From season to season, the skating world never knows if the team from Norwood, Massachusetts, will take the ice clad in all black or dressed as effervescent ringleaders, but the expectation remains — "the Haydenettes will be the Haydenettes."
The senior team, founded in 1979, has 28 U.S. titles and five World medals. According to head coach Saga Krantz, however, the athletes prefer to contribute to the sport rather than dwell on the organization's legacy.
"It's an honor to be a part of the Haydenettes' journey, but previous skaters and teams taught us to work really, really hard," said Krantz, whose trained the team for 16 seasons. "It's kind of an unwritten rule — our number one job is, no matter how small the steps are, to take things to the next level."
Fifth-year Haydenette Cameron Feeley agrees. It's less pressure, she said, to focus on strategic innovation.
"There's so much respect for the Haydenettes who came before us, but it's not something we constantly think about because we're more thinking about how we can improve," said Feeley, also a student at Northeastern University.
Krantz, a former Helsinki Rockette, has a two-pronged approach to success. The first is stating those ambitions concretely and out loud.
"We want to keep developing the sport and explore everything that it means to be a top athlete in the world," she said. "Being the best you can be is the minimum requirement."
Krantz and Feeley explained the senior team sets dream goals and smart goals — while continuing to reach for the Olympics motivates the skaters, what actually helps their progress is hitting incremental milestones, like performing a level 4 pivoting block in competition.
This lends itself to Krantz's second strategy: training traditional skating skills.
"I always say there's no shortcut to happiness, so we start each season with the basics," Krantz said. "I think, while the Haydenettes has its own signature style, what connects and draws certain athletes to us is the simplicity in the roots of our training."
The Haydenettes have had more time than ever to explore the benefits of this simplicity in the 2020-2021 season. Overall, Krantz thinks this time to reflect could actually benefit synchronized skating in the U.S. as teams have space to innovate. From her experience, striking the balance between strong crossovers and extensions with freestyle, dance and pairs elements is what sets the U.S. apart on the international stage and keeps the sport thriving.
"The U.S. has very well-rounded skaters, skaters that come from different backgrounds and disciplines," Krantz said.
According to Feeley, these varying strengths leaves room for choreographed fun.
"We're able to combine those good skating skills with tricks other countries are good at," Feeley said. "We're always improving our style, our speed. It's a work in progress, but it's what keeps pushing us every year."
Krantz and her 23 athletes can't achieve this balance alone. The organization works with world renowned skaters like Simon Shnapir and Adam Blake at The Skating Club of Boston as well as Charlie White to advance their skills and broaden their knowledge. The addition of assistant coach Lee Chandler — who became a World champion during his tenure with NEXXICE, a Canadian synchronized team — has also provided a valuable new perspective.
"What makes us unique is we're always looking for that next thing that's going to make us even better," Feeley said, mentioning the team, in addition to their rigorous on ice schedule, also regularly practices ballet and cross-conditioning.
The increases of athleticism, according to Krantz, are what pushes the sport toward the Olympics.
"Without really good basics and strong training, synchronized skating won't ever get to the Olympics," she said. "If we want to be there, we're all going to have to train like those athletes."
Krantz has had a front row seat in how much synchronized skating has evolved. In her athletic and coaching career, she's watched the transition from precision skating to teams of 20 and now to blocks and lines made up of 16 athletes. To not only keep pace but further propel sport, she said the Haydenettes have started training an elite 12 team.
The team is looking forward to performing their two freshly choreographed programs next season, but in line with tradition, the themes of their short and free skate are under lock and key.
And despite its rapid evolution, the Haydenettes' mission has stayed the same. The athletes are pragmatic and intentional about how they set and achieve goals, but humility remains at the forefront. Above all, Krantz said the team revolves around the idea that "it's okay to make mistakes, but staying committed to hard work" is their top priority.
