O’Brien: Ted Falkenhayn’s bittersweet Loyola football season

Loyola’s Ted Falkenhayn says that the decision was his back in November. It wasn’t an easy choice. He could quit football, give up his senior season and starting spot at safety or he could continue to play and risk another serious concussion.

“The doctor left it up to me,” Falkenhayn said. “I thought looking after my future was the best thing, stop playing football and focus on getting better. I knew something wasn’t right. I was getting headaches from simple things. If I had tried to come back I don’t think it would have worked out.”

Falkenhayn was a major contributor to Loyola’s perfect season last year. He didn’t start every game, but he played in every one. He was expected to start at safety and be one of the team leaders this season, but ran into issues at the first padded practice.

“We were doing a roll tackle drill where you grab on to a dummy and twist,” Falkenhayn said. “I hit the back of my head on the ground and did not feel good.”

The setback was as much mental as physical. Falkenhayn had worked hard to get back to football. His first concussion came in Week 9 last season.

“It wasn’t a big deal,” Falkenhayn said. “I went through the return to play protocol and played [in the second round of the playoffs] against Stevenson.”

That game went fine. Next up for Loyola was Homewood-Flossmoor in the state quarterfinals. It was hyped as the game of the year, and it was. But it didn’t last long for Falkenhayn.

“It happened on the first play I was in,” Falkenhayn said. “It was really rough. That was such a big game. I went home, watched the game at home.”

It was a long, hard road back from the second concussion.

“My eyes were out of sync,” Falkenhayn said. “I needed vestibular therapy. That’s not as bad as it sounds, you basically look at a bunch of dots.”

It took two and a half months to fully recover. Falkenhayn, who also plays basketball, missed most of the hoops season. But he had his hopes pinned on playing football senior year.

“I felt that after six or seven months of not too much physical contact I’d be able to come back and play,” Falkenhayn said. “I was symptom free for four months before the season.”

Those hopes ended after that first padded practice. Falkenhayn has taken on a different role for the Ramblers this season. He’s on the sidelines, helping out. It took about two games for him to accept the new reality.

“I was nervous going to the first game,” Falkenhayn said. “I wasn’t sure what the vibe was going to be, how people would react to me or if I would be upset.

“Watching Week 2 against Maine South was really tough. We were raw at the safety position. They’ve gotten a lot better. Every game I’ve been coaching them up on the sly. Those are my friends and I want the best for them. It’s been really bittersweet.”

This isn’t a sad tale. Falkenhayn still has an incredibly bright future. He’ll play basketball for the Ramblers this season and then head to the University of Chicago next year and be a jumper on the track team.

“Basically the same schools that looked at me for football were looking at me for track, Chicago and some small liberal arts schools out East,” Falkenhayn said.

Falkenhayn, older brother Cal is a football player at Columbia.

“He was telling me about the safe tackling methods they are teaching at Columbia,” Falkenhayn said. “We have versions of that in high school but it isn’t taught as in-depth as they do in college. What happened to me isn’t something normal by any means. Usually colleges try something and high schools jump on it right away. Those methods will come to high school fairly soon. Football is safe, there is a future for it.”