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By: Kate Harman
Cat Polisano wanted to be the first one to 10 points.
That’s what she was thinking to herself as she dribbled the basketball. She had to be the first one to 10.
Looking back, the Germantown Academy (9-2) guard doesn’t quite know why she was rushing it. She had already scored 9 points during the Patriots’ 1-on-1 drill.
Nine was good. Probably better than any of her teammates at that point in practice. But all she needed was one more.
It was November 18, 2016 – the official start to the season – and Polisano was above the right block in the back-right corner of the big gym just off Morris Road.
That’s when her knee went out. It didn’t seem like a catastrophic injury at the time, the now senior said. It just felt like she banged something. So, Polisano walked herself down to the athletic trainer – albeit with a small limp – and even drove herself home from practice that day, assuming she’d be fine.
It wasn’t just a banged-up knee; however, she had torn her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
Gone was her junior season. Gone were all of the high expectations she had set for herself before practice started – goals coach Sherri Retif told her were hard yet attainable after the Fordham recruit’s breakout sophomore campaign. Goals she would have to put on hold for 365 days.
At least, so she thought.
Despite the season ending injury, Polisano was still nominated to be captain by her teammates, a move that sent the room into tears when it was announced. The gesture meant a lot to Polisano and helped her still feel like a big part of the team, even if she’d spend the entirety of each game on the bench.
“It was always hard,” senior forward, Alexa Naessens, said of seeing Polisano sidelined. “You watch her go through rehab and she was working so hard – so I knew she would have a great comeback. Especially the first few practices back this year she came back so strong even though she couldn’t scrimmage right away, she couldn’t do contact, she was working so hard. Working on her shot, defense. I think that is why I had so much trust in her coming back this season.”
Before she could get to that point, though, before the rehabilitation, Polisano threw herself into other things. She promised herself that she would do really well in school, hang out with her friends more, and dedicate more time to watching Netflix.
And so, she did.
Polisano rewatched all 9 seasons and 188 episodes of One Tree Hill, she spent time with her friends and focused on her studies.
How did the competitive player - the same one who wanted to be the first to score 10 points in a make it, take it drill – manage to slow down, relax, and not overdo it during physical therapy?
Polisano, laughed. She doesn’t really know – it wasn’t like her, that’s for sure.
She just knew it was what had to be done.
“I wanted to let things go through the process, to make sure it was perfect by the time I came back,” Polisano said. “I know there is life after basketball – there was no point in rushing it. Little by little I got better. I still pushed myself but it was do a little bit of this, bend the knee a little bit farther. I did what felt right.”
The approach paid off.
“She had a break out game against Abington,” Retif said. “A steal right at the end to ice the game for us, clutch free throws. She is not fully back but she is there and it is just a really good feeling.
“I told her,” the longtime coach added. “I see a little bit of your brilliance coming back – we just have to be patient.”
This November, Polisano wasted no time.
She walked into the gym for the first day of practice and went right to the spot.
Right corner of the gym. Just above the right block.
Polisano had been thinking of the moment for a while, planning it out. She knew she had to get it over with, the mental aspect of going back to the scene of the injury – didn’t want it hanging over her every move, every practice.
Instead of dwelling on the past - and the months of basketball lost - she stood there and reflected on what happened.
And just like that it was, “Yea. All right. Let’s go.”
First to 10.
@Ka_Harman