kids who found their way to figure skating for different reasons, but the longer they have been skating, the more connected they’ve become. Figure skating can be lonely for boys. In our area, there are times when there might be only one or two boys in a competition. Knowing your Crew is there makes a huge difference.”
For Valerie Wills, watching her son Colin grow with his Crew has been fun.
“They challenge each other to do hard things but also cheer each other on at every competition and skills test,” Wills said. “They are learning how to be competitive but also supportive at the same time. What makes this group special for me as a parent is that they have the space to be themselves and try different skating avenues but still have this incredible bond with each other. I’m hoping they will have lasting friendships that span throughout their lives outside of skating.”
And the parents are making a more concerted effort to reach out to other parents and introduce more boys to each other.
“Even now, every time we see a new boy at the rink, we reach out to the skater and parent to make sure the boy feels welcome even if he is only there for the day,” Leah Sugar said. “We also have some incredible teenage and adult men at our club who are inspiring. We make every effort to take the Boy Crew to watch these boys and men whenever they are performing.”
And the parents feel lucky to be part of this Crew as well.
“We are incredibly lucky to be part of a group of families and boy skaters who are the same age and skate together,” Margaret Northrop said. “At a competition this past weekend, I witnessed just how much this support means. As each boy got on the ice, I could see the emotion not only on his parents’ faces but also on the faces of the rest of the families in this group. We check in on each other during competitions even when we can’t be there. The whole club feels like a close-knit community, for which we are very grateful.”
