University of Minnesota Athletics
A PORTRAIT OF LEADERSHIP - SOCCER'S NOELLE PAPENHAUSEN
9/20/1999 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
Self-confidence bubbles from Minnesota's senior defender Noelle Papenhausen. You can see it in her mannerisms and hear it in her voice. Papenhausen is on the fast track to success in life, and she's not about to let anything get in her way.
This Gopher co-captain, who along with fellow captain Jaime O'Gara, is jokingly referred to by their teammates as "Mom" or "Grandma", sees the big picture. She understands that playing soccer has posed several challenges but it has also opened many doors and she's taking full advantage of as many of those opportunities as possible.
Papenhausen, you see, is a leader. Not only was she voted by her teammates to serve as co-captain of the soccer team, but also she was selected by the student- athletes of Minnesota's 11 sports as one of three chairs of the Team Council.
"Team Council is a chance for athletes to get involved and stay in tune to what is happening in the athletics department," said Papenhausen. "It keeps you in the know to what's going on behind the scenes.
"I'm the type of person who likes to know all the aspects of what's going on with what I'm doing with my life. I'm not playing soccer just to play soccer. I play it for fun as well, but I like to know what's going on around it and I'm here for an education."
If you believe the old adage that leaders are born not made, Papenhausen fits the bill.
"Noelle is very assertive and extremely responsible," says Gopher head coach Sue Montagne. "If she has a question, she'll ask it. If she has a comment, she'll say it. Noelle is such a strong leader, on and off the playing field. The only difference right now is that she's not on the field as much as she'd perhaps like."
The reason for Papenhausen's reduced playing time is an injury to the anterior cruciate ligament of her right knee suffered in spring practices last April. It's her second time around with an ACL injury. She missed the 1996 season due to the same injury but to her left knee.
"People think that having an injury is unfortunate, but I got to the point where I thought it was actually fortunate in a way because I really got to know myself," explains Papenhausen. "Though hard work, I got to push the limits and really find out where my end point was. I got to know my body really well. I think the second ACL injury was mentally easier, because I knew when I could push and when I couldn't."
Injuries, especially ones of the severity of ACL's, can mark a challenge of immense portions to an athlete. but Papenhausen has survived and flourished.
"I had stress fractures, ACL's and all that stuff," she says. "I think you take everything in stride. For me I just took it spiritually. I felt like this was what was given to me, this is what's on my plate, it's just another obstacle, I can get through it."
"She surprised everyone, except maybe herself, that she's back so quickly, just five and a half months after the injury," added Montagne. "She's worked extremely hard to come back and be ready to play, but she'd been through it before and she knows what her limits are."
This type of work ethic fits well into what a team looks for in a team captain. Papenhausen, however, sees it as just the way she's always been.
"It's definitely an honor to be voted a team co-captain, but I don't look at it like I have to act this certain way just because I have this title," explains Papenhausen. "I think I'd act this way whether I had this title or not.
"Just two of us have the title of captain, yet the younger players see a lot of the seniors as leaders of the team. They look up to us because we have the experience. They know we've been through the good and bad and hold our heads high."
A lot can be written to describe what Noelle Papenhausen has meant to the Gopher soccer team and the Women's Athletics Department as a whole. She helped the Gophers win Big Ten Conference titles in 1995 and 1997. She has played in 69 matches, starting 61 of them. A psychology major, she's earned two Academic All-Big Ten honors and is a two-time recipient of the Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Endowed Scholarship. She represented Minnesota at the 1997 NCAA National Leadership Conference. She has served four years on Team Council, with this year being her second as a tri-chair.
And as a recognized leader, she's the soccer team co-captain.
But ask her to explain what being a captain means and she's at a loss of words.
"I've never thought of it in words," she says. "It's about leading by example more than anything."
Spoken like a true leader.
