Few sounds are as purely crisp as a backward crossover, but listening to 16 skaters execute undercuts in perfect unison is near heavenly.
And watching the Skyliners junior perform their short program through On Ice Perspective's social feeds provides that exact experience — so it's no surprise the 16 lilac silhouettes, who turn and twizzle to Cinematic Pop's cover of "Hallelujah," received over five million views on Facebook this November.
Since 2010, Skyliners junior has placed first or second in the junior competition at nearly every U.S. Synchronized Skating Championship and has competed on the World Junior stage eight times. Behind the success and the team's seemingly effortless aesthetic, however, are the years required to develop individual skaters and an entire organization.Â
As coach Josh Babb, who has been with Skyliners since 2003, recalls, the team didn't have a "meteoric rise" to the top. During his tenure, he estimates the organization has grown from 36 to over 300 skaters.
"We put in a lot of time to build up to where we are today and the athletes of yesterday paved the way to the future," he said.
According to Babb, what made a difference for the Connecticut-based team, is trust.
"Trust the training, trust their teammates and trust themselves," Babb said. "Once that cultivated — that's when I started seeing the different in the performance of the team and the results we have been able to achieve."
That confidence is undoubtedly crafted from weekends spent evolving a program's character, artistic features and technical elements. Every weekend, the 22 athletes commit to at least eight hours of on-ice practice in addition to off ice fitness and ballet sessions. When the pandemic disrupted their time together, the group participated in virtual hip hop classes and met with a sports psychologist over Zoom.
While the athletes opted to train their skills instead of participating in virtual competitions this season, the expectations stayed the same. They continued to set clear, realistic goals for both the team and themselves.
"Competitive goals are always going to be there, you can't avoid that," Babb said, depicting Skyliners' results-driven mentality. To be precise, he explained while the team's objective should always be skating its best, achieving a higher level or aligning difficult turns with a cue in the music can equate to personal victory.
"It's the little things," he said. "You always want something to strive for, but ultimately, you always want to get better than what you were the day before."
High school junior Alana DeVirgilio, who commutes to practice from New Jersey, said faith in one another and their unwavering high standards are two elements that remained throughout all of the unknowns this season.
"After lockdown ended in January, we had one weekend to prepare for a filming in Bryant Park in downtown Manhattan," DeVirgilio said. "We knew we owed it to ourselves and each other to put our absolute best on the ice. Because of the collaboration we foster all year around, it was a great experience."
This anecdote may seem contradictory for a cohort of skaters who specialize in dedication and focus. Considering some of the athletes travel from outside of the tristate area, even as far as North Carolina, to train, every moment of practice must be intentionally geared toward their goal. But whether it's a moves in the field element or mastering choreography spontaneously, Babb said flexibility is another one of the team's strengths.
And he leads by example. Babb constructs a majority of a year's short and free skate programs on ice just by listening to the music. His interpretation is fueled by his predictions, by how he thinks the audience will react.
"Skating has to be something that emotionally moves skaters and emotionally moves the audience," Babb said.
DeVirgilio agreed. Step one of choreography, she said, is approaching it with an open mind. Step two is leaning into the story.
"Once I learn the theme or style, I listen to all of the songs on the album or soundtrack to gain a broad understanding for the character as a whole," she said. "Then, I apply what I gained to how I move on ice."
Babb, who derives inspiration from Broadway, ballet and other bold art forms, said he intentionally selects music with a strong central character. Sometimes, without the skaters knowing, he'll test out a song for an upcoming season during practice to see how the athletes respond through movement.
"It's really important, especially for teenage skaters, to have something to relate to," he said. "When there's no specific plot, I say, this is how I want you to make the audience feel."
During tryouts, aspiring skaters typically participate in an interpretation session to test how they connect to music. This year, Babb noticed a trend of strong spirals — the organization's specialty. In the recording of "Hallelujah" by On Ice Perspectives, all 16 of the skaters on the ice hit the element's first edge as a bold crescendo leads into the music's chorus.
"It's such a pivotal part in the music, I tell them, 'You have to race that music, then just let it fly,'" Babb said. "When they hit the element, everyone just breathes in the moment."
Paired with sturdy moves in the field elements, Babb has noticed a newfound sense of motivation among the skaters he hopes will skate on the team into 2021 and beyond.
"I'm pretty good at reading my athletes, and I've seen such a renewed appreciation and passion for the sport that used to be taken for granted," he said. "Now, it's such a privilege to be on the ice, creating for each other and, eventually, for the audience."
