Watlington eager to showcase her talents following two knee injuries
Adversity is nothing new to Alana Watlington. Battling through a difficult situation has been her normal for the past two years. The class of 2021 middle blocker suffered a torn ACL in her left leg during the 2018 prep season…
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Continue ReadingAdversity is nothing new to Alana Watlington.
Battling through a difficult situation has been her normal for the past two years.
The class of 2021 middle blocker suffered a torn ACL in her left leg during the 2018 prep season and then suffered the same injury in her right leg during the 2019 club season.
Now, as her road to recovery is nearly complete, volleyball has been forced to come to a halt. Through it all, Watlington has been able to keep a positive and determined mindset.
“I have learned that I am pretty resilient,” Watlington said. “If I can go through this, I feel like I can probably go through anything and still remain mentally and physically strong.”
A member of Clarkston High School and Legacy Volleyball Club, it’s been tough for her coaches to watch her go through such a difficult time, but the way she’s handled it has been inspiring for them.
“She’s definitely had a great attitude about the whole experience,” Clarkston coach Kelly Pinner said. “She’s had the mindset that she is going to come back and come back strong. Her goal has been to be ready for a big senior year and she’s remained positive throughout both injuries, which I am sure wouldn’t be easy. She never felt sorry for herself this whole time.”
Alana WatlingtonWatlington was part of the Clarkston varsity team in 2018 as a sophomore and was able to play into early October before suffering the injury to her left leg. She was hitting on the outside, landed just on her left leg, which gave away immediately. She had 100 percent tear of her ACL and a slight tear of her meniscus.
Prior to the injury, she was one of Clarkston’s leaders. She had 160 kills over 85 sets while hitting an impressive .378. She also had 55 aces and 62 blocks.
“She’s a tremendous athlete that’s very versatile,” Pinner said. “She’s the kind of player you could put in all three positions on the front row and she is going to be able to excel. I think she could play right, middle our outside for anybody. She’s a great blocker and was improving her ball control a lot before the injuries came about.”
Watlington rehabbed her left knee for 7-8 months and then joined on with her club team at Legacy midway through the club season. Competing at the AAU Nationals in June of 2019, Watlington was playing the right side and jumped to hit a ball. As she landed, she was already beginning the process to run to her next location and it twisted her right knee. The result was a 100 percent tear of her ACL while also tearing part of her MCL and meniscus.
“As soon as it happened, I was just laying on the court and saying, ‘why, why,’” Watlington said. “I just couldn’t believe it was happening again.”
The impact was also felt on her coaches, seeing her ability to play taken away again so quickly.
”Alana was engaged and uplifting. Somehow, this kid managed to keep a smile on her face and a positive mentality the entire year,” Legacy coach Lauren Duquette said. “Even after she finally got cleared to play in AAU nationals, she played two points and ended with a kill and then had her second torn ACL. Alana was incredible through her first ACL surgery. She didn’t miss a single team event, practice or a tournament. She was focused, attentive and energetic through the whole process. She was our hype man and created energy when our players on the court couldn’t.”
Watlington had such a short time playing before having to go through another lengthy rehab process. It was hard for her to wrap her head around it initially.
“I was really sad after the doctor told me it was torn. I sat on the couch for about a week and didn’t do anything,” she said. “After surgery, I got a better mindset. I just knew it wasn’t doing me any good to sit on the couch and be upset all the time.”
The right knee injury forced her to miss the entire 2019 prep season at Clarkston. The Wolves were a top-10 team in Division 1 most of the season without her and could have been a state contender with her on the floor.
“Even throughout all of this, Alana was at all the practice and games and showing great leadership,” Pinner said. “She’s been a fantastic teammate and very vocal. She really has everything you want in an athlete, both mentally and physically.”
It has been eight months since Watlington had surgery on her right knee and the timetable for her return to action was around nine months. She has began running and some moderate jumping, but was hoping to join her club team on the floor in the coming weeks. With the club season currently suspended by the COVID-19 outbreak, it is giving Watlington a little more time to get both knees strong and healthy.
“My physical therapists have been working with both my knees to get them strong,” Watlington said. “My left knee still wasn’t quite 100 percent when I tore my right knee, so we have been working to get both of them to full strength before I play again.”
Watlington is hoping she will get a chance to showcase her skills and salvage something of the club season, as these injuries have impacted her recruitment and not allowed her to display all she can do on a volleyball floor.
“Recruiting has been tough because I just don’t have a lot of film showing what I can do,” Watlington said. “Most of my tape is from when I was 15 and these college coaches haven’t really been able to see what I am capable of.”
Through close to two years of knee rehab, Watlington has had a lot of time to picture what a full season of volleyball would look like.
“I’ve thought about it a lot and I just want to get back on the court and play like I know I can,” Watlington said. “I am a little nervous about jumping, but I think once I do it in a match or a practice a few times that I will be able to get over that fear pretty quickly.”
Pinner and Clarkston are knocking on wood that they will have Watlington in the mix for the 2020 prep season. The Wolves return a large core of their production from the 2019 season and could add another big finisher at the net to make a push in the Division 1 picture.
“Knowing the type of kid she is, she’s not going to be the type of player that is afraid of getting hurt,” Pinner said. “She’s going to go all-out and give everything she has the minute she steps on the floor. As a coach, you just really want to see her get that opportunity to showcase what she can do. She’s a great kid that deserves to have that opportunity.”
One thing is for certain, Watlington will have a lot of people rooting for her success over the next 12 months.
“One thing I know is that she will be an asset on or off the court. She’s a leader, outspoken, loyal, upbeat and has a great relationship with her teammates and coaches,” Duquette said. “Alana is a very special young girl. I’m proud to have coached her.”