Colorado University Athletics
Soenksen Returns To Boulder On Sunday To Take On Buffs
March 08, 2018 | Lacrosse
BOULDER — When the No. 19 Colorado lacrosse team takes Kittredge Field on Sunday, there will be a very familiar face in attendance: Paige Soenksen.
Soenksen was a four-year starter for the Buffs in goal, starting in 74 of 75 games, and was one of the first three Buffs to earn All-American honors after the 2017 season. But Soenksen isn't back to reminisce and cheer on the home team; she'll be there as an assistant coach with the opposing California Bears.
"The hardest thing will probably be coming back wearing a different shirt, a different logo, and rooting for a different team," Soenksen said. "I helped build the program here and it will always have an incredibly special place in my heart. I think it's going to be hard going back to Colorado and not rooting for the Buffs."
A year ago Soenksen would not have guessed she'd be coaching, much less coaching a team in a Power 5 Conference. An international affairs and Chinese double major does not exactly correlate to coaching, but as Soenksen said, "The experiences you have as a student-athlete are the things that do."
The opportunity to coach at Cal fell into place for the Encinitas, Calif., native last summer. "I had a friend who played here at Cal, and she reached out to me," Soenksen said. "She said, 'Hey something is kind of happening,' and that really piqued my interest because coaching wasn't something I went through college knowing I wanted to do, but it was something that I knew I loved."
Shortly after that, California head coach Brooke Eubanks reached out to see if Soenksen was interested. With Eubanks making contact, Soenksen realized the opportunity could become a reality and was something she could not pass up.
"I just jumped at it because Cal is a great school, it's in a great location and to be a part of the Pac-12 was really exciting," Soenksen said. "I feel very blessed to have this opportunity."
Before accepting the position, Soenksen reached out to CU Head Lacrosse Coach Ann Elliott, who helped her through the process.
"Ann really helped mentor me through the application process and was a great resource," Soenksen said. "She helped me understand what goes into the job and I ultimately decided that coaching would be a great fit. It's something I'm really excited about. Ann said she would always be a resource or a mentor if I need anything, that's something that's really special and unique."
Elliott could not be more pleased with Soenksen's decision to get into coaching.
"It's really exciting to see what players do after college and to follow them in their careers, whether it's coaching or something else," Elliott said. "To see Paige get into coaching is really cool. She was so dedicated in her time here. She's so smart and could probably do anything she wants. It's exciting that she's in our conference and that we get to see them twice a year."
To say Soenksen's first season as a coach has been eye-opening might be an understatement. As a student-athlete, one doesn't always see all of the behind-the-scenes planning that goes into coaching.
"As a player, you see your coach who shows up to practice and is in the office a lot of the time, and you kind of wonder what they do in the office all the time," she said. "So being on the other side of it, experiencing all the little things like logistics of how game operations work, and traveling with the team and all the little things that go into it. It's been a really unique experience and I have really enjoyed the transition honestly."
Elliott believes Soenksen has what it takes to be successful in her coaching career.
"She has so much potential to do so many things," Elliott said. "Hopefully her experience here [at Colorado] has helped her understand what coaching is all about, what it means and how important it is to the culture of a program."
But not everything has been easy for Soenksen, in particular standing on the sidelines after starting the last four seasons.
"Being on the sidelines during games — that part has probably been the most challenging for me. Just not being able to actually be on the field, while being so close to the field, just not actually on it. That was something I had to get used to and wrap my head around that my reach as a coach can only go as far as my voice can during games," Soenksen said.
The Pac-12 schedule starts this week and Cal will travel to Eugene, Ore., for a contest on Friday before traveling to Boulder. The Buffs will play Cal for the second time this season in Berkeley on April 15 in the penultimate regular season contest. The Bears will also be back in Boulder at the end of April for the inaugural Pac-12 Tournament, which CU will host.
The last few months have certainly been exciting for Soenksen. In addition to getting her first assistant coach position, she was drafted by the Philadelphia Fire of the Women's Professional Lacrosse League, which will play its first season this summer.
"It'll just be over the summer, the schedule isn't out yet, but I think it will be four or five games in June and July, all on the East Coast," Soenksen said.
With so many great opportunities heading Soenksen's way, it's safe to say she has a great career to look forward with in lacrosse.
