Szwed and Sartorius pave the way offensively for Ladywood

With seven wins in their first 11 games, Livonia Ladywood is eight points behind West Division leader Plymouth-Canton-Salem.
And junior Laura Szwed and sophomore Heather Sartorius are the 1-2 punch for the Blazers, accounting for almost half of the team's offense.
"We put them together midseason last year and they seemed to take off," Ladywood coach Bruce Peck said. "They work really well together. Laura is more the goal scorer, and Heather is the set-up artist." That's changing, and Peck's fine with the results. An unselfish player, Sartorius had been reluctant to take shots herself.

"She just liked to be the playmaker," Peck said. "She loves to set people up." But in December, the team needed Sartorius to take the puck to the net more. Since then, she's taking more shots, and Szwed is the player feeding her.
"This year Laura is starting to be more of a playmaker," Peck said. "She was always strictly the goal-scorer, but this year, she knows she has Heather with her. They're sharing the responsibility."
Sartorius grew up in a hockey family. Her dad coached, and her brother plays as well. Szwed's family is sports-oriented, too, but it's not just limited to sports played on frozen water.
"A lot of people don't realize she's a world-class water skier," Peck said. "She's been on the U.S. Junior team."
The Szwed family Web site, szwed.org, has photos of Laura, Kyle and Chris barefoot skiing. Laura Szwed has competed in the U.S. Nationals since 1997. She took third place last year in the Junior/Senior Barefoot World Championships Tricks in Pretoria, South Africa.
"Last year she had to leave over Christmas to practice in warmer weather," Peck said. "But for the most part it hasn't interfered with hockey since it's in summer."
Her hockey coach hasn't seen her water ski live, but he's seen a video.
"She was doing a jump, and she was wearing her hockey helmet," he said. "That's why her dad sent it to me."
Waterskiing, her coach says, can only increase his Ladywood captain's competitive nature.
"As a competitor, she wants to do as best she can," Peck said. "That shows in both sports."
Now in his fourth season behind the Ladywood bench, Peck is certainly comfortable with his role. But it's abrupt about-face from his day job as a high school English and history teacher at Catholic Central. "During the day, I teach at an all boy's school, then I go coach an all-girls hockey team," he notes. "For me, it's interesting. It's a nice contrast."
And yes, there are big differences between guys and girls.
"The boys, you just tell them to do something and they do it," Peck says. "Girls want to know why. They just want an explanation. I think it helps me coaching - it helps me explain things."
Still, high school students are similar in many ways.
"I thought the girls would be a little more reserved," Peck laughed. "In a lot of ways they act like boys. They're not always ladylike."