Natalie Figanbaum's name has never been scrawled on a homework assignment at
Denver (Iowa). You can look all you want, but you won’t find any mention of her in the school’s enrollment lists or on the program at this year’s school graduation.
You will, however, find Figanbaum’s name in a prominent spot in the Denver High girls soccer record book.
Natalie Figanbaum has proven herselfas one of the most prolific scorers toever wear a Denver High jersey, eventhough she goes to school at Tripoli High.
Photo courtesy of Natalie Figanbaum
The fact is that Natalie Figanbaum doesn’t attend Denver High, she just plays there. It’s the result of a sharing agreement in this rural part of Iowa that has enabled Figanbaum and three others from their hometown of
Tripoli (Iowa) to play the sport they love.
Tripoli’s graduating class will be about 40 students this year, and that’s probably the largest class in the school, Figanbaum said. So it’s understandable that the school didn’t offer girls soccer when Figanbaum enrolled as a freshman. It can be tough to field athletic teams at such a small school, and that was why there was a sharing agreement with Denver already in cross country and wrestling.
Figanbaum and two others got the ball rolling on a soccer partnership, and it has been rolling ever since. But it took some extra work to get the pairing forged.
“We talked with the school board and we were able to get a program together. But Denver didn’t want Denver-Tripoli, just Denver,” she recalled.
That meant that Figanbaum and the others had to pay their own way, which she said is about $300.
Figanbaum is No. 2 all-time in goals at Denver, with 68. This season she has put the ball in the net 14 times in just six games. She’s not likely to make it to the top spot, which is held by coach Barb Gielau’s daughter Jackie.
Gielau has been the coach throughout Figanbaum’s career and thinks the senior forward has the talent to play in NCAA Division II or III competition.
“She’s a natural athlete, has a strong competitive instinct and she’s been on a three-time state-champion volleyball team from Tripoli. She’s got that natural leadership inside her but it’s hard to bring it out of her,” Gielau said. “This season she has just shined. It was like the fire was in her and the leadership has come out of her strong. She’s such an anchor for us.”
It takes about 18 minutes to make the one-way drive from Tripoli to Denver. So not only does it cost $300 to play, it costs the gas money and the extra time.
Denver students on the team get to walk from class to the locker room in preparation for practice — Figanbaum and the Tripoli kids have to leave school and immediately hop in the car to make the drive up to Denver.
“Because we go to a different school we have to have more communication with coaches, and the travel is tiring,” Figanbaum said. “It’s a lot harder than people would think because you have to talk to teachers about getting out of school earlier. We end up missing way more class time than the kids at Denver."
And so that means a lot more makeup classwork for Figanbaum, who will go to Iowa State University to pursue a degree in agriculture business.
Tripoli has a population of about 1,300 and Denver has about 1,600. Iowa has plenty of other towns with comparable populations, and the best way to give kids access to an array of sports is to combine schools.
It's a convenient arrangement for Denver and Tripoli, and Gielau certainly has seen her program prosper.
"It was a 'You need us, we need you' type of arrangement," she said.
