By: Jonathan Szczepaniak | St. Clair Shores Sentinel | Published November 25, 2024
ST. CLAIR SHORES — When you reflect on memories of playing a particular sport growing up, there’s two things that really come to mind. You think about the friendships you made, and still have to this day, because of years spent sharing the ice or field together, and you think about the memories of every moment you spent putting on the glove or lacing up the shoes.
For Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett graduate Natalia Dragovic, currently the Girls Hockey Director for the St. Clair Shores Hockey Association, her aspiration is giving local skaters the same opportunity she had growing up on the ice.
A two-time state champion with the Liggett girls hockey team, Dragovic, 21, has revitalized the St. Clair Shores Hockey Association’s Skate Like a Girl program, offering an hour-and-a-half skating lesson for girls all over metro Detroit once a month at the St. Clair Shores Civic Ice Arena.
“I remember when I was younger and my friends, who I played with, we’d always talk about Anna (VanderMarliere’s) skates and how influential they were and how important they were to the process of us learning and getting started to play hockey,” Dragovic said. “There’s a lot of girls that came out of that program who now play at college, at high levels, or who play AAA hockey.”
The Skate Like a Girl program, open to girls ages 4-18, is free of cost with equipment provided to the skaters, which they are also able to keep.
Dragovic, who took over as the director within the last year, said the St. Clair Shores hockey program on the girls side has seen a noticeable dip in numbers, whether it be due to expenses, time constraints, or other factors.
With more and more high schools offering girls hockey, especially St. Clair Shores with the St. Clair Shores Lakers Unified squad consisting of players from Lakeview, Lake Shore and South Lake schools, Dragovic hopes the program can help boost numbers in the sport.
“I just think it’s important to get this started back up again because I think it would be good for all the high schools in the area, getting girls who didn’t have the option or necessarily think that’s a sport they wanted to do when they were younger,” Dragovic said.
During the session, there are several coaches on hand to help with beginner or experienced skaters.
Coaches range from current high school or 16U and 19U players in the St. Clair Shores Hockey Association to licensed coaches, including Anna VanderMarliere.
With the age ranging from 4-18, any and all experience levels are welcomed. With having multiple coaches on the ice, Dragovic said they’re able to cater to each skater.
“Let’s say there are four girls who aren’t strong skaters and need to work on their skating, a coach or two can work with them on their skating technique and proper edge work,” Dragovic said. “If another group is more advanced and wants to actually start working on the fundamentals, a couple other coaches can take them and start working on drills. We just try to adapt to what each kid needs at the time.”
Maddie Mckee, who played alongside Dragovic at University Liggett, currently serves as one of the coaches in the program.
When you look at creating unbreakable bonds with future friends, Mckee said look no further than where she and Dragovic are today.
“It (the program) provides girls the opportunity to meet lifelong friends because I started playing hockey with Natalia when I was 9, and now we’re 20 and we’re coaching together,” Mckee said. “It really is kind of a 360.”
Mckee and Dragovic both come from hockey-oriented families, but it’s never too late to be the first in a family to step on the ice.
“This program is awesome for anybody who’s ever gone to a Red Wings game and thought, ‘Hey, maybe I want to get on the ice,’” or they don’t have the right equipment,” Mckee said. “We’re able to provide them that if they want to step on the ice and give it a try.”
The next Skate Like a Girl session will take place Dec. 15 from 5-6:30 p.m. For more information, email Dragovic at nataliajadranka@gmail.com.