20 Tips for Skaters Aspiring to Join an Elite Synchro Team

Are you looking to take your skating career to the next level? Maybe aspiring to travel the world with your teammates one day, representing your Country?

There is a lot to think about and a lot of training to do; it can be overwhelming and exciting! Perhaps the most important thing to remember is this: never count yourself out.

To help you reach your goals, we collected advice from successful junior and senior skaters (and coaches!) in the OneTeamMVMT Community.

Here's what they had to say from their experience, about how to reach the elite level in synchronized skating: 

1. "Reach out to people on the team you want to join and say hi! Making connections will help you feel more comfortable at auditions and they may be able to help provide you with helpful tips and training exercises that you can work on prior to your auditions." - Team USA Skater
   
   
2. "Multi-disciplinary training goes a long way! Don’t give up on freeskate/dance. All the skills you learn in other skating disciplines will help you in synchro. Many elements are worked into synchro programs and learning dance and skill patterns will help sharpen your memory to learn step sequences and choreography in programs." - Senior Coach
   
   
3. "Don’t give up if you try out for a team and it doesn’t work out the first time! Experience is so helpful in guiding you on how to train for the next season. This can be a great opportunity to learn from the skills you gained at auditions and build skills and strength for the next year!" - Coach
   
   
4. "Some years might be hard but it's so worth it in the end when you can look back at all your hard work and say, I made it!" - Team USA Skater
   
   
5. "Believing in yourself is key. With hard work and persistence, ANYTHING is possible. Skill and talent paired with mindset and determination is powerful." - Senior Coach
   
   
6. "Keep pushing and don’t doubt your own abilities. Push yourself to learn and continue to hone your skills and talent. But also make sure you never become complacent - strive to achieve more, to become better and to continue to grow as a skater." - Team Sweden Skater
   
   
7. "Never think that you aren’t able to skate at an elite level. Hard work and persistence will pay off!" - Team USA Skater
   
   
8. "Be a complete skater – flexibility, turns/step sequences, posture, glide, interpretation, etc are all very important in enhancing the quality and musicality of synchro programs and should be consistently worked on." - Team Canada Team
   
   
9. "Skating skill is everything! Learn and practice new skills and skating skill drills, using the resources available to you, and work skating skill drills into your warmups to give you confidence in your skating." - Team Canada Skater
   
   
10. "Practice shadow dance to improve your spatial awareness and help you improve your natural lineup while skating with your team." - Team USA Skater
    
    
    
    
11. "As hard as you work on the ice, you have to take into account that there is work to be done off the ice too. With the stress and training that your body will undergo at the elite level, keeping yourself healthy and building a strong mindset is just as important as your physical preparation."
    
    
12. "Listen to your body!! Don’t push your body past its limits! Care for your injuries (taking time off to recover properly where necessary), and take care of your mental health too!" - Team USA Skater
    
    
13. "Really work hard on your edge control, this is key in synchro. The ability to control edges and turns will make you a stronger synchro skater." - Team Australia Skater
    
    
14. "There will be challenges; focus on the things within your control and forget about the rest. Above all, stay positive and persistent with your goals." - Team Great Britain Skater
    
    
15. "Be confident in yourself! Step on the ice with confidence in your training. If you believe in yourself others will too!" - Team USA Skater
    
    
16. "Keep dreaming big and keep the passion alive! Everything will come more easily when you give it your all and put your heart into it." - Team Austria Skater
    
    
17. "Practice, practice, practice and always listen to the feedback from coaches. Being able to take feedback and work to improve your skills is a very valuable skill on and off the ice." - Team Canada Skater
    
    
18. "Let your current coach know your plans so they can help you achieve your goals. Your coaches can help you refine your skills and train drills and exercises that will help you achieve success in your future endeavours." - Coach
    
    
19. "Be ready to give 110%, every time you step on the ice. Put in the maximum amount of effort, pushing yourself to be the best skater you can be!" - Team Canada Team
    
    
20. "Practice like the stands are full and the whole world is watching. If you bring your A-Game to every practice, you will improve so much faster and you will be able to perform with so much confidence."

And one bonus one: "Write your why on a piece of paper! Go back to it when you need it"

What do you think - do you agree with the tips above, or maybe have others to add? Comment below!