Adrian College Elite Camp

By Hannah-Grace Enriquez

Thursday, July 15th marks the end of another successful Adrian Elite Synchronized Skating camp. Skaters of all ages arrived on the Adrian College campus excited to be back after the canceled camp last year. The focus of the camp was to grow and develop the skills to skate on college-level teams. 

This was my first year at the AC Elite Camp and I had been really looking forward to it. I am heading into my senior year and have been skating for 10 years, so the fact that I could combine a college visit and a skating camp was enticing. 

I had an extremely positive experience at the camp. In comparison to other synchronized skating camps, AC Elite camp provided a lot of variety. There was an average of nine on-ice and off-ice classes a day. We had the opportunity to learn from a wide number of guest coaches, such as Brandon Forsyth, Lindsay Grajek, Michael Lee, and more. The number of coaches and their different backgrounds allowed for skaters to look forward to learning something different in each class. 

One specific moment at camp I loved was our class with Lindsay Grajek. She taught the class “Interpretation” and brought so many new ideas to the topic. During class, the lights in the rink were turned off and each skater was given two glowstick bracelets. This allowed skaters to “let go” more and not worry about being judged during class. We had many activities like the “Low, High, Free” activity. We lined up at the wall and four people went across the ice at a time. From the wall to the blue line, skaters would move as low as possible while still emoting to the music. From blue line to blue line, skaters would move as high as possible. This included many jumps and expressive arms. In the final section of the rink, skaters were free to emote in whatever way they wanted. I had so much fun during this class since I was able to emote and interpret music in whatever way I wanted. 

Another opportunity provided was the ability to see Adrian’s campus. Many other synchro camps are held in neighboring rinks or are not associated with a college, so the chance to tour a college campus was nice. Another benefit to the camp being held on a college campus was the admissions section of the camp where we had the ability to meet with admissions counselor Bonnie Lynch to ask questions about college life. 

Some of my favorite parts of the camp were the optional freestyle sessions, where skaters could take private lessons with both coaches and counselors, as well as the opportunity to meet other skaters from all over the country. Since the whole synchronized skating world was “paused” last year, I felt almost giddy to be around so many other skaters and practice synchro drills with them. 

The environment at camp was so positive that it was hard not to have fun. Skaters and counselors alike talked all the time. Conversations included questions about teams and drills and laughing about the occasional meme. The skaters at the camp and the many moments we shared made it hard to say goodbye. 

Overall, Adrian Elite Synchronized Skating camp offered a lot of variety and was a positive experience. I would definitely recommend keeping an eye out for it next year!