Beyond the Player: Hanna Wise

Photo by Héctor Gutiérrez

Sometimes, life throws you a curveball.

10:56 pm, February 21st, 2015, Facebook messenger lit up on my phone, “I tore my patella tendon so I had knee surgery in the fall.” The message was simple, cut and dry, very Hanna Wise. A senior in high school trying to find a college roommate, I don't think she knew in that moment how many more times we would be having a similar conversation. She’ll admit she likes to be in control of the situations around her, but how does someone so regimented and focused try and control the uncontrollable, whatever that may be?

Born and raised in Saratoga Springs, New York just like her parents, Hanna grew up immersed in athletics that were always supported by her family. Her mother was a softball player and her father, who she credits getting her drive and intimidation from, is an alumni of Boston University football. It was her aunt and uncle who gifted Hanna her first lacrosse stick. Both competitive collegiate lacrosse players themselves, they gave Hanna her unique love for the game. “I’ve basically always had a stick in my hand. Throughout middle school, high school, and now college.” In middle school, specifically 7th grade, Hanna had her first injury that would eventually be corrected with surgery sophomore year of high school. Shortly after was her patella tendon. “Those were both major surgeries in high school I had to overcome.” Leaving high school behind her, Hanna looked to start a new chapter of lacrosse at Sacred Heart University fall of 2015.

I was healthy, I was ready to go."

I’ve listened to Hanna tell this story multiple times. One on one to me, to our friends, even in front of the entire Sacred Heart Athletic Department. Every time she recounts these memories, her voice starts to shake. It’s rare to see her like this, because she never lets herself show her emotions, but it’s obvious how it still affects her to this day. When her freshman season started in the spring of 2016, Hanna didn't last a full week of regular practice. Her entire left ankle and leg blew out. She couldn't feel her leg, and it wasn't moving.

Photo by Héctor Gutiérrez

Turns out the trauma from a sprain in her ankle, ran up the side of her calf, and the muscle constricted around a nerve that ran back down into her foot. No mobility to walk. The following week, she went to what would be her third surgery, this time alone.

My freshman year, I had a fever and made my mom come to Sacred Heart just to take me to an urgent care. With parents roughly 3 hours away, Hanna went to all her doctors appointments alone. She talked with her doctors about the next course of action to try and save her foot with her parents on speaker phone. “It could've been much worse. Worst case scenario I would never regain mobility in my foot. I would never be able to play lacrosse again.”

On top of the pressure to adjust to freshman year of college, Hanna was dealing with classes, being home sick, watching her teammates play while she sat, and physical therapy every day to get back on the field. It always came back to lacrosse. “All I had to do was fight in order to get back out on the field because that is all I wanted to do. I wasn't going to let my career end my freshman year of college. I knew there was more for me to do.”

If I can overcome this, I can overcome just about anything."

Photo by Héctor Gutiérrez

Hanna was right.

She spent so much time in recovery because it was something she could control. After not touching the field her entire freshman year, Hanna Wise spent the next three years being a standout on attack. She always seemed to be in the right place at the right time to score.

Seeing the ball come to you is almost as good as seeing the ball go into the net."

Always having an impressive amount of goals each season, Hanna never ceased to amaze me, her teammates, or any spectator during a game. A powerful force, she uses her intimidation factor to her benefit, because she knows it will always be a part of her.

Seeming to have hopped over the hurdles of lacrosse physically, there’s still the mental curveball of the game, especially the years that featured a losing record. “When I have a bad game, it affects me mentally. I’m very hard on myself and I wish I could change that, kind of letting things roll off my shoulders a little bit more.”

Photo by Héctor Gutiérrez

I don't have a lot of emotions, I don't cry a lot, but lacrosse triggers me."

Her final lacrosse season she started as a hopeful senior captain, but found out she had a torn labrum in her left shoulder. This was her fourth injury that would result in having a fourth surgery. In true Hanna Wise fashion, she played the entire season with the injury, and planned on having that surgery to repair it few days after graduation.

When I asked her more about this season, I could see her mood change. I know what’s coming next, what game she’s thinking of because I was there. “There’s games I’ll come off the field and I will break down and tears will come out of my eyes. Lacrosse makes me cry more than anything else and that’s odd because I love the game. I think that is why I get so emotional.” Even days after a bad game, she thinks back to certain plays, and what she could have done differently on the field to change something. One thing’s for sure, she knows being hard on herself is what makes her better.

Photo by Héctor Gutiérrez

Anyone would think that these obstacles would have hindered her game. Despite everything I’ve said, you’ll never expect what her biggest challenge is. The curveball for Hanna was never her injuries, and it was never losing a game or a losing record. I expected it to be about her shoulder, but it wasn’t. “It’s figuring out what I want to do with my life and how I’m going to get there. I’ve dealt with injuries, this is just another surgery, it’s going to be challenging but I know what to expect. I’m more worried about figuring out and putting the puzzle pieces of my life together.”

For the first time in her life, Criminal Justice major Hanna Wise does not have a plan. And you all know how she feels when she doesn't have a plan. She’s fully aware of her upcoming surgery and recovering, it’s what comes after that, what she doesn’t know, that’s freaking her out. She’s getting better with the fact that she doesn't have an answer for the future.

Photo by Héctor Gutiérrez

I'm not just a body floating through life, I have a mission."

Photo by Héctor Gutiérrez

That's what life's about. Just figuring it out."

Photo by Héctor Gutiérrez

After I grew up in such a large lacrosse community on Long Island, even trying to play and failing miserably, I thought I would've gotten tired of the game. I even tried to avoid it freshman year of college which I obviously failed at because Hanna Wise became my person.

Watching Hanna play these past few years brought an excitement for the game I never thought I had. It’s been an adventure to watch her play. To see her finish a goal and drop her stick in the most theatrical way would fire me up all the way in the stands.

I would ask her after every game if she could hear me, and she would always reply saying I was the only thing she could hear.

Understandable, I’m pretty loud.

Next year, Hanna may not be Lacrosse Hanna, but I know she’s going to be more than okay. She has the love and support of her friends and family, and I know she’s going to be happy to be home because all people from Saratoga really love that place.

One of the last things she said during our interview was that she may not know what she’s going to be doing next winter. Right now it looks grey, and it’s going to take some time to put color to it.

I wish you could see Hanna Wise through my eyes. She’s tough, resilient, and I know she won’t let the unclear future prevent her from rising to the top and finding that color.

Hanna Wise, your future looks good.

Photo by Héctor Gutiérrez