Junior a jack-of-all-trades for Yellow Jackets soccer

Over his years playing soccer, junior Tyler Sisler has been at several different positions on the pitch. This season, Sisler transferred and found a home as a forward on the Waynesburg University men’s soccer team.

While at Mountain Ridge High School, the Frostburg, Maryland, native was a center midfielder. When he moved on to Potomac State College of West Virginia University, Sisler spent time as both a forward and defender. After two years at Potomac State, Sisler moved on to Waynesburg University, where initially, there was plenty of options about what his role would be.

“When I came in and talked to [head coach Brad Heethuis], he recruited me as a forward because of [me being attack-minded],” Sisler said.

Despite Heethuis recruiting Sisler as a forward, he initially wanted to see what Sisler could do. Heethuis tried him as a defender, experimenting with Sisler both as a center-back and outside back throughout preseason camp and early into the season. After some time had passed, Heethuis saw that Sisler’s attacking strength would make him a fit at forward.

“To start the year, [Sisler] was playing in the back again,” Heethuis said. “He came in and said center back was maybe where he felt most comfortable, and then in the first week or two, we recognized his ability to go forward and his attacking ability, so we put him at outside back. Even then, he gave us a really good attacking mindset, creative mindset on the wing, so we moved him up there. That, coupled with his long throwing, [made him] really successful for us this year out on the wing.”

Sisler played a vital role in the Yellow Jackets attack this season, scoring two goals, and contributing a team-leading six assists, which was also tied for the Presidents’ Athletic Conference lead with four other players.

After high school, Sisler decided to attend junior college after he was unable to find a fit at a Division II school. Sisler said he chose to go to Potomac State because of its proximity to home.

“Around my area, there’s not really many real big colleges,” Sisler said. “We have Frostburg State, that’s about 10 minutes from my house…but I didn’t really want to stay close to home.”

Along with playing soccer in high school, Sisler also was a point guard on the basketball team and did pole vault and high jump in track. Since soccer and track were his two main sports, and Potomac State does not have a track team, Sisler decided to focus solely on soccer while in junior college.

In his first year at Potomac State, Sisler played forward. Despite being a main contributor to the attack, he was moved to defense in his second year. When Sisler looked for a place to finish his final two years of college, he enjoyed both Waynesburg’s surroundings and the presentation that Heethuis brought to the table, and decided to attend Waynesburg as an athletic training major.

“Really, when I came here and [Heethuis] took me on a tour, I really liked the campus itself, but also just like talking about [soccer],” Sisler said. “I really liked [Heethuis] and how he talked about the program and everything. So, I think a little bit of the campus and the soccer aspect really brought me to [Waynesburg].”

Heethuis found out about Sisler through another Maryland native; Daniel Hott, a freshman defender at Waynesburg, who knew Sisler through club soccer.

“We actually recruited Daniel Hott out of Fort Hill, Maryland,” Heethuis said. “[We] recruited Danny, and a couple of his high school teammates. [Hott] kind of led us to Ty actually…he suggested we reach out and get in touch with Ty, because he knew he’d be done at Potomac State, and looking for a place to play. So it was really through Danny that we got to Ty and were able to get him here.”

The Yellow Jackets finished their season with a record of 5-9-2 overall, missing the conference playoffs with a loss to Washington & Jefferson on the last day of the regular season. The Jacket’s depth was tested this season, as several starters missed time during the second half of the season. For Heethuis, Sisler’s ability to play more than one position, as well as having knowledge of those positons, is a great asset for the Yellow Jackets.

“[Sisler’s versatility is] definitely big,” Heethuis said. “That’s what we look for in all our guys, really. Ty really exemplifies that. Being able to play multiple positions, being able to understand multiple positions, because whether or not you’re playing a different one, you have to understand multiple positions and where they’re going to be on the field and all that kind of stuff.”

After a scrimmage between Waynesburg’s veterans and new players, Sisler was a little unsure of his surroundings. After time passed, however, Sisler grew into his comfort zone.

“They were working the ball around, and I was like ‘oh I don’t know if I’m going to fit in here,” Sisler said. “But definitely as the year progressed and we’ve played games, I’ve really stepped in to my comfort zone and really got back into the game.”

Going forward, Heethuis sees Sisler playing a lead role on a young Jackets team that is losing only two starters from this season.

“We’ll have strong group of seniors next year, and he’ll be one that’s leading the way for us,” Heethuis said. “So, hopefully we can get him into our offseason workout plan, and he can drive that force.”