Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Falter's adversity helps prime her for senior campaign
8/14/2020 10:06:00 AM | Women's Soccer, BRAA
Falter overcomes five surgeries in five years to prime her for a big senior campaign
Murfreesboro, Tenn.—Injuries. It's one of the most unfortunate parts of sports. Sometimes, they're unavoidable and can derail some of the most promising careers. Other times, athletes use injuries as an opportunity to build on themselves and overcome adversity to reach unprecedented heights. They endure all the hard afternoons when they feel defeated, wincing in pain as they go through the grueling rehab process because in the end, they know it will all be worth the fight. Middle Tennessee forward Maddi Falter is a perfect example of what it means to win that fight.
During the Region cup championship in 2015 while Falter was playing for the Tennessee Soccer Club, she was going for a loose ball and felt her legs quickly get swept out from underneath her. It was a clean slide-tackle, one of the most fundamental parts of soccer, but unfortunately for Falter, she looked down and immediately knew that she had torn her ACL. Just a junior in high school at the time, the Murfreesboro native would have to start down the long journey to recovery, a journey she had no idea would last the next five years and require five more surgeries on both her right and left knees over that span.
"Looking back on the first surgery I had when I was a junior getting ready to be a senior in high school, I wasn't discouraged because it was easy to bounce back because I was younger," Falter said. "I know I'm still young now, but over the years things have become a lot harder physically since that first surgery."
As aforementioned, the recovery process for Falter was far from over. After she completed a successful travel career and finished up her time at Riverdale High School, Falter committed to Ole Miss. She caught on to the college game quickly, becoming one of just two freshmen on the team to appear in every match of the season, starting in five of them and totaling 688 minutes with a goal and an assist. What you couldn't see on the stat sheet was perhaps the most telling stat of them all for Falter. For each and every one of those 688 minutes played, and the many hours spent working out and conditioning off the field, she battled through a torn meniscus and had to have another surgery in the offseason to repair it.
That second surgery wasn't all she would have to endure in her time in Oxford. During a club match in the summer, Falter's knee just quit working and she couldn't put any weight on her leg. She took a medical redshirt in 2017 to have an elective surgery on her A.L.L (Anterior lateral ligament), a rare procedure that usually isn't performed because of the low probability of it actually repairing the ligament. To compound it all, she was having to climb this mountain on her own nearly 300 miles away from her friends and family.
"It was really hard being away from my friends and family," Falter said. "When I had my third surgery, I was on crutches for almost three months. I was having to take care of myself, I couldn't walk, I couldn't drive anywhere, and it was horrible."
The agony of everything she'd gone through over the past two years made Falter consider giving up on the game that she loved her entire life. She was going to be content with sitting on the bench and becoming a cheerleader for her teammates, helping in any other way that she could. It was a decision that left her in a tough spot, emotionally.
That's when Middle Tennessee came calling back to the former Murfreesboro All-District standout. Blue Raider Head Coach Aston Rhoden actually first took interest in Falter when she was just a freshman at Riverdale High School. Over the years, he was always checking in on her, seeing how things were going not only on the field, but in her life. One afternoon, Falter picked up her phone and heard her former travel team coach Ronnie Woodard's voice. Woodard told her that Middle Tennessee was still interested in her, and it piqued Falter's interest to eventually transfer back to her hometown school where she could start her playing career over again.
"Maddi's always been someone that can score goals and has been someone that can change the game in a moment, and you don't find that in everyone, much less a player from a smaller city like Murfreesboro," said Middle Tennessee Head Coach Aston Rhoden. "She's a very mature and team oriented person. She fit what we needed and we knew her from her time growing up, so her transition onto the team was very smooth."
Halfway through the 2018 campaign, that smooth transition would turn into a not-so-smooth one when her knee gave out from underneath her again. The ACL was still partially torn. Once again she'd have to go under the knife to try and get physically ready for the next season.
But, just like at Ole Miss, one knee surgery wasn't destined to be all for Falter, as she tore her other meniscus in 2019, making it her fifth surgery over the past five seasons.
Physically, there's no question the she's been battered about as much as anyone, athlete or not, could take and continue to keep on living their everyday life, let alone play division one soccer. But the Murfreesboro native continued to make the most of the hand she was dealt.
Since arriving at MTSU, Falter has hardly come off the field. After undergoing five different knee surgeries, that in it of itself is an almost unheard of feat to accomplish. In her two seasons as a Blue Raider, she's started in 36 games and has tallied eight goals and five assists, also getting significant playing time as a defender. Her 21 points over the past two years is good for third highest on the team. Perhaps the biggest impact she's had can't be measured on a stat sheet, however.
"When Maddi first came to us from Ole Miss, I can remember saying 'Man, this kid is tough,' because she had that burning desire to continue on in her career," Rhoden said. I think having our coaching and training staff and most importantly Maddi herself, we were able to trust each other and trust Maddie about taking care of herself. Having that group of people around made that process a lot easier and it's helped her contribute and score a lot of goals and win a lot of games. I'm so happy for her because she's gone through quite a bit but she's still living her dream of playing college soccer."
The time she's spent in rehab with trainer Allison Ness, who she considers a second mother, the time spent with her family being back in Murfreesboro again, and the leadership, camaraderie and inspiration she provides for her teammates are the most important things that she brings to the Middle Tennessee squad.
"I knew through all of these injuries and surgeries that each one was going to suck more than the other ones," Falter said. "I think each time I had a surgery, I looked at it as motivation. I know it sounds crazy, but I always looked at it as trying to be better than I was before, not just for me but for my teammates."
There's no question that Falter's career thus far has been hard. She's had to fight through some tough luck. She almost gave up, but in the end, she persevered. With each injury, it made her a stronger person and she came out a better player every time.
"I know if none of this happened I wouldn't be hurting every day, but I wouldn't change what's happened for anything because I know it's helped me become the player and person that I am."
If Murfreesboro, Tennessee, ever needed a little bit of inspiration in these uncertain times, it doesn't need to look much further than the fifth-year senior forward that wears number 13 for the Blue Raider soccer team.
Anthony Fiorella is a writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @a_fiorella74 and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
During the Region cup championship in 2015 while Falter was playing for the Tennessee Soccer Club, she was going for a loose ball and felt her legs quickly get swept out from underneath her. It was a clean slide-tackle, one of the most fundamental parts of soccer, but unfortunately for Falter, she looked down and immediately knew that she had torn her ACL. Just a junior in high school at the time, the Murfreesboro native would have to start down the long journey to recovery, a journey she had no idea would last the next five years and require five more surgeries on both her right and left knees over that span.
"Looking back on the first surgery I had when I was a junior getting ready to be a senior in high school, I wasn't discouraged because it was easy to bounce back because I was younger," Falter said. "I know I'm still young now, but over the years things have become a lot harder physically since that first surgery."
As aforementioned, the recovery process for Falter was far from over. After she completed a successful travel career and finished up her time at Riverdale High School, Falter committed to Ole Miss. She caught on to the college game quickly, becoming one of just two freshmen on the team to appear in every match of the season, starting in five of them and totaling 688 minutes with a goal and an assist. What you couldn't see on the stat sheet was perhaps the most telling stat of them all for Falter. For each and every one of those 688 minutes played, and the many hours spent working out and conditioning off the field, she battled through a torn meniscus and had to have another surgery in the offseason to repair it.
That second surgery wasn't all she would have to endure in her time in Oxford. During a club match in the summer, Falter's knee just quit working and she couldn't put any weight on her leg. She took a medical redshirt in 2017 to have an elective surgery on her A.L.L (Anterior lateral ligament), a rare procedure that usually isn't performed because of the low probability of it actually repairing the ligament. To compound it all, she was having to climb this mountain on her own nearly 300 miles away from her friends and family.
"It was really hard being away from my friends and family," Falter said. "When I had my third surgery, I was on crutches for almost three months. I was having to take care of myself, I couldn't walk, I couldn't drive anywhere, and it was horrible."
The agony of everything she'd gone through over the past two years made Falter consider giving up on the game that she loved her entire life. She was going to be content with sitting on the bench and becoming a cheerleader for her teammates, helping in any other way that she could. It was a decision that left her in a tough spot, emotionally.
That's when Middle Tennessee came calling back to the former Murfreesboro All-District standout. Blue Raider Head Coach Aston Rhoden actually first took interest in Falter when she was just a freshman at Riverdale High School. Over the years, he was always checking in on her, seeing how things were going not only on the field, but in her life. One afternoon, Falter picked up her phone and heard her former travel team coach Ronnie Woodard's voice. Woodard told her that Middle Tennessee was still interested in her, and it piqued Falter's interest to eventually transfer back to her hometown school where she could start her playing career over again.
"Maddi's always been someone that can score goals and has been someone that can change the game in a moment, and you don't find that in everyone, much less a player from a smaller city like Murfreesboro," said Middle Tennessee Head Coach Aston Rhoden. "She's a very mature and team oriented person. She fit what we needed and we knew her from her time growing up, so her transition onto the team was very smooth."
Halfway through the 2018 campaign, that smooth transition would turn into a not-so-smooth one when her knee gave out from underneath her again. The ACL was still partially torn. Once again she'd have to go under the knife to try and get physically ready for the next season.
But, just like at Ole Miss, one knee surgery wasn't destined to be all for Falter, as she tore her other meniscus in 2019, making it her fifth surgery over the past five seasons.
Physically, there's no question the she's been battered about as much as anyone, athlete or not, could take and continue to keep on living their everyday life, let alone play division one soccer. But the Murfreesboro native continued to make the most of the hand she was dealt.
Since arriving at MTSU, Falter has hardly come off the field. After undergoing five different knee surgeries, that in it of itself is an almost unheard of feat to accomplish. In her two seasons as a Blue Raider, she's started in 36 games and has tallied eight goals and five assists, also getting significant playing time as a defender. Her 21 points over the past two years is good for third highest on the team. Perhaps the biggest impact she's had can't be measured on a stat sheet, however.
"When Maddi first came to us from Ole Miss, I can remember saying 'Man, this kid is tough,' because she had that burning desire to continue on in her career," Rhoden said. I think having our coaching and training staff and most importantly Maddi herself, we were able to trust each other and trust Maddie about taking care of herself. Having that group of people around made that process a lot easier and it's helped her contribute and score a lot of goals and win a lot of games. I'm so happy for her because she's gone through quite a bit but she's still living her dream of playing college soccer."
The time she's spent in rehab with trainer Allison Ness, who she considers a second mother, the time spent with her family being back in Murfreesboro again, and the leadership, camaraderie and inspiration she provides for her teammates are the most important things that she brings to the Middle Tennessee squad.
"I knew through all of these injuries and surgeries that each one was going to suck more than the other ones," Falter said. "I think each time I had a surgery, I looked at it as motivation. I know it sounds crazy, but I always looked at it as trying to be better than I was before, not just for me but for my teammates."
There's no question that Falter's career thus far has been hard. She's had to fight through some tough luck. She almost gave up, but in the end, she persevered. With each injury, it made her a stronger person and she came out a better player every time.
"I know if none of this happened I wouldn't be hurting every day, but I wouldn't change what's happened for anything because I know it's helped me become the player and person that I am."
If Murfreesboro, Tennessee, ever needed a little bit of inspiration in these uncertain times, it doesn't need to look much further than the fifth-year senior forward that wears number 13 for the Blue Raider soccer team.
Anthony Fiorella is a writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @a_fiorella74 and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
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