File photo by Travis Rosenau Madelia’s Kaydon Firchau drives to the hoop while guarded by Springfield’s Brecken Heiling during the first-ever Tomahawk-Valley Conference boys basketball championship game last season on Feb. 25, 2025, at Madelia High School.

MADELIA — When Madelia sophomore guard Kaydon Firchau drove to the hoop during a Jan. 6 home game against Atwater-Cosmos/Grove City, the expected finish to that drive was another Blackhawks bucket.

The young standout, who passed 1,000 points for his career earlier this season, instead ended up hitting the floor and holding his knee. The result was a deflating one: a torn patellar tendon in his right knee, with a recovery time of three to six months.

“It was just kind of a freak accident,” Firchau said. “Just kind of slipped on the court. There was a wet spot on the court and I just slipped and landed on my knee wrong. It’s very unfortunate, but it happens, though, too. It’s disappointing and I kind of talked to everyone about it.

“It’s disappointing, but everything happens for a reason. As a player, it does really suck and with the season I was having, it was very unfortunate that did happen. But I’m just sticking with the path and what God has in front of me.”

Firchau said the injury occurred when he was driving straight to the hoop. He tried to put his left leg out to stop on a dime but slid forward instead. Unable to get his right leg in front of him, he ended up landing fully on his right knee.

In addition to the patellar tendon tear, Firchau said he also has a bone contusion and one of the bones in his knee is also out of place. With a three- to six-month recovery journey in front of him, Firchau is taking it one day at a time.

“I’m gonna take it very slow and it’s looking like three to six months,” he said. “But I’m gonna take the process very slowly. I’m not gonna rush anything and recovery is very important, because there’s no surgery needed at all. It’s just kind of a recovery that recovers by itself type of thing. I’m really happy to take it slow, so when it does recover, it’s fully healed.”

Taking it slow and staying off the court entirely hasn’t been easy for Firchau, who said he’s still putting shots up at the hoop when he can, but that’s to be expected from the young Madelia leader, whose entire athletic career is focused on basketball.

Firchau, who was averaging 36.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.2 steals per game this season, also plans to turn his attention to the weight room during his recovery.

“I talked to my parents and I think we got a little rundown of like this might be the perfect time to hit the weights a little bit more and gain some muscle and bulk up in the long run for the season, too,” Firchau said. “This might be a big chance for me not being as active as I used to be to just bulk up and get some muscle on me.”

Losing Firchau has been tough on the Blackhawks, but it hasn’t kept them from continuing to be contenders in the Valley Division and Section 2A either. The Blackhawks are 11-2 overall and 7-1 in the Valley.

“The group of guys we’ve got right now, they’re extremely talented,” Firchau said. “They have great basketball IQ, they know what they’re doing, they’ve been playing the game for a while, and they’re very competitive in the section. Don’t get me wrong, they will be a top four team. Even without me, they are a top team in the section, no matter what.

“Now it’s just a matter of them getting on their feet a little bit and figuring out how to run the offense and doing all that stuff. I’m just saying, give them a little bit of time and they’re gonna look pretty good.”

Even though he’s taking his time with his recovery and the odds are slim for a return this season, Firchau can’t help but remain positive and dream of getting back on the court to compete.

“I won’t count myself out yet, either,” Firchau said. “I know it’s three to six months, but there’s a lot going through my mind and thinking about the long road and maybe what could happen.”