January 5, 2005
Skaters pursue Olympic dream
Traverse City synchronized skating teams compete on ice at Lake Placid arena
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Two of the three Northern Lights Synchronized Skating teams will compete this weekend in Lake Placid, N.Y.
Returning to the site of the 1980 Olympics, members of the Teen Team and the Adult Team will each perform a number during the Lake Placid Synchronized Skating Classic held from January 6-9.
The third team, the Northern Lights Junior Team, will compete in Midwestern Synchro Sectionals in Plano, Texas, later this month. This team of 16 girls, ages 12-18, will present a short and a long program there. They are hoping to perform well enough to be invited to the Synchro Nationals in February in Massachusetts.
For those headed to Lake Placid Wednesday evening, it is thrilling to perform on ice graced by Olympic athletes and the 1980 gold medal United States Hockey team.
"It's kind of inspiring to be on the rink that was used in the Olympics," said Cassie Keller, a ninth-grade student from Traverse City West Junior High School and co-captain of the Teen Team.
Keller and her ten teammates will perform an on-ice version of a Mexican Hat Dance, creating swirling patterns on ice during their three-minute routine. The bright costumes and brilliant smiles of this team, whose members range from sixth grade to ninth graders, belie the underlying precision and athleticism of the sport.
Last season, most of the girls on this team comprised the Northern Lights Youth Team. This year, their ages bumped them up to this next level.
"I think they're really excited because this is all new to them," said Stephanie Miller, coach of all the Northern Lights teams since 2000. "It's a growing experience for them and they're excited."
Monday afternoon they worked with Miller, a former competitive singles and synchronized skater, to perfect their routine. The Teen Team has been perfecting this number since August during twice-weekly rehearsals.
Under Miller's guidance Monday, they drilled the weaker parts, modified a shaky ending and psyched themselves up for the competition. One thing the girls are closely watching is their tendency to speed up during a competition.
"We go faster when we're nervous, like really fast," said Tayler Rodes, a sixth-grade student at Glenn Loomis Elementary School.
With every step planned and each pattern tightly choreographed by Miller, getting even a few seconds ahead can put the whole routine out of synch.
"Like in the last competition we were five seconds ahead and had to just stand there," added Mara Thompson, a team co-captain, of an event in Ann Arbor in December.
In addition to her coaching expertise, Miller also is a veteran costume designer. She has designed the costumes for the three teams over the years, tapping a local seamstress for their production.
"We always feel very lucky because a lot of the girls just get store-bought costumes out of the catalog and we get these beautiful hand-made ones," said Julie Friley, Mara Thompson's mother. "The girls always think, 'Oh, my gosh it's so bright,' but on the ice they really look so good; our girls always stand out."
Also in Lake Placid, the eight members of the Northern Lights Adult Team will perform a jazz-swing style number in the adult introductory level. In previous years, the team fielded more than the required 12 members and competed in the adult masters level.
"We've got a couple of new people who have not skated with us before, they are brand new to the team this year," said Mary VanderKolk, a member of the Adult Team for five years. "We still get a little nervous and are excited to go to Lake Placid."
Whether teen or adult, Northern Lights skaters are also eager to ski and run the Olympic bobsled course while in Lake Placid. They also plan to watch the other competition closely for all levels.
"Sometimes we can get ideas for our own program," said Thompson, a seventh-grade student at Interlochen Pathfinder School.