A Hidden World (Part 1)

by Grace Yu

While many spectators only get to watch synchronized skating as a final product of grueling practices, there’s an entirely different world within the sport that is rarely seen, coaching.  By sharing interviews with two coaches, we hope to provide you with an increased knowledge about those responsible for the teams and programs we love so much.

In this first installment, meet Jackie Rizzitelli, a synchro coach from Connecticut who skated for 21 years. She competed with Skyliners for four seasons and now coaches her own teams, spending three seasons with Starcatchers SST and one with CT Ice Fusion.

GIC: What is your personal history with skating?

My parents were good friends with the manager of Wonderland of Ice, and he encouraged them to bring me to the rink one day to try out a Learn to Skate class. My mom said I had so much fun my first day that she signed me up for the full session of Learn to Skate and I haven’t looked back since. I was introduced to the sport of synchronized skating when I was 14. Before that, I had never heard of it. There was a new skater at the rink who was wearing a Team USA jacket and I remember her skating so beautifully across the ice. She was practicing a program, but I thought that it was odd that there were no jumps or spins. I asked my coach why and she told me that she was practicing her synchro program because she was going to be leaving for worlds in a couple of weeks. My coach told me that synchro might be something I would be interested in and she introduced me to the skater. She told me that she skated for a team called Skyliners and she gave me some tryout information. I attended tryouts for the upcoming season and was thrilled to have made it onto intermediate!

GIC: What inspired you to make the transition from skating to coaching a team of your own?

I didn’t initially think I was going to coach synchro. Once I stopped competitively skating, I took some time off and found that I really missed the sport and I wanted to get involved in other ways. I initially got involved in trial judging, which was a lot of fun. One day I went to my younger cousin’s skating show where her synchro team was performing and a board member from that team approached me to ask if I would be interested in coaching for them. I never thought I would start my coaching career so soon, but I’m very happy I did.

GIC: Take us through your process for choreographing a program.

My inspiration really comes from my skaters. I keep a running list on my phone of different program ideas, but it’s not until I see my team and I see how they interact with one another, that I make my decision. Choreographing a program typically takes a couple of days. I have a vision of which element will look good with each part of the music, but I need to figure out the steps for how to get there. My goal is to usually have the bones of a program sketched out before boot camp, but a lot depends on what the team does with the choreography. Sometimes it takes them less steps to get to where they need to go and sometimes, I need to add in other steps to get a transition to look just right. I think the most difficult part of the process comes when a transition or an element isn’t looking exactly how I envisioned it. Sometimes it feels like I hit a roadblock and I’m not quite sure how to go about fixing it. I have found that it’s best to just leave it alone until I can spend some time at home reworking the steps and come back with a better plan for the next practice.

GIC: What do you believe is the most important aspect for forming a successful team and how do you instill that belief into your own practices?

My philosophy for coaching is mutual respect between skaters and coaches. I believe this makes for a successful team dynamic. If a skater feels like they are not being respected by another skater or by a coach their entire demeanor changes, which in turn affects the entire team. Synchro skaters become so in tune with each other, that when one skater is struggling, it affects the whole team.

GIC: What aspect of synchronized skating do you believe sets it apart from other sports?

Synchronized skating is so unique because it incorporates elements from every discipline in skating, which means that synchro skaters not only have to be strong in one discipline, but they also have to be equally strong in all the other disciplines. To me, synchro is very different from other sports because there isn’t a singular “star athlete;” each skater needs to be in synch for the program to flow.

GIC: In your opinion, what is the most difficult part of being a synchro coach? How do you personally deal with these difficulties?

I think one of the most difficult parts of being a coach is trying to find a way to communicate with all your skaters. There are some skaters that learn by seeing, some must hear the beat, and some need to mirror exactly what you are doing. It’s sometimes a challenge for me to explain the way an element is supposed to look or the way the step sequence is supposed to go. I find that in these circumstances I need to rely on the other members of the coaching team. Often, another coach will have a slightly different perspective and that might be what the skater needs to understand.

GIC: How do you balance your personal life with all the planning and practices that comes along with synchro?

Ever since I started as a synchro skater, my go to line was always, “sorry I can’t I have practice” and not much has changed since I became a coach. It feels normal for me to work my personal life around my skating life, but it helps when there’s a solid support system at home willing to help when there are extra things to be done. My mom loves synchro, and she’s always a great help when it comes to the extra planning that goes on.

GIC: Do you have any advice for skaters looking to make the transition to coaching?

Take the time to learn the different protocols, program requirements and features. Figure out what your strengths and weaknesses are and most importantly, remember what it was like to be a skater.

A huge thank you to Jackie Rizzitelli for taking the time out of her busy schedule to answer these questions! We hope you all enjoyed this microscopic view into the coaching world and perhaps gained a bit more insight into the effort that goes into leading a synchronized skating team. Stay tuned for the second installment with synchro coach Heidi Richetelle, another Connecticut native with 22 seasons of experience.