Girl Scout and U.S. Women’s Hockey goalie
Winning Olympic gold with the U.S. Women’s Hockey team in 2018 might never have happened if Nicole Hensley had not been open to trying new things as a young girl.
“The more you get out and try new things, the more doors you open for yourself,” Nicole says to girls and young women. “You may try something and hate it and that’s OK, now you know. You may try something and fall in love with it! But you don’t know if you don’t try!”
Growing up in Lakewood, Nicole played hockey with the boys in the Foothills Hockey Association until her junior year in high school when she joined the Colorado Select Girls Hockey Association.
In 2012, Nicole began her college career at Lindenwood University, where she was a four-time All-Conference selection, three-time Academic All-American, is the NCAA single-game save leader (90), and is the NCAA all-time save leader (4,096). She holds program records in saves, wins, save percentage, and shutouts. She was a two-year captain. She graduated in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science.
Nicole was part of the U.S. Women’s National Team at the 2016 and 2017 IIHF Women’s World Championships. The team won gold in both tournaments. She represented the United States in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, where the U.S. won gold. She is currently a member of the Women’s National Team Player Pool and the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association.
While in the crease, making the save is ultimately her responsibility but Nicole also attributes her successes to those around her.
“I believe the people around me have been a huge part of my success,” she says. “Yes, the responsibility may fall on me, but by surrounding myself with knowledgeable people, I’m putting myself in a good place to make decisions and be confident I’m headed in the right direction… My teammates are some of my best friends. They’re also the most competitive people I know. So, while we battle really hard on the ice every day, I know they’ll have my back when I need them.”
Like a team, Nicole remembers her Girl Scout experience as an opportunity to learn to work with different types of people.
“I think it’s important to understand how to work and interact with all kinds of different people, some you may like, others you may not,” she says. “Learning how to work with all kinds of people towards a common goal teaches life lessons that are extremely important down the road.”
Nicole’s road has led her to success on the ice and in life. Taking the lead and taking responsibility helped to get her there.
“To me, taking the lead means to be responsible for yourself,” she said. “In sports that may look like being responsible for improving certain skills or plays. In school, it may mean taking extra time to study because you know you need to do that to be successful in a class. In life, it may mean going the extra mile in your profession to make sure the job you did reflects how much you care. All of these examples take time, effort, planning, goal setting, and follow through.”