Any skater will know that lifelong friendships are born at the rink. It is natural for friendships to blossom when you spend so many hours training together in the quest of a common goal. Although rumors of "ice wars" and rivalries make catchy headlines, in reality, many Team USA athletes are best friends.
Down in Texas, where everything is bigger, so is the friendship between 2019 U.S. pairs champions Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc and their training mate, singles skater Amber Glenn.
The ladies are actually celebrating their 12-year friendiversary this month. The two first met in 2008 when they both skated in the same holiday ice show at the Galleria Dallas mall. Glenn is four years Cain-Gribble's junior, so she was one of the up-and-coming skaters and won a contest to perform.
Glenn was initially starstruck to be in Cain-Gribble's presence, but flash-forward to today, and the two are the best of friends. In 2016, Glenn began training under the tutelage of Cain-Gribble's parents, Darlene and Peter Cain. The rest is history.
LeDuc came into the friend picture about the same time as Glenn. They decided to return to competitive amateur skating in 2016 after enjoying a professional career as a performer on cruise ships. They and Cain-Gribble had previously competed against one another since 2009 and they were certain they'd make a good match on the ice.
It was actually two years prior at the 2014 U.S. Championships in Boston when Glenn first caught LeDuc's attention. "I was watching the junior ladies competition and I saw this girl in a purple dress go out and do the most gorgeous triple flip-triple toe and I was like, 'Who is she?'," they recall.
All these years later, Glenn continues to impress them with her jumping prowess. "At 21, a lot of people think that they won't learn anything new and that they won't reinvent themselves in their career. What Amber has been able to do, especially this past year, with adding a triple Axel and now she's practicing quad toes, we look at her and we see things are still possible," praises Cain-Gribble.
Although some skaters struggle with maintaining focus when training with friends and do more chit chatting than practicing, that is not the case for this trio. They have mastered flipping the switch between work mode and play mode.
"I think what binds us together is our commitment to excellence. Something that I super appreciate about our training relationship is the way that I'm inspired by Ashley and Amber on a daily basis to work my hardest and to be my best," says LeDuc. "I can have a day where I'm struggling with motivation or just having a hard time getting myself in the zone and I'll look over and Amber is doing like 16 perfect triple Lutzes and I'm like, 'Okay, I gotta get into this. I gotta go. I gotta work.' I really appreciate the bond that we have in training. We're always pushing each other and encouraging each other and after a really hard session we can all come off the ice and just laugh and joke about things. It makes for a great training environment for us all to really be pushing ourselves to be our best.
"An example of that was at [2020 Guaranteed Rate] Skate America where there obviously were not fans allowed and normally we feed off the energy of the crowd. The athletes were allowed to go up into the suites to watch the events and when Ashley landed this perfect throw triple Lutz, the only sound I heard in the arena was Amber up in the suites and we knew it was her and we were like, 'Oh my God, she's here supporting us.' I really appreciate that aspect of our trio."
Support System
True friends are also there for you through challenging personal times. Last year, Glenn came out as bisexual. LeDuc, who is openly gay, and Cain-Gribble, who is straight, offered her nothing but unconditional love and support. Glenn knew she could confide in them as she navigated her feelings and emotions.
"I've known Ashley since I was a fetus, so she's been there throughout everything," Glenn says. "She was there during my first ever relationship and then after that, she was there for me when things might not have gone right and then when I was questioning myself. I was honest with her and I was like, 'Hey, I think I like this girl and I don't know what to do." I felt comfortable because Tim has had to go through finding thier identity. I just felt comfortable being able to talk about that and not like I was being judged. I don't even remember sitting them down and having to tell them. It was just kind like I brought it up casually. There wasn't a huge, 'Hey, we need to talk.'"
As a fellow member of the LGBTQ+ community, LeDuc also appreciates feeling so comfortable in their own skin within this friend circle and is eternally grateful that their skating partner is such a great ally. The two women even encourage their latest hobby, makeup, and give them all of their leftovers to experiment with.
This is what more and more groups of friends are likely to be composed of in the present and future. Diverse people who find commonalities and enjoy one another's companionship.
"I wouldn't want anyone to like or dislike me because of who I may go out on a date with," says LeDuc. "Regardless of someone's background, creed, gender, sexual orientation, race, I would just encourage people to remember that someone is deserving of respect regardless of those things. A person never forgoes or gives up their right to basic human rights and respect because of those things. So we embrace each other's differences, but it doesn't mean we can't just hang out and have a great time."
Vowing to be Friends Forever
Last year, the threesome officially became a foursome when Cain-Gribble married Dalton Gribble. But, Gribble was actually in the picture before Cain-Gribble and LeDuc partnered up on the ice. "They were like a package deal," jokes LeDuc, who was in their wedding party.
LeDuc proved their allegiance to Gribble by keeping his intent to pop the question under wraps for a full year before he got down on one knee! "He sent me a picture of the ring. I was waiting for so long," they confess. "I was so scared I was going to accidentally blurt something out."
Glenn, on the other hand, accidentally spilled the beans to Peter Cain. Gribble had sent her a photo of the engagement ring via Snapchat. The following day, Glenn assumed Cain-Gribble's dad knew and asked for their thoughts.
"He played along with it," Glenn recalls. "He was like, 'Yeah, do you have a picture?' And I showed him the picture and he was like, 'Oh wow!' And I was like, 'What?' And he was like, 'Oh, I didn't know.' Did I just ruin it?"
The proposal happened on Gribble's family's ranch and LeDuc was there too, filming and taking pictures of their entire weekend getaway. "When I look back at that time, I have all of this to look back on which is really cool," Cain-Gribble says fondly. "They knew before me and I feel like it was probably really healthy for my husband for the two of them to know because at least he was able to tell someone because my husband hates keeping secrets to himself."
Communication is the Key to Success
Cain-Gribble and LeDuc say they have formed a sibling-like dynamic in their partnership, but admit they are like a work wife and work husband. With that, naturally comes conflict and disagreement from time to time. But, the important thing is, they resolve it peacefully.
"We know how to click in and get the work done and focus on the task and everything, but we also have a really good friendship off the ice as well. I think it really contributes to how well we work together on the ice because we vibe really well and it allows us to have good communication," LeDuc explains. "With every close intimate working relationship and marriage, there is going to be conflict or strife. Since we rarely have those things, it's calm and chill and we try to communicate and get on the same page. That's something I like to talk about because sometimes people shy away from that when talking about pairs."
As a solo skater, Glenn appreciates witnessing the partnership in action daily. "You are both very mature and you come to solutions really quick," she praises. "From an outsider's perspective, I see you guys put yourselves in each other's shoes really well and see each other's point of view."
