Photo Credit KrPhotogs Photography/U.S. Figure Skating
By Marissa Pederson
The 2023-24 synchronized skating season has been one for the record books for Teams Elite.
With two wins at their international events in Germany and Budapest, the Chicagoland squad earned the junior Challenger Series Synchronized Skating title with the highest international scores recorded this season.
They then struck gold in Las Vegas at the 2024 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships, marking the organization’s first junior title.
Now, the team gears up for the ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships 2024 in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, their second trip to the event. In their first appearance in 2022, they earned the bronze medal.
“For me as a coach, we never talked about placements once this season,” Head Coach Danielle Ostrower said. “The wins this season were huge milestones and we were equally shocked and proud. This team is strong and was always capable of hitting those milestones, it is just not something we spent time focusing on, so when it did happen, it was surreal. What we wanted all season was to work really, really hard and have no regrets.”
Spurred from a disappointing end to the 2022-23 season that left them off the World Junior Team, Ostrower believes that the setback has only made the team stronger and more determined to put their all into every ice session.
“I think not being on the World Team the previous season was the blessing in disguise that we couldn’t see at the time,” Ostrower said. “It forced us all to go back and work harder and be better. Something the athletes did early on in the season before we had full programs was talk about how they want to prepare for competitions. This is how early we want to get there, this is how we warm up, this is how we want competitions to look and we need to start doing all of that now. That’s just an example of them taking ownership over the process and committing to every practice like they would a competition.”
Teammates Amanda Lee and Abbi Nelson have been on the junior team for four and three years respectively, including both the World Junior bronze medal and 2022-23 teams. Both skaters have also noticed a difference in the squad that includes just seven returning skaters.
“At the beginning of the season, before our first on-ice practice, we had an off-ice expectations meeting for the first time,” Lee said. “We discussed what we wanted to get out of the season and one of our main goals was to fully commit to every practice, give 100% effort every time and to have no regrets at the end of the season. I think this team more than previous teams is fully committed to the process and gives everything at practices, which helps us achieve our goals.”
“Coming off of a season where we didn’t achieve all of our goals, it made us realize how important it is to be focused, committed and actively involved,” Nelson added. “There are no ‘what ifs’ or worries because we know what will happen when we step onto competition ice. That has been our biggest takeaway after last season.”
The renewed vigor of Teams Elite has given Ostrower the confidence to push her athletes to innovate and go beyond the requirements of the division. After a number of seasons skating to high-energy, modern pop hits, both their short and free program are lyric-less. Their short program is set to a rendition of Beethoven’s classic “Moonlight Sonata” while their snake charmer free skate takes inspiration from ice dance World champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates’ program from the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
“We had different music cut for the short program earlier in the season and we had started to build the choreography,” Ostrower said. “I just kept coming back to our goals and it didn’t feel like the music we were using was going to catapult us to that next level. I was saving this piece of music for the perfect team, and with the current set of skaters, it just felt like the perfect way to challenge them and watch them rise. I knew we had the team that could pull it off.”
In addition to the challenge of interpreting more mature music, Ostrower also pushed the team to add more difficult transitions, and individual and assisted jumps into both programs.
“I really like to look at elements and look at how we can push them to innovate and add to the musicality,” Ostrower said. “I think sometimes they look at me like I’m crazy when I present these different tricks, but they always rise to the challenge. It really comes down to people doing their homework and working on things day-in and day-out to make sure they can do what is necessary in those elements.”
Two of those features include synchronized single Axels that lead into the team’s angled intersection in the short program, and complicated snake-inspired lifts in the free skate.
“Initially, it was hard to process how we were going to be able to do it,” Nelson said. “But as we started training them, I had full trust in my group and the vision has fully come to life. I think the crowd really likes them.”
In order to nail these senior-level moves, the team has come together to put in work outside of practice to make sure they are ready to give it their all during run-throughs.
“I feel like everyone on the team has fully committed to making practice run smoothly, and in order to do that, we need to practice on our own,” Nelson said. “We are so committed to the process and this is a huge part of that process.”
“This year more than others, each athlete is motivated to skate with the team and on their own to develop their own personal skating skills,” Lee said. “I will see my teammates hard at work at the rink on their own and it is really motivating.”
The extra work at the rink has paid off in more ways than one, but most notably in the increased speed of their two programs.
“I do think they have gotten faster,” Ostrower said. “I think part of that comes with the thought we are putting into the choreography to make sure we are giving them things that they can perform with ease. Throughout the choreography process, we really relied on the team to tell us when something feels uncomfortable or awkward. They have been super honest with us when something doesn’t feel right. It has taken extra patience to make sure we take the time early and not move on until it is right.”
The foundation Teams Elite has built in strong practice sessions both together and individually gave the group a profound confidence heading into their international and championship season. And the results have followed.
“We have been so consistent at practices that our competitions really felt like another run-through,” Lee said. “That was a new feeling for me, and it was nice to go in so prepared. Winning was very nice, but I wouldn't say anything different or special happened on the ice since we had been skating like that every day. We are going into Worlds with the same approach - committing to the process and not focusing on the outcomes. We want to have two strong skates that we are proud of and demonstrate the full potential of these programs.”
Heading into their second World Juniors this week, the team strives to savor every moment and leave everything they have out on the ice.
“I love this team and I hope they can push as hard as they can through the finish line because they are so deserving of two great skates,” said Ostrower.
Teams Elite will represent Team USA at the ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships March 15-16 in Neuchatel, Switzerland. Follow live on the U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone and stream the event on the ISU YouTube channel.
