It took just five seconds

Written by athletic communications student Andrea Ledvina

MEQUON, Wis. -- It took only five seconds for a dream to be shattered.

A dream that was meant to be promising for an aspiring Alissa Wagner, who wanted to advance her basketball career at the collegiate level. However, just five seconds into the first game she would ever play, she tore her ACL to end any chance of continuing on.

Those five seconds was barely enough time for her to get on the court and take a dribble before the injury changed her life. Wagner has played basketball since third grade and the game has always been a part of her life and she never thought deciding whether or not to try and continue playing would have to be made during her freshman year.

"I try hard to not think about that day, those five seconds," Wagner said tearfully. "There are days I wish things were different, but they aren't, and I have to accept the cards I have been dealt."

When the Valders, Wisconsin native began her freshman season in 2018-19 at Concordia Wisconsin, there was immense excitement transitioning from the prep ranks. The speed of the game was different and the athletes were stronger, but her enthusiasm never wavered and the chance to continue her collegiate career in a sport she loved was like no other.

"The first game I kept looking at Coach Stacey Brunner-Jones like I did with my dad when I had played," she said smiling. "I always knew that look from player to coach when it was time to check into the game. Watching the first game from the bench, I remember I was shaking. I was so nervous and kept hoping to go in. That game I made a lot of awkward eye contact with coach, but I knew my time would come."

In game two of the season, Wagner would finally get her chance to play, in a game at UW-Platteville on November 17, 2018. With 35 seconds to play the rookie entered the game and ran out for an inbounds play that would have the Falcons going the length of the court. As the ball was passed into the air she twisted before coming down to a crunching pain in her knee, feeling numb from her upper thigh all the way down to the calf.

"I did everything in my power to not turn the ball over and hobble off the court," Wagner remembers in great detail. "I already knew the injury before our athletic trainer evaluated me and that my ACL was gone. A teammate of mine went to the locker room to get my phone and after checking it I realized my parents didn't know what happened. They were watching the live video and it froze during the exact moment I got injured. It was also the first time I told my mom I wasn't okay."

Brunner-Jones remembers that day vividly as well. "I was most impacted by how well she handled everything. She probably had tears from the pain, but I never saw her broken from what occurred. She told me that she was going to push through everything and I have been so inspired by her motivation." 

Wagner went into surgery six weeks after the injury and every day thought about what would happen for the upcoming season, her sophomore year, if she would return or not. The decision for her was always on her mind throughout rehab, especially not knowing what her future with basketball was going to look like. It was a decision she thought about from the day she had surgery until the week after spring break in mid-March because rehab wasn't going as planned and she began to contemplate if her knee could handle the stress and demands the game of basketball placed on it. It was within days after spring break that she sat down with Brunner-Jones to tell her about her decision that was with a heavy heart, but a decision that was thought about for hours on end. Playing her sophomore year and beyond as a Falcons was something that wouldn't happen.

"It was a decision nobody can make with a quick thought, but I still consider all of the players my teammates even if I can't wear the uniform anymore," Wagner expressed.

This current season Wagner has taken on the role of student manager and recently elevated to student coach. She has learned and gotten to see so much more of what goes into a game and as an assistant has become inspired to coach someday as well. On practice days Wagner makes sure the court is ready with everything the team needs and for game days I help coach and AC (AC Clouthier, assistant coach) tracking fouls and timeouts on a stat sheet during the game. Lately, she has begun to help the coaching staff in developing scouting reports.

Brunner-Jones adds, "Alissa is one of the most hardworking women I have seen in a long time. I am so grateful to have her as part of the program. She is so helpful on and off the court, always thinking a step ahead of where we could be. She has fulfilled a support role for the players when they are going through hard times in the season and she understands that more than most will."

Her switch from athlete to coach was one that has brought a lot of new perspectives into a sport she has played her entire life. As a player, one often thinks narrowminded about their matchups for that game and defensive schemes, among other things. That has now evolved into entire game plans and everything that goes into the program winning.

"My family has supported me during this entire journey and I have leaned on them in the hard times," Wagner said with a smile. "My dad was my coach in high school and it's nice to have a person to share the memories with and have a family that still surrounds ourselves with a sport we love. Watching my sisters play I notice my inner coach coming out from the bleachers because I see the game in an entirely new way now."

Wagner has also taken the support role for the Falcons to heart, knowing if there is something she can spot to make their game better she will try to help. Even if basketball is a game she is not able to play in college, her insight and inspiration towards helping the Falcons continue to grow.

"Though this isn't where I thought I would be in my career, being in this new position as student coach and manager has brought me opportunities I would not have gotten as a player," Wagner expressed. "This injury made me so grateful for the time I got to play basketball in high school."

Wagner has pushed herself to become the best assistant she can be for the program and to keep a positive outlook on everything, especially the little things. Though five seconds may not seem like a long time, it doesn't define her playing career, because she is taking the cards dealt to her and making the best of her basketball career.