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UNIVERSITY LIGGETT SCHOOL \ NEWS \ NEWS

University Liggett School hires new girls’ varsity hockey coaches

University Liggett School has hired Gregory Paddison as the head coach for the girls’ varsity hockey team. Previously Paddison was the boys’ varsity head coach at Royal Oak High School.

“I'm eager to meet the young women I am going to have the privilege to coach and only hope that I can live up to the standards that University Liggett School has, and rightfully should, of those of us privileged enough to be a part of this community of coaches, teachers, and administrators, leading the next generation,” Paddison said. 

Assisting Paddison will be Adrianna Pfeffer, who was previously an assistant with Detroit Country Day School and Mercy High School. Pfeffer played hockey at Wayne State University.

“I look forward to the continued success of the girls’ hockey program under Greg and Adrianna’s direction and leadership,” said Alan Parish, athletic director. “As a long-time coach former collegiate hockey player, he understands the game from a players’ perspective. He’s excited to bring his knowledge and experience to our student-athletes.”

As both a defenseman and a forward, Paddison served as St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy Hockey’s team captain, earning all-state honors all four years of high school. Paddison was assistant captain and captain while playing for Kalamazoo College. He also played for the Michigan Rebels Roller Hockey team in Grand Rapids.

Paddison’s coaching career began in 2004 as the director of skills development and head coach of the TwinStar Outlaws at the TwinStar Ice Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich. He coached the Kalamazoo Optimist Hockey Association and served as the hockey director of the Kalkaska Kaliseum, before becoming head coach at Monroe Community College. As assistant varsity hockey coach at Maumee High School in Ohio, Paddison’s team was the conference runner-up and Daytona Showcase Tournament Champions.

Paddison is Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Detroit Law Department. He comes to ULS from Royal Oak High School where he spent a year as an assistant coach and three years as head coach for the varsity boys’ hockey team.

"It's a tremendous honor to be named the head coach at University Liggett School. I'm excited to work in a community with a long-standing tradition of great hockey. University Liggett School hockey has a tradition of great coaches, great players, great teams, great facilities and championships, and I'm excited to help current student-athletes add to that tradition,” Paddison said. 

Pfeffer earned a Division-I hockey scholarship to play at WSU where she was the CHA rookie of the year for the 2007-2008 season. Pfeffer also managed, coached and played for the Women’s Senior A National Ice Hockey Team. 

"I encourage learning on the ice by incorporating exciting, new and innovative activities and drills. I feel participation in athletics, and specifically hockey, is more than playing a sport, but also an activity that reinforces the importance of health, physical fitness, teamwork, sportsmanship and, almost as important, having a fun and fulfilling experience on the ice,” Pfeffer said.

A graduate of Wayne State University, Pfeffer holds a degree in health education and teaches physical education in the Berkley School District.