To Build a Building

Often in collegiate and elite sports, you will see incredibly successful institutions that are very well established, with everyone clearly understanding their roles and tasks for the season. Everyone plays a part in the building of a successful team and organization.
 
At other times, events, like the wholesale changing of a coaching staff, can shake the foundation of a program, and its institutions, to its core. This can cause uncertainty along with anxiety, but it also can open up an opportunity to build a new system, with new roles to create a strong program.
 
I call this "building a building," and this past year, Adrian Skating had the unique opportunity to renovate and remodel its own building. When constructing a building, multiple steps are crucial to the build: the foundation, the framework, the flooring and roofing, and the finishing work. Similar to construction, in skating, there are different steps that need to be taken to create a successful season, aka "our building."

1. The Foundation
 
After tryouts for the 2023 season, our team embarked on a host of changes over the next few months, including various coaching changes, new team members and drastic adjustments to the overall day-to-day operations within Adrian College Skating. Mid-summer at our July boot camp, we had the opportunity to meet with a new coaching staff, who began to quickly piece together not only our programs for the season but our organization as a whole. Although anxious, we were excited to lay a new foundation, one which would be strong enough to endure all that this new season would bring.
 
Helena Mazzarella, a senior on the team, said: "Boot camp truly set the theme for the entire season. I have never walked away from a single practice feeling as inspired by my coaches and teammates as I did after our first session together on the ice. Upon completing short boot camp, I was confident that the 2023 season would be an extremely special one."
 
After our summer boot camp, we spent the entire beginning of the year creating a brand-new foundation by learning new elements and techniques, and choreographing programs, which for many of us, were completely outside of our comfort zone. Bit by bit, we were able to build the base and began moving onto the framework.

2. The Framework
 
Throughout the start of the season, we continued to work through our programs, progressing more with each and every practice. We became stronger, faster and more comfortable with the new techniques and elements, allowing the walls of our building to continue to grow higher and more sturdy. In competition, however, we struggled to piece together different elements and couldn't put out programs we were completely proud of at the 2022 Synchro Fall Classic in Irvine, California. We were frustrated with the programs we performed and the scores that followed because they did not represent how we had practiced and planned to compete.
 
Coach Dana Hall added: "There was definitely disappointment after our performances and with only one week until our next event, you could also feel stress and pressure throughout the skaters. However, they did an incredible job pushing through being tired and exhausted and not allowing anyone to get in their way of being the team everyone knew they were capable of being. They stayed focused on the goal and continued to work."

3. The Flooring and Roof
 
The continued feedback from the competition only fueled our motivation to work harder, which then led to the construction of our floor and roof. We knew we had a strong base and that now it was time to grow. To build the next step of our building, we needed to look beyond the ice and into ourselves. We had to change our perspective and our attitude as we lacked a belief in both ourselves and one another. We needed to confidently rely on our strong foundation and believe we were capable of withstanding even the toughest of challenges. To do so, we really had to step out of every comfort zone and be willing to be vulnerable. We had to learn to trust one another, to trust in our training and trust in ourselves that we were, in fact, able to obtain the goals we had set. The turning point of our season was competing the short program at the 2022 Boston Classic. You could sense a new energy in the team, a sense of pure determination and also assurance in one another. We knew what was at stake for us, but as every ounce of doubt and fear fizzled away, it was like we became a whole new team. The energy in the crowd and the trust we all felt in one another was contagious, and we skated our short program like nothing we had ever done before.
 
Captain and senior on the team, Lilly Baumhardt, said: "Competing the short program at the 2022 Boston Classic was one of the most nerve-racking yet thrilling experiences I have ever had in my 20 years of skating. The energy and confidence we had built as a team from the beginning of the week all the way up to the moment we stepped on the ice was truly inspiring. It was such a rewarding feeling to know that all of our training and dedication was being reflected in our performance."
 
After Boston, we continued to progress both in practice and at our international events, fully completing the construction of our floors and roof. We continued to build on our project throughout the season, and finally, Nationals were right at our doorstep.

4. The Detail Work
 
The final part of creating our building was the detail work. Heading into Nationals, we were perfecting every detail matching every arm movement, analyzing every edge and running more clean programs than we could count. The only aspect left to our construction project, however, was the most crucial: confidence. It was the last and final thing we needed to ensure a sturdy building of the highest quality. We performed well at the unofficial and official practices leading into the event, became familiar with the ice and the surroundings, and navigated how to handle our nerves and the mental obstacles that come with competing. With every piece of our construction now complete, we were ready. Our team was announced, we took the ice, gave everything we had and skated two strong programs. We had done it.
 
Looking back, this season, we were able to build an entirely new building. Not only were we able to reach new record-breaking scores, but together, we were able to ignite in each other a sense of confidence that many of us had never experienced. There were many moments when we had to break a few things down and renovate, but in the end, we were able to build back up.
 
Megan Blair, a captain and graduating senior of the team, added: "This team has proven time and time again they are full of fight, and will put in the work needed to accomplish their goals. I know this fight will continue to drive the team through any obstacles and look forward to watching them continue to surpass what they believe is possible for themselves."
 
While success is never linear, and there were many challenging moments, the team worked endlessly to not only have a successful year, but to ensure strength and confidence in the seasons to come. I am so excited to see where this next season leads us, and I know that no matter the obstacle, we have a strong building to take it on.