Fair Game caught up with Aly Wagner, who has recently returned to training after undergoing double sports hernia surgery back in January, while waiting out the thunderstorms in Cary.
How back are you? I noticed that you weren’t training with the team yesterday.
Well, I started to train and then I pulled myself out and that is primarily because my groins are sore. All my softer muscles are sore coming back because there is only so much you can do on your own. That’s all. I’m just trying to be smart so I don’t re-injure anything. You know how when you have an injury and you come back too soon you can overcompensate and injure something else. I’m just trying to be smart so that I don’t have any more setbacks. If it means taking half of practice off, that’s kind of where I’m at right now. Otherwise, I feel great. Like I said, my groins are a little bit sore but that is expected. I feel good with my touch. I feel good with the balls I’ve been playing. What I feel like I need to work on is my quickness, my explosiveness, just getting that back, because like I said, there is only so much you can do on your own.
When did you have the surgery?
I had it in January.
When were you able to start working out?
It wasn’t fun. It was a little bit worse than I expected because I was so excited to finally have closure to this injury. I didn’t really prepare myself for the surgery so it was a little bit more intense than what I expected. Just imagine having people go through your abs and then your throwing up that night. It’s just not a comfortable situation.
It sounds like having a baby.
Except without the joy of brining a life into the world!
I think I started running after two weeks and just slowly worked up from there.
You look fit.
I am. I should be but like I said, you can’t really replicate soccer fitness. I’ve done the workouts that have gotten me so fit before which is the culmination of 800s, cones, shuttles and one long run a week. So those things have helped me with my fitness base and now it’s just putting in all the other elements.
Do you think you have enough time to make the Olympic roster?
Initially I felt like I had more time than I do when I came in to the environment. I feel good soccer wise, my vision, my touch. I just have to get physically sharper. Time will be of the essence. Of course I believe that I can do it and I have faith in the process, but I just need to make sure that I don’t have any major setbacks along the way. I think if I can get back to where I was before and even better, I should be in the hunt.
Have you been communicating with Pia during your rehab?
Not much. I haven’t talked to her that much. The only thing I’ve heard is from my teammates telling me how I’m going to fit in really well and telling me how much I’m going to love the training. Within this week, I’ve seen that my style should fit in well with what she’s doing. I just need to stay healthy and get a little bit sharper.
How have the last couple years been for you as you haven’t been on the field consistently due to various injuries?
It’s been a struggle. It has been mental draining, physically exhausting. My tendency is to want to work hard and control what I can control and work through it and when you can’t do that it has been very frustrating mentally and then when you’re not playing on top of it it’s even more frustrating. I’ve had a lot of mental battles throughout this process and throughout last year too.
Obviously your World Cup wasn’t what you had hoped due to the injuries.
In the World Cup I was mentally prepared and ready and I really got a lot out of that experience. It was an awesome experience for me even though it wasn’t what I expected or what other people looking in might have expected from me but I totally got more out of it not playing than maybe I would have if I had played.
What have you done to keep yourself positive?
There are days when I get into the “poor me” and I say ‘please God, keep me healthy, make me healthy’, and then the reality sets in and I feel extremely fortunate and lucky to be in these situations. I’m really happy. I love my husband. I love my life. That’s one thing that I’ve noticed about this situation too is that I’m happy at home. I was happy doing training and working so hard. I was rehabbing over five hours a day with Pilates, with my therapy and my running and the soccer stuff. I realized how much I loved that and the dedication and then going home to my husband and my dogs. I feel pretty balanced about everything and know that whatever happens and whatever path is laid out for me, I’ll be happy. I’m not complacent; I’m just at ease with where I am in my life and in th
is process. I have the drive to get back for the Olympics and I feel like there is something left for me to achieve on the soccer field, but I’m happy with my development as a person too.
Will you try and keep yourself in the mix for the next cycle?
I can’t say honestly whether I will or won’t. It really depends on how my body holds up. I want to play in the league for sure, but I have a lot that I want to do outside of soccer and I think there are other aspects of my personality, like my passions, that I want to explore and whether that’s in business. I just think that there is other stuff that I want to do. It’s a matter of timing. It’s a matter of when I want to actually embark on those things in my life and head down a different career path. I’m going to play it day by day. Look at my goal and here is this big thing that I want to accomplish but then take it day by day because I can’t control it.
How about some advice for a young player that finds herself struggling with injury?
The only advice I would say is that you make sure you set your long-term goals and you set your day-to-day goals and just live in the moment. Live in the day. If you get overwhelmed that you have three months of rehab ahead of you or whatever that time might be, don’t think about that. Think about what you have to do today to get a little bit better, a little bit stronger, and a little bit closer to that goal of getting back on the field. Just decide that that is what you want. Decide if it is worth your energy and your time to put yourself through it. Is that your goal?
I attended training at Georgetown University about eight hours ago and I am still not dry. In fact, I'm not sure I will ever be dry again. It is ridiculously wet and unseasonably cold here in DC. The practice was light as expected the day before match so there is nothing earth shattering to report. Nichole Barnhart, just off knee surgery on Tuesday, gamely observed training from the sidelines with Aly Wagner. I spoke with Aly recently about her recovery and chances to make the Olympic roster and will post that interview soon.
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