Going Back to Practice as We Hold Each Other Close

In the aftermath of last Wednesday's crash, when an American Airlines flight carrying members of the figure skating community home from the National Development Camp in Kansas collided with a helicopter over Washington, D.C., young skaters everywhere are returning to the rink.

And, as we head towards National Girls & Women in Sports Day this week, role models they admire are supporting with wise words.

The main takeaways from their advice?

Stay in your skates. Stay moving. And stay together.

Speaking through tears alongside fellow skating champion Tenley Albright, Olympic medalist Nancy Kerrigan urged devastated athletes to "get back up. Keen on trying."

And skaters in other rinks, on lakes and at global microphones echoed her words.

Click to play video.

Hockey legend Blake Bolden, the first Black woman to play professional hockey and scout for a professional ice hockey team (and whose words appear in The Epic Mentor Guide), posted a powerful message on Instagram as she moved peacefully over the ice: "Get outside...fresh air and movement does wonders."

It's hard, we know.

With 60 passengers and four crew members on board, nearly a third of those lost include young competitive figure skaters, their parents, teammates and coaches, many of them from the same local skating clubs. They were headed home three days after the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships — described as the most prestigious annual event on the American figure skating calendar.

"We all know how much it takes to be a figure skater [and] we're just very impressed by each other," acknowledged Olivia Tennant, treasurer of the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club which also lost members in the crash. "We're always inspired and what not. You just grow very close to these people you've known for years. So we all really have to be together."

"My heart is completely broken for our skating community, their families and loved ones," Olympic gold medal-winning skater Tara Lipinski said haltingly on camera as she stood at the broadcast mic from the European Figure Skating Championships. "My heart is with all the families affected and that's the part I have no words for. It will not do it justice. It is so widespread throughout our skating community, and we are such a close-knit family. And I know our skating community will never be the same, but we will always remember them."

And remember them we will.

One of the images that nearly brought me to my knees was seeing the Haydenettes Synchronized Skating Team back on the ice at the Skating Club of Boston one day after losing six of their own skaters. Watch the video for more than a moment and you will never be the same.

They skated in black, in grief, and in unison - connecting us all and showing us how to go back to practice with strength and respect.

That's what those closest to these athletes are doing, and it is instructive to watch. It is easy to feel lost, adrift in the senseless tragedy - particularly for the youngest among us. But often it is in sport, absorbed in the moment before a jump, a dive, a play or a shot that we find ourselves again. And in the moments on the ice, in the water, on the field or by the lockers that we can lean on our teammates...and find community.

What to say to sorrow-filled young athletes as they scroll in despair reading the names of skaters and siblings their own age? Channel Blake Bolden and repeat:

"When you feel overwhelmed by everything going on in the world, put your phone on airplane mode...and get outside."

In fact, put your phone down entirely for a bit.

It's easier to find your balance with outstretched arms...and easier to hold another's hand.

Looking forward in community,

Illana

ÊXTRAS: Three places to find someone to talk with if you or a young athlete in your midst needs a team huddle: The JED Foundation, an Être BFF offering endless emotional help resources for teens and young adults; Voice In Sport, another Être BFF with mentorship and player-to-player advice right when we need it; and Play Like a Girl, a third Être BFF engaging girls at early ages in sport and - importantly - in community.