Alyssa Spady is the pure embodiment of poise, determination, positivity, and inspiration. 

Through her basketball career, she has found importance in being patient with her body, controlling the controllable, and being kind to everyone–including herself!

I asked her a few questions about her history with basketball, her relationship with her body after a major injury, and how her athletic perspective has changed over the course of her youth, high school, and college careers. As my dear friend, I can say that Alyssa is not only a great athlete, but a brilliant, beautiful, and loving soul as well.

How’d you start playing basketball?

So I’ve had the amazing ability to grow up just surrounded by basketball. My dad played in college and my mom played during her younger years as well so from a young age I remember watching basketball on the television or having one of those mini-hoops to just play on. But it wasn’t just my parents that had a huge impact on my passion for the game, I have two older cousins who I grew up with and I remember going to their high school and eventually college games. So to constantly be in that element of basketball just made me so excited to start playing for the rec league when I turned 8. 

What’s your go-to pregame ritual?

So it’s definitely changed over the years and has gotten to be something that is focused heavily on my mind rather than my body. I used to be someone who had a specific pregame meal growing up but once I got to college I realized the importance of being mentally prepared for the game. Now I have a specific playlist that I play when we’re about 30 minutes out from the place that we are playing and I just try to clear my head and get in a zone. I am really awful at visualizing anything so instead I choose to just connect with myself kind of check in on my body and also take time to just go over who I could be covering and weaknesses that I could find in the opponent. 

When you got injured, what was the first thing that ran through your mind? How did you overcome an injury as major as a torn ACL?

I had knee problems in the past so when I went down I thought that it was just me being a clutz and my knees acting up. But the longer I just tried to recover the longer I thought through the way I landed and twisted which eventually brought me to the early realization that I had probably done some sort of damage to my ACL or meniscus. I think the first thing that went through my mind was just disappointment in myself. I had worked incredibly hard in the off-season coming into my sophomore year with such a focus on bettering my commitment and execution to my lifting regiments as well as conditioning. So when I came into that season I was in the best shape of my athletic career. But when I went down I suddenly had these thoughts of what I did wrong over that past off-season and even going into the regular season. You know, the ‘what ifs’ of if I had maybe lifted a little more or stretched a little better. 

The biggest thing I had to overcome with an injury like a torn ACL was being patient with myself and my body. I had not only just torn my ACL but had small tears in my meniscus as well which meant that my rehab would be different from a normal one. In the beginning I hated how I couldn’t bend my knee the way I wanted to because I had done it before the surgery and now this thing is supposed to be fixed so why isn’t it working properly? To make matters worse I actually had a second surgery because the scar tissue had grown at such a high rate that it wouldn’t allow my knee to get past 90 degrees and prevented my quad muscle from activating. So I essentially got as close to going back to square one as I could so I had to be off of my leg and I couldn’t do some of the normal things that some at my month progression should have been able to do. Having that really taught me that my body is going to what it wants when it wants so I need to just listen to that. There is this weird thing that I did where I would just compare my recovery to those of the average athlete my age or other teammates I have now or had in the past. I eventually just stopped asking questions of those people and stopped looking it up because it just wasn’t going to change how my body decided it wanted to heal. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t open to having discussions about it but I really tried to limit them. 

When you’re feeling overwhelmed or unmotivated, what are three positive phrases you think of in order to restart your mind? 

1. 1. Control the controllables, I spoke about patience in the last question and this little saying goes right with that. I have a terrible habit of trying to control and schedule things down to the minute, with the ACL injury I learned to just let go and let the universe kind of take its course. 
   2. Do each day all that can be done that day. I have a great habit of overbooking myself because I hate saying no. This quote has kind of forced me to look at the things I commit myself too and just say if it isn’t done then there is always tomorrow. I am someone who will overwork myself and just think ‘this is great, I am so committed’ but then I have no time to myself and my days become this endless cycle of work. So I remember this and tell myself to step away from whatever it is and just get it done tomorrow. 
   3. “Attitude is a choice. What you think you can do, whether positive or negative, confident or scared will most likely happen” – Pat Summitt. I love this quote and another big thing for me is having the right attitude when things get tough. I think that dwelling in the negatives or thinking you will fail at something only speaks it into existence and leads to it. That’s not to say you can’t doubt yourself or just have days where you don’t feel your most confident self. But when faced with the opportunity to pull yourself out of that changing your attitude is that first step. 

What are some other activities you like to do to get your body moving besides basketball?

With quarantine and being stuck in the house and now my apartment at school I’ve really had to take this question quite seriously. On days when I’m not doing basketball I try to get a walk or a bike ride in, depending on the weather. Being back on campus, walking has been a really great method for me to step away from my work and the world honestly, and just check in on myself. 

Does your jersey number have any significance? If you had to pick any other number, what would it be and why? 

So I have this thing where I change my jersey number each time I move into a different aspect of my basketball career. When I was younger I wore 32 and then once I got to high school I wore 33 and now in college I wear 31. For me it just signifies a new beginning and a fresh slate. Aside from that my number coincides with some of my favorite players. I wore 32 when I was younger because of Magic Johnson. I wore 33 in high school because it was Kobe’s high school number as well as Larry Bird’s. And now I wear 31 because it was Cheryl and Reggie Miller’s numbers. I don’t think I could pick another number besides the three I’ve listed because I’d run out of players hahaha. 

Obviously, after recovering from an injury, it can be daunting for an athlete, especially in basketball, to get back on the court and push your limits. What was going through your mind on your first day back post-surgery? 

The first day back post-surgery actually playing basketball was about a month ago. I had been practicing at home at the local courts but really no formal practices or workout. I thought I was going to be super apprehensive with the whole situation, but I wasn’t, surprisingly. I think most of it could be chalked up to just pure adrenaline and excitement to get back on that court with my teammates. There are times where I am just more aware of what I’m doing. I went up for a layup the other day and came down differently and a little off balance and it did kind of spook me, but at the end of the day I understand that this ACL and my body are strong and the rebuilding process that I have been taking part in is going to ensure that I stay healthy. 

How has your sport shaped you?

This sport especially after the ACL injury has taught me to just appreciate the little things and never take anything for granted. I feel like sometimes athletes can be concerned with the bigger picture things like stats or championship, and while I am constantly thinking about ways that I can be better statistically and help my team get to a championship, I get more out of the great pass I make for a teammate to hit a great shot. I just enjoy feeling and being a part of the energy during our league championship or NCAAs that the women around me generate. Having basketball taken away from me for all of last year was tough but I think it made me into a better person. There is nothing in life that is guaranteed, we can see that with the ongoing pandemic and all that has been taken away. I was anticipating this to be my comeback season but that turns out that it wasn’t the case. But at the end of the day I still have the ability to be on the court with my teammates and still play the game I love so that in itself is just a blessing.

Interview conducted by Lauren O’Dell.