ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Zivanovic a perfect fit at her new school

Two years ago, when Daria Zivanovic was a freshman at the Academy of St. Aloysius, a friend convinced her of trying out for the track and field team and in particular, throwing the shot put.

“It hadn’t even crossed my mind,” said Zivanovic, who arrived in Jersey City from her native Yugoslavia, now known as Serbia-Montenegro, when she was 11 years old. “My friend introduced me to it and I liked it right away. I’m a big girl. I’m tall. I’ve always had strength. So I figured why not give it a try. How hard could it be?”

Zivanovic, whose father, Dusan, was a prominent and famous soccer player in Yugoslavia and came to the United States to serve as the soccer coach at St. Peter’s College, knew she had some athletic talent. After all, it should come naturally, courtesy of the gene pool.

But she never even tried to throw a shot put before high school.

Little did she know that just two years later, Zivanovic would emerge as the best girls’ shot putter in Hudson County and one of the best junior performers in her native land.

Zivanovic has taken a different road to earning athletic stardom, having transferred from ASA to St. Dominic Academy in September to start her junior year.

“I didn’t think that the school was challenging enough for me,” Zivanovic said. “It was a matter of morals, a matter of principals. I just wanted a change.”

Veteran St. Dominic track coach and athletic director John Nagel was aware of Zivanovic’s talents before she arrived at SDA.

“I saw her throw last year and I knew she was pretty good,” Nagel said. “Her father expressed interest to me last spring and I instructed him to speak to the school officials. She came to us in September and was ready to perform.”

One of the reasons Zivanovic was prepared was what she did on her summer vacation. Through her father’s athletic connections, Zivanovic went back to Serbia during the summer months and received proper professional training and instruction from some of the best weight (shot put and hammer) and discus throwers in Europe.

In fact, Zivanovic improved so much that she eventually became the national junior champion of Serbia for those ages 14-to-16, as well as the national junior champion for those 16-to-19. Zivanovic was also ranked No. 4 among all Balkan nations.

“I was also ranked among the top three 19 and above,” Zivanovic said. “It definitely helped me going there over the summer, working with very good coaches. There are many competitions all summer long to keep me in training.”

So after taking on Eastern Europe in the summer, Zivanovic was more than ready to tackle the rigors of Hudson County and New Jersey in the winter.

Except there was one slight obstacle – becoming accustomed to a new school and new surroundings.

“There is an adjustment for any kid,” Nagel said. “Coming to a new school, meeting new people. It’s not easy.”

“Things could have been pretty tense,” Zivanovic said. “But I met a few new friends, as well as others who I knew when I was competing at the other school. They all welcomed me and things are pretty good now. We’re all getting along.”

“She fits in nicely with all the other pieces of the puzzle,” Nagel said.

But in reality, Zivanovic has more than fit in. She’s a major cog.

She’s already shattered the school and Hudson County indoor shot put record by throwing 41-3 ½, breaking the mark of 36-7 set by Jeanine Frierson in 1991. She’s regularly besting 37 feet with every throw.

Zivanovic is the HCIAA champion and the Hudson County Coaches Association champion. She was second in the New Jersey Catholic Track Conference meet, second in the Colgate Women’s Games in New York (where she received her medal in Madison Square Garden) and she was recently third in the NJSIAA Group 2 state meet at Jadwin Gym on the campus of Princeton University.

For her efforts, Zivanovic has been selected as The Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Week for the past week. Nagel has been impressed with Zivanovic’s work ethic and willingness to be a team player.

“She’s very athletic,” Nagel said. “It’s not just pure strength. We recently had her doing agility drills and she’s been working on the high jump. Her willingness to do that meant a lot to me. There will be a time when she will do the high jump in a meet and she will help us. Sure, she’s strong, but her quickness is as valuable as her strength. She has both.”

Added Nagel, “Daria’s a very nice kid who is very focused and determined. There was one meet where she was ready to throw and some kid was playing around the circle. She assertively asked him to move and solved her own problem. I liked that. She’s very focused, very motivated in her school work and her athletic work and very goal oriented.”

Just how extensive are Zivanovic’s goals?

“I want to compete in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics for Serbia,” Zivanovic said. “Those are my main goals. It’s something that I think I can do. I’m just not sure which event.”

While Zivanovic will compete in the shot put and discus in the spring, her best event may be the hammer throw, which is not offered in NJSIAA track meets, but is held in selected invitational meets. Zivanovic also believes that she could truly excel in the discus, which is also not held during the indoor season.

“I just missed qualifying for the World Junior Championships in Canada last summer in the hammer throw,” Zivanovic said. “I hope to go to the World Juniors this year in Italy (in July). I’ll be like the youngest one there, because I’m only 16.”

Without dwelling on the international competitions to come, Nagel just hopes that Zivanovic continues to develop the way she has with the Blue Devils.

“She’s doing well and ahead of schedule in my eyes,” Nagel said. “She’s very good and has a chance to get even better. What she’s shooting for is not implausible. We have a very good group of kids and the timing of her arrival is not under appreciated. She fits in nicely.” – Jim Hague