Senior Maddy Snyder has been hard at work this off season. She’s been running with her club team to strengthen her cardio. She’s been doing squats and using the leg press machines to build her strength. She’s been doing all she can to return to from an ACL tear that has kept her sidelined since April.

She has recently been more active after being released by her physical therapist, encouraging her to train and improve on her own. Snyder watches her progress each and everyday and uses this to push her to be better than where she was at before. The people close to Snyder in her life also help motivate her to overcome the obstacle of her tear.

“She’s always working hard,” Assistant Varsity Coach Larry Scheller said. “You know she’ll put in a good effort. It’s fantastic and it’s what every coach wants to see.”

While she trains, Snyder recalls the tear that occurred in the spring of this year clearly.

In a game against Fort Zumwalt West, Snyder and a player from the opposing team both went for the ball. While Snyder’s foot was planted, the opposing player hit her from the side, causing her knee to bend while her leg was straight. Snyder remembers the collision and the pop the followed. She immediately felt an intense pain in her knee, and dropped to the ground unable to walk.

     “I heard something pop and I knew something was wrong,” Snyder said.

Snyder waited patiently on the field, lying helpless as the trainer came onto the field and brought her off on the golf cart. Kelly Braudis, who is a good friend of Snyder’s, knew right away what happened and knew it wasn’t good.

An ACL, or the anterior crucial ligament is what holds the knee to the leg bone which, when torn, detaches from either the knee or the leg bone causing a person’s knee to give out and lessens one’s movement of the leg. Tearing an ACL is one of the most common injuries an athlete can get, and if it is serious, an athlete requires surgery if they want to continue physical activities. The American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine states that over 150,000 cases of torn ACLs occur each year making it one of the most common sports injuries. According to Snyder, tears occur so often due to weaker or not properly trained knees. She currently has made training her knee to prevent another tear a primary focus during this off season and recommends that others strengthen their knee to prevent tears as well.

“If you’re going through the process just keep doing your physical therapy and after you are done with physical therapy keep strengthening it, keep working on it,” Snyder said.

This upcoming season will be Snyder’s last for North but she is excited for the future. Being out of play for eight months has also built up the excitement because she is looking forward to playing together with a team again. After high school, Snyder is hoping to play for Maryville University. According to Snyder, scouts from the college will be coming out to see some of her games so she has been making sure to get back to 100 percent to prepare for that. But currently, she is wanting to make the most out of her final year with FHN.

“Since it is my last season I’m going to maybe make it memorable and just enjoy [the season] and not get mad over losses, but just enjoy the time I have with people younger than me and my coaches and everyone else,” Snyder said.