from “le détroit” · the strait
The Detroit native and New York Sirens forward organized and ran a camp for 36 girls at the Detroit Skating Club this offseason, handling the registration, scheduling, outreach and logo herself.
Elle Hartje learned the game at Little Caesars Arena, and now she plays forward for the New York Sirens of the Professional Women's Hockey League.
This offseason the former Yale University captain came home and ran a hockey camp for girls at the Detroit Skating Club. The Detroit Skating Club sits in Bloomfield Hills. The club had planned for 30 campers, and 36 girls ended up on the ice.
She did everything herself: the registration, the scheduling, the outreach, and even the camp's logo.
"I've seen other people doing camps in their hometowns and it was just something that I was really passionate about doing," Hartje said.
For her, the weekend was about paying something back.
"There were a lot of women who came before me that made my career possible, and I really owe them a lot. That's why it is so important to me to give back to the community," she said.
The NHL helped support the camp with scholarships through its NHL Unites program. One scholarship brought 10-year-old Kelly Seguin all the way from Florida.
"The NHL is committed to growing girls hockey across North America. Through the NHL Unites platform, we're proud to support Elle Hartje's camp and help more girls access experiences like this through need-based scholarships," said Rob Wooley, executive director of the NHL Foundation.
Brands donated items for giveaway bags for the campers.
The interest ran well past the roster. "The turnout has just been phenomenal. We probably had to turn some girls away, because there was so much interest," said Nicolette Franck, a founder of the Learn to Play Hockey program at the club.
Hartje, who has 12 points across her PWHL career, said the best stretches happened away from the rink.
"I think what was really fun about my camp is I spent a lot of time with the girls off of the ice," she said.
"Hockey runs deep in Michigan and I was just really excited to bring my camp to life," she said.
She measured the camp by reach, not by its size.
"Hockey's given me so much...if you can even impact one extra person who might not have had that opportunity, I think that's worth everything," she said.
The league wrote up the camp on its own site, here.
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