莱镇人文之五：Anna Monaco Lexettes Team Manager

同步花滑是美国乃至世界范围内发展最快的花样滑冰项目。在同步滑冰中，由8到20个男孩和女孩组成的团队需要保持一致。与其他花样滑冰项目（单人滑、双人滑和冰舞）一样，团队可以选择一到两个单项，完成每个单项的指定动作。这些动作包括块，圆，轮，直线，交点，移动，创意动作，无保留动作，旋转和成对移动。同步滑冰的难度和动作的多样性使得运动员必须具备花滑各个领域的技能技巧以及团队的合作精神。

1994年，国际滑冰联盟（ISU）承认同步花滑属于花样滑冰的一个分支项目。2004年，ISU认可的世界同步滑冰锦标赛在明尼苏达州明尼阿波利斯首次露面。Hayden 同步队列花滑队一直是同步花滑领域中的翘楚，排名前列。

Photo of Anna behind the camera in Zagreb, Croatia where the Lexettes won a silver Medal   

Anna四岁就开始在海登（Hayden）滑冰。这很自然，毕竟她的两个姐姐都是滑冰的。Anna很快也爱上了这项运动，慢慢掌握技巧，一级级提高水平并参加比赛，Anna喜欢这种一步步考级晋升的挑战。多年来海登就好像是她的第二个家。Anna说 “记忆中我成长的那些年我都在滑冰，我不记得有哪些时候我不在冰场练习的。上学前，放学后，每天见缝插针地挤时间上冰场。”  Anna开始学习同步花滑（Synchronized Skating）（那时候叫做精准滑冰）。刚过六岁就进入Icemates队，成为1979-80 Icemates 队的第一批队员，经考核进入Haydenettes队，就一直滑到高中毕业。

作为Hayden的一名滑冰队员，Anna最难忘的经历是1988年在内华达州里诺（Reno，Nevada）举行的美国锦标赛。当时她还是莱镇高中的一名学生，Haydenettes的队员之一。当她们完美地完成表演还站在冰场上时，裁判们就已经打出了6.0分的满分！这是有史以来第一次授予精准滑冰团队的最高分。这标志着一个Hayden辉煌时代的开启！Haydenettes从这第一枚国家级比赛金牌开始在随后的各种赛事接连取得奖牌。Anna说：因为这是Haydenettes第一枚国家级比赛金牌，也是随后获得各种金牌中的第一枚，我永远忘不了那个特殊的时刻。

婚后的Anna搬回莱镇。她的女儿们和她一样，四岁就爱上了这项运动并开始在Hayden滑冰。当她们接触同步滑冰时，立刻就爱上了这项运动，并再也不愿意放弃。2020-21的赛季对于Anna来说是特别的一年，女儿艾丽(Elly) 和艾娃(Ava) 进入Lexettes青年队，成为美国国家队的一员。双胞胎中的格雷斯进入Mini Mates少年队。莱拉今年选择了冰球，但最初是一名花滑运动员的她拥有很强的滑冰技巧，对冰球比赛助益匪浅。

Anna 任同步花滑团队经理多年，先后担任Mini Shooting Stars，Shooting Stars和Mini Mate的团队经理，现成为Lexettes的团队经理。作为一位团队经理，她是整支队伍的主导核心。不仅仅要紧密地和教练沟通配合，协助教练和姑娘们冰上冰下的训练，安排训练的时间和场地，还需要和全队的家长们保持联系安排整个赛季的工作。特别到了赛季，整个团队的路程安排吃喝住行，姑娘们的赛前赛后活动，调节情绪鼓舞士气，每一件事情都是团队经理的日常事项。尽管事务繁琐劳累，但Anna喜欢这项不可思议的运动，而且能与自己的女儿们一起度过滑冰场上的时光，成为整个团队的其中一份子，对她来说是一个难得的机会。Anna享受在Hayden做志愿工作的每分每秒，并深信这项运动所必备的团队合作和专注投入传授了人生中最重要的一些东西，那也是海顿的宗旨：在海顿同步滑冰，我们追求卓越。我们传授给运动员领导能力，责任心，毅力和建立在自尊、自豪以及谦卑之上的团队合作精神，这些能力的培养将帮助他们走向成功。”

但作为一名冰妈妈，看着女儿滑冰和比赛时，则有着完全不同的心理。Anna声称看女儿们在冰上比赛，比自己上场表演时更紧张。Anna 在上个赛季第一次担任Lexettes青年队的团队经理， 她的大女儿Elly是队员之一。这意味如果Lexettes如往年一样代表美国队参加国际比赛，Anna也将作为美国队的一员随队出门旅行。2020年Lexettes参加的第一场国际比赛是在克罗地亚的萨格勒布（Zagreb，Croatia），随后是二月份在意大利米兰举行的另一场国际比赛。亲眼看着女儿做为美国队的一员代表美国参赛，并看着她在冰上表演，是Anna永远不会忘记的经历。在未来的很长一段时间，Anna都会记得当自己带领的队伍包括女儿刚踏上冰场的那一瞬间，满场响起了“U-S-A”的欢呼声 - 伴随着姑娘们冰上翩翩飘动的身影和动人的冰姿舞动。Anna为所有的姑娘感到骄傲。她们坚韧不拔，毅勇兼备，能够在这种高压力下发挥自己应有的水平和进行高质量的表演对她们的未来生活必有收益。

Anna给人的第一印象是干练，雷厉风行效率高，众多的头衔让人对她的时间安排，管理能力和执行力佩服万分。让我们听听和Anna从四岁就一起滑冰的伙伴Sif Ferrant，还有同为冰妈妈的作家Sally Suen描述她们眼中的Anna，和讲述她们和Anna的故事。

无论是单人滑、双人滑、冰上舞蹈还是同步滑，一个共同点就这是一项美丽的运动。伴随着不同的音乐类型，技巧、力量以及运动能力的展示上，每一项都有自己的美丽，优雅和艺术性。这一切不仅需要大量的实践，更需要多年的培训。花样滑冰运动员是不可能只需要系紧鞋带独自练习，而不与其他滑冰者建立牢固甚至延续一生的关系的。

我不记得什么时候认识Anna的，因为那时我们都年少，只记得去海顿冰场（Hayden Ice Facility）是我们生活的一部分。从四岁起，我们一起分享有趣的圈内笑话；一起逛商店、喝咖啡、吃饭，一起经历成长期的高潮与低谷。Anna身上有着人们对一名冠军滑冰运动员的所有的期待：刻苦与坚韧。她所掌握的技巧难度极高，但是她总是能表现得轻而易举、举重若轻。

回顾我们一起训练的日子，我觉得很幸运能在滑冰场上与Anna建立起特殊的友谊。在海登滑冰，以及与安娜的友谊是我一生中的华彩乐章。

很多人都知道我们镇上住着一位超能妈妈。她出入得体，穿著总是显出她的高雅和大方。她是四个小孩的妈妈，管理家庭有条有理，小孩们都成长得独立自主，但又充满爱心。她婚姻幸福，夫妻互爱互重。她担任莱镇Clark Middle School 的校长八年，带领这个拨尖的中学成为全美蓝带学校之一。同时安排时间管理一支年年赢得全美国家级奖牌的同步花滑队伍。她典型的一天从每天早上5点跑步开始，为她的身体和精神提供能量，准备接受充满挑战性的一天。这个走在21世纪前端的女人就是Anna Monaco.

我印象最深刻的是与Anna沟通是非常直接，精确和快速。她往往很快回答信息，从不拖延时间。我问她：＂你那么忙，但总能为我留着时间，你怎能这样高效的呢？＂她说，我在做每一件事的时候都非常专注，因为我没有时间出错，也没有时间把事情存起来等有时间再做。

面面俱到之外，Anna还有一双审美的慧眼。我的书Crystal Cove 在进行封面设计的时期，我就某个画面征询她的意见，这个意见最后被出版商采纳了，使封面设计非常成功和完美。去年在All Authors 举办的封面设计大赛中，Crystal Cove 在483 个参赛者中，荣得第十二名佳奖。谢谢你，Anna!

有幸在我人生中拥有这样一位走在时代前端、散发着人性光彩的朋友，推动和激励着我永远努力不歇。

Synchro moms at Rockford, Illinois in 2017 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championship

对Hayden同步花滑的热爱和专注投入不仅仅是Anna和她的孩子们，她的姐姐，外甥女，嫂子也都曾是Haydenettes队员。Anna从2014年开始每年带领同步花滑队参加各种区域比赛和全国赛。每次出外比赛，一家大小包括Anna的父母亲友，都会整整齐齐地穿戴着Hayden标志的衣服和围巾，出现在赛场上为Hayden的各个团队加油呐喊。正是Anna的这种几十年如一日对Hayden投入的专注与努力，她带领下的团体在一次次的比赛中取得骄人的成绩。

住在莱镇这样一个具备同步花滑运动和文化的小镇上是很幸运的。Anna说：”我热爱Hayden，它影响了我，我的孩子们以及莱镇许多孩子的成长。” 从提供滑冰课程到训练营，再加入团队比赛，Hayden同步花滑是个专门为莱镇青少年创建机会和发展运动才华的地方。 

Hayden同步花滑从成立时仅有的两支队伍发展到目前的八支队伍，它们分别是：

这不仅证明了这项激动人心的运动在美国和世界范围内的发展壮大，也证明了Hayden是一个培养并让各个级别的运动员得以发展的组织。海登花滑欢迎所有年龄和各种水平的滑冰者。每年的团队招聘和试训从三月开始，相关信息请查询官网www.haydensynchro.com。

Synchronized Skating is the fastest-growing figure skating discipline in the United States and around the world.  In synchronized skating, teams of 8 to 20 athletes skate together in unison.  As with other figure skating disciplines (singles, pairs, and ice dance), teams perform one or two programs with required elements.  The required elements include blocks, circles, wheels, lines, intersections, move elements, creative elements, no-holds elements, spins, and pairs moves.  The difficulty and variety of elements require synchro athletes to be students of all disciplines of figure skating.

In 1994 the International Skating Union ((ISU) recognized Synchronized Skating as a discipline of figure skating, and in 2004 the first-ever ISU-sanctioned World Synchronized Skating Championship was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  The Hayden Synchronized Teams have been at the forefront of the sport. 

Anna Monaco is a proud long-time resident of Lexington.  She was born and raised in town, attending Hastings Elementary and Diamond Middle School before graduating from Lexington High School in 1991.  Her husband Jeff graduated from Lexington High School the same year, but Anna emphasized that they only started dating after college in 1995.  The couple, who have been married for 20 years, have four daughters, all of whom attend the Lexington public schools.  Elly is 17, Ava is 15, and twins Lyla and Grace are 12.

Anna received an undergraduate degree in Psychology from Colby College and a master's degree in Special Education from Simmons College.  After graduation she worked as a special education teacher in Winchester and North Reading public schools prior to coming to teach at the Lexington public schools in the fall of 2001.  She moved into the role of Assistant Principal after becoming a licensed Massachusetts School Administrator.  After eight years teaching special education at Lexington's Clarke Middle School, Anna served as Principal at Clarke until 2019 when she left to spend more time with her family.  Anna currently serves as a Hayden Synchro board member and team manager for the Lexettes junior team.

Anna started skating at Hayden at the age of four.  Both of her older sisters skated so it was natural that she wanted to do it as well.  Anna quickly learned to love it and pretty soon, she was skating, testing, moving up in levels, and competing - and she loved it.  "Hayden was my second home for many years", Anna said.  "In my memory of the years I was growing up, I was skating.  I didn’t remember when I didn't practice on the ice rink.  Before and after school I squeezed in time to be on the ice every day."  Anna began skating synchro as well, although back then it was called "precision" skating.  She joined the Ice Mates team at the age of six and became the first member of the 1979-9180 Ice Mates team.  After being assessed, she joined Haydenettes and skated all the way through high school.

Anna's most memorable experience as a Hayden skater was the 1988 U.S. Championship in Reno, Nevada.  She was a Lexington High School student and was on the Haydenettes at the time.  The competition score was announced immediately after they completed their program, while all the skaters were still standing on the ice.  They received a perfect score of 6.0, the first time a perfect score was ever awarded to a "precision skating team".  This marked the beginning of a glorious era for the Haydenettes, who have continued to win medals in many subsequent events.  Anna said, "Because this was the Haydenettes' National gold medal, and the first of many to come, I will never forget that special moment."

Anna at Hayden in 1990   

Anna temporarily left Hayden to attend college.  Although she missed skating terribly and missed being part of the team, she enjoyed her experience away from home.  After graduating and returning to Lexington, Anna began to teach beginner skating skills to children at Hayden, but then ended up going to graduate school in Boston and getting a full-time teaching position; as a result, her career as a skating coach was short-lived.

Anna moved back to Lexington after getting married.  Her daughters began skating at Hayden at the age of four, just like she did, and fell in love with the sport.  When they were introduced to synchronized skating (no longer called precision skating), they loved it and haven't looked back.  The 2020-21 season is a special year for Anna.  Elly and Ava skate on the Lexettes junior team and as a result have become members of Team USA.  One of her twins (Grace) skates on the juvenile team, the Mini Mates.  Lyla has chosen to play hockey this year but she started out as a figure skater, which has given her very strong skating skills to help her game.

Anna has been team manager for several of the girls' teams through the years, including the Shooting Stars Developmental teams, the Mini Mates, and now the Lexettes.  As a team manager, she is the dominant core.  Not only does she work closely with the coach to help train the girls on and off the ice and arrange the time and place of training, but she also keeps in touch with the parents of the team to arrange work throughout the season.  It gets especially intense during competition season, when Anna manages all aspects of the team's journey: arranging food, accommodation, and activities before and after competition, as well as helping with emotional adjustments and morale.  Despite all the rigors, Anna loves this incredible sport that allows her to spend time at the ice rink with her own girls while managing the team.  She enjoys every minute of her volunteer work for Hayden, and she believes that the team work and commitment necessary to succeed in this sport teach some of life's most important lessons as emphasized by Hayden's mission statement, "At Hayden Synchronized Skating, we are committed to the pursuit of excellence. We teach our athletes leadership, accountability, perseverance, and the commitment to teamwork with dignity, pride, and humility. These characteristics will help them succeed throughout their lives."

As a synchro mom, Anna has a completely different perspective watching her daughters skate and compete.  She claims that watching her daughters skate in a competition makes her far more nervous than competing herself!  Last season was Anna's first time as Lexettes Junior team manager, and her eldest daughter Elly was one of the team members.  The junior level team was sent to international competitions as members of Team USA, first in Zagreb, Croatia, and then in Milan, Italy in February.  Watching her daughter and her teammates skate and represent the US was an experience Anna will never forget.  Hearing the "USA!" chants as they stepped on the ice to warn up and watching them skate was very special.  She is extremely proud of all the girls.  They have mental toughness and grit, and to be able to perform under that kind of pressure will serve them well in life.

The first impression of Anna is that she is capable and efficient.  Her numerous titles make people admire her timing, management, and execution.  Here's how Sif Ferrant, who has skated with Anna since she was four, and Sally Suen, a writer who is also a synchro mom, describe Anna.

Skating is a beautiful sport.  All of it - singles, pairs, dance, and synchronized skating - each has its own elements of beauty, grace, and artistry in performing skills, strength, and athleticism to all genres of music.  This all takes a tremendous amount of practice to master, and it takes many years of training.  Figure skaters don't just lace up skates and practice for hours without also developing strong, lifelong bonds with other skaters.  I skated for years with Anna Monaco - at the Hayden Ice Facility.

I've known Anna since I was very young.  I don't really know when we met, because we were so young!  We've just always been at the rink.  Both of us had older siblings who skated, so the rink has been a part of our lives since we were born.  As we turned four years old we were ready to start taking lessons and skate on our own at Hayden. I could write many paragraphs on all the fun inside jokes we have had over the years, going to the mall, getting coffee, going out to eat, and experiencing the ups and downs of growing up.  Anna was exactly what one would expect to find in a champion skater - dedicated to her practice sessions and a really tough competitor.  I remember Anna always made her skating programs look so easy, but the skills she was mastering were very difficult.

I look back on our training days together and I think how lucky I am to have developed special friendships at the skating rink.  Skating at Hayden, and my friendship with Anna, have been such a wonderful part of my life!

Many people know that a super mom lives in our town.  She always carries herself with elegance and grace.  Her choice of fashion complements her refined taste.  She is happily married with four children who are raised to become strong, independent, loving, and caring.  For many years, she successfully led Clarke Middle School, one of the two academically competitive and prestigious middle schools in Lexington.  In addition to being a busy mother of four, with a happy marriage and a successful career, she still finds time to manage a synchronized skating team that wins national medals every year.  Her typical day starts at 5am every morning with running, fueling her body and mind as she prepares to fulfill a challenging day.  This woman at the cutting edge of the 21st century is Anna Monaco.

I've known Anna for over eight years.  We used to take the skating team together for the national competitions every year.  She led the team, and another mom and I helped manage 20 skating athletes.  She now manages a USA team competing internationally.  I always assumed that a woman with Anna's capabilities would be dull, serious, and even intimidating at times. It turns out Anna is very amiable.  She often appears with infectious laughter and she indulges in humor.  I've never seen her getting angry with young athletes.  She seems to magically and effectively bring out the self-discipline quality in them.  She is always able to bring an entertaining and relaxing spirit to the period of intense competition.

What impressed me most is that communication with Anna is often easy, direct, accurate, and efficient.  She responds to emails right away, she doesn't procrastinate.  I once asked her, "How is it that you always make me feel that you have set aside time out of your hectic schedule just for me?"  She told me, "I'm very focused on everything I do because I don't have time to make mistakes or do it later."

Anna is not only versatile and well loved, but also has a pair of aesthetic eyes.  When I showed Anna the cover design of my book Crystal Cove before it was finalized, she gave a suggestion that the publisher finally adopted.  It turned out to be perfect and won 12th out of 483 entries of the All Author's book cover design competition.  Thank you, Anna!

I am so lucky to have this brilliant friend in my life, who is always walking ahead with an uplifting spirit and inspiring me to do my best!

Synchro moms at Rockford, Illinois in 2017 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championship

It's not just Anna and her children who are passionate about Hayden Synchro - her sister, niece, and sister-in-law have all been Haydenettes as well.  Anna has led the synchro skating teams to various regional and national competitions since 2014.  Every time they go out to compete, the whole family including Anna's parents and relatives will wear Hayden-logo clothes and scarves, showing up at the rink to cheer for Hayden's teams.  Anna has devoted herself to Hayden Synchro for decades and under her leadership, the teams have achieved remarkable results in competitions.

We are so lucky to live in a town with a dedicated recreational facility for the children of Lexington.  From classes to camps to being able to join teams and compete, this is a special foundation created solely for the youths of Lexington.  While the Hayden Synchro organization has its roots in Lexington, it has grown from just two teams in the late 1970s to eight teams that train at Hayden and other rinks across the state.  This is a true testament to not only the growth of this exciting sport in the U.S. and the world, but also to a well-run organization that grows and develops athletes at all levels.  Skaters learn the value of hard work and teamwork and many get to compete at a national level.

Hayden Synchronized Skating Teams:

Synchronized skating is an excellent team sport worth participating in.  Hayden welcomes skaters of all ages and all levels simultaneously.  The trial training and tryouts will start in March, and we hope of have a complete season next year.

For more information, visit Hayden Synchro wetsite:

www.haydensynchro.com