By: Thomas Crone
Thomas Crone is a St. Louis native with more than 25 years of freelance writing experience. You can follow Thomas on Twitter at @billikenextra. Check back to SLUBillikens.com throughout the season for more feature stories.
As freshman Lennart Hein remembers it, Billiken senior defender Tyler David was among the first players to reach out to him on a personal level, prior to the soccer team's much-anticipated 2015 season.
“When I first arrived,” the German defender says, “some of the other players talked about him. Even in our first year, he wants to integrate us and have us try our best. As a senior, he just wants to help us and we should follow him and do what he's doing. He's experienced, from his four years here.
“He's always talking positive to the team,” Hein adds. “He always wants what's best for the team. He organizes internal team meetings and talks about (any) problems within the team. So that's what makes him a leader. He's our captain.”
Thoughtful and serious as he discusses his rapidly concluding collegiate career, David understands that he does provide a vet's brand of leadership on this fall's Billikens soccer squad, a unit that brings an enviable blend of experienced vets and new talents. He wears the notion of being a leader comfortably, referring to himself as exactly that, a leader, with neither overconfidence nor self-consciousness.
Partly, that steadiness comes from his background with the program. As part of a massive, 13-member freshman class, David was a walk-on who quickly worked his way into a starting role in his debut season. Over time, his involvement in groups and associations tied to the athletics program grew. In his own time, he simply willed his way into his teammates' lives, bolstering players who were injured, pondering transfer or working through personal issues; so his leadership showed itself through both official and unofficial channels. The transformation occurred gradually, in some respects, though his ability to take on responsibilities came pretty early on in his college career.
Says SLU Men's Soccer Head Coach Mike McGinty, “Tyler was very impressive right from the beginning, his intelligence and calmness were surprising for a freshman.”
“I wasn't one of the big names, the guys with scholarships,” the player remembers. “We had the German kids, David Graydon (from Ireland). A total of 13 of us. I was probably pushed to the side, no one thought anything of me. I was here to work hard and I didn't have too many expectations. But my freshman year, I was thrown into the starting lineup against Indiana. And I haven't touched the bench since then. I got a lucky opportunity, as we didn't have a lot of defenders right then. I took the opportunity and ran with it. That freshman year was a rocky road for me. I think that in my sophomore year, I took my game to another level. I was second-team All-Conference, though I don't like to get into those awards too much. But that was surprising to me. I kept improving and I've always naturally been a leader.”
He says that “my strongest point is my intelligence and leadership. You can always get smarter about the game. My intelligence is something I still want to increase. That's how I've gotten this far. My weakness, in my opinion, is my athleticism. I'm not that fast. I'm not quick. I can jump, but that's because I'm big. You can always get more athletic, through training, but that comes slowly, a little bit at a time. I've always had a knack for knowing the game.”
It's a point that his coach agrees with, as McGinty says that “Tyler's best attribute is his anticipation and reading of the game. He is able to solve problems early because of his intelligence.”
Or as David says, in an open-ended fashion, “I do well in school, try to do the right things at all times. That helps me be a leader. I want (my teammates) to know how to carry themselves.”
LOOKING BACKWARD
Asked if he's self-conscious about talking about this aspect of his personality, David's non plussed, saying “I'll talk about anything, 100 percent. I've always felt that I've been mature for my age. My dad wasn't around a lot, so it was my mom, my sister and me. At a really young age, I had to grow up. I had two jobs at 14, 15, just to get money to help out at home. I think that helped me mature younger.”
Tyler David's father, Steve David, had an impressive run as a professional soccer player, spending time with several North American Soccer League teams in the 1970s and '80s, as well as logging time with the Trinidad & Tobago national team. His mother played collegiately.
“He was in the NASL, with San Jose, New York, Miami,” the younger David says. “His claim to fame, though, is playing nationally for Trinidad. He was a striker, the opposite of me. He was really fast and I'm really slow. He went pro straight out of school, then went back and got his degree after playing. With 10-15 years of experience, he knows a lot about what it's like in that professional environment; it dictated a lot of his life. He's got a lot of connections and has helped me out with those. It's nice to have that as I go along.”
Studying business administration, David is set to graduate at the end of this semester, which he says is “very light” at 13 credit hours. After pulling semesters of as many as 18, this fall's schedule includes everything from a non-major theatre class to a couple of capstone courses.
Says McGinty, “Tyler's leadership and demeanor on the field are exactly the same things you get from him off the field. He will graduate this December with his business degree a semester early. He is our captain and also our SAAC representative here at SLU. He is a finalist for the Senior CLASS award that the NCAA gives out every year to exceptional student-athletes for work on the field and in the community. I am confident he will be very successful in whatever he sets his mind to after leaving SLU.”
LOOKING FORWARD
On Monday morning, Tyler David arrived for a 9 a.m. interview at Cafe Ventana at 8:59, ordering a jasmine tea and looking freshly pressed in a white sweater and jeans. This was the calm of the day, the prelude to a busy Monday, including classes at 11:00, 1:10 and 2:25. There'd be practice and a resume workshop that he'd be leading at 9 p.m., followed by “heading home and studying for a bit.”
But even as he was thinking of the day, a part of him was living in the immediate future, with SLU set to square off against longtime rival Indiana on Wednesday night, in what's possibly the most-anticipated home game of the season.
“I was thinking about them two weeks ago, when I probably shouldn't have been,” David admits. “Indiana, I've been thinking about all season. All the alumni have talked about how big a game this is. But coach says that it's not a rivalry until we win a game.”
It just so happens that David, the student, has two tests the same day that David, the athlete, is squaring off against a team he desperately wants to defeat.
“I have two tests this week, both on that day,” he says. “It's not the best thing. I have to worry about schooling; I'm about to graduate. At the same time, I'm excited for these tests to be done. And I don't want to think about it too much, or I'll mentally and physically exhaust myself.”
Even as his business administration degree is within sights, a plan to do something with it, well, “I have no idea,” David admits. “I want to play soccer. If I don't play soccer, I want to coach. Coach soccer, even coach basketball. I've had a couple internships that I've explored, and that I've been a little bit interested in, but what I'm really interested in is soccer. I just love being around sports.”
David's aware that the alumni want not only a winning match against Indiana this week; they want to see the team do damage in the national tournament, or as David says, “they're so excited and want us to get that 11th title.” Tyler David, here, too, is aware of the potential of a trap: that of thinking too far ahead. He's trying to stay focused on the immediate future, soaking in wisdom and spreading the goodwill that seems to characterize his four years in the Billiken program.
“As far as our administration goes, our program is at the top,” he says. “At a lot of other places, athletes don't know their athletic director; I see Chris (May) all the time. Janet (Oberle), all those guys have a big impact on us. They really show their support. Alison (Albritton), our strength coach, is at practice every day. She's on the sideline, ready to help, ready to support. The athletic trainers are unbelievable. They don't get any credit ever. I broke my foot my sophomore year and I was in there twice a day. I made sure they knew they were appreciated. Brian (Kunderman) and the media guys are great. The work they put in behind the scenes is unbelievable. They do so much for us.
“The amount of things I've experienced in college is unbelievable,” David summarizes. “I would have never thought possible what would happen. I was a peer mentor for freshmen this summer. I tell them all the time: You have no idea what's coming.”
Of course, with upperclassmen like David around, there's also someone lookin' out, someone who cares.
