Persistence, or a lack of it, can either make or break any career. More often than not, the latter occurs.
But redshirt senior Emili Tassler has embraced the adversities she’s encountered and made persistence her signature attribute in the Wolfpack program.
Tassler has endured five surgeries on her left leg, three involving her knee and the other two for her calf since her first injury in 2007.
“My senior year of high school I tore my ACL,” Tassler said. “Then, my first year at N.C . State, I had a meniscus repair. They stitched up my meniscus, so I was out for that whole season. Then, my sophomore year, I had ACL reconstruction again and they did a meniscus repair there too.
“So then my real junior year I played the whole season, ” Tassler said. “Then, over the summer I was having issues with my calf and we couldn’t figure out what was wrong. We figured out I had compartment syndrome. So then I had a compartment release in the summer and that helped for a bit.”
According to Tassler , compartment syndrome consists of having a tightened fascia around the calf that forces it to cramp.
“Basically, you have a fascia, which is the band that covers your muscle,” Tassler said. “Apparently, he said that mine was really tight on my muscle and it was causing my calf to cramp and not feel good so they went in and released it.”
Despite these setbacks that forced her to sit out her first two years at State and only play 13 games during her redshirt junior year, she has fought back to become a regular starter for the Wolfpack this season, ranking second for the Pack in assists and fourth in steals.
Stephanie Aronson , assistant athletic trainer for the women’s basketball program, has been working with Tassler since her arrival on campus on conditioning and strength during her recovery periods.
“We’ve done everything,” Aronson said. “When she came to N.C . State, she had torn her ACL in high school so one of the biggest things was taking her through jump training programs and just a lot of lower body strengthening, agility type of stuff that we’ve done with her just to maintain great strength so that we can protect the knee.”
According to Aronson , Tassler has maintained a positive attitude throughout years of injury and rehabilitation and it ‘ s manifested itself through her play in games.
“I think that you can tell by the way Emili plays that she has the same attitude towards her rehab the past several years,” Aronson said. “It’s hard for anybody who’s gone through that much injury, that many surgeries, to continue to keep a good attitude and that’s what she’s done for her career here.”
After going through so many setbacks during her career at State, according to Tassler , her love for the game and the team is what keeps her motivated to keep moving forward.
“Just being able to play at all is exciting, so starting is awesome,” Tassler said. “Just being something to help the team is great. I love basketball. I love my teammates. It’s fun to be in practice everyday; I love all of the coaches. It’s awesome.”
