Tyson Russell has had a hard soccer career thus far. The 25-year-old began his professional career only 2 years ago and in that short time has endured more setbacks than most footballers experience in their entire career.
Russell is originally from upstate New York. He was playing recreationally there when a new club was formed named "You don't know". That club has already folded and didn't accomplish much in their short existence, but they did recognize Russell's potential. But Russell was only on the books for a week. In a bid to raise cash to start the club Russell was sold to Italian club Aygo for $72,000.
After flying out to Italy Russell soon learned that Aygo were only speculators and had no intention of playing him. Within another week he was sold to Italians Polisportiva Ciaccolata.
At Polisport is where Russell's real soccer education began. His prospects looked bright at first. He got his first start with the senior team in round 2 of season 36. He didn't score a goal, but he made a decent debut in a 4-0 win for Polisport. It wasn't enough to impress the coaching staff, however. For the bulk of the season Russell saw regular time with the reserve team. He played well and scored goals at a brisk pace, but he couldn't seem to get a second chance with the senior team. Russell said of the experience, "It was a very hard time. After so much turmoil with the transfers and the travelling it was at least nice to have some routine. But I felt like my good showings for the reserves weren't being noticed."
His persistence did finally pay off, and in round 13 of that season he got another chance with the senior squad. The club won again, and this time Russell scored in a 3-0 win. That was enough to Russell to finish the season with some hope for the future. "I only got 2 games in, but I felt good about getting more time the next season."
Russell's optimism looked to be justified. He played regularly in the club's preseason friendlies. But in those matches he suffered a series of injuries, the last of which was a horrific ACL tear. For the final insult Polisport decided to sell him rather stick by him through the rehabilitation. "It made me sick to my stomach," said Russell. "It was the first glimmer of hope I'd had and it was taken away so quickly."
That's when Cedar Park came calling. Coach Whittington had enacted a policy of buying injured or out of form players on the cheap and rehabilitating them with the club. Cedar Park purchased Russell from Polisport for $81,000. "We knew we were taking a chance," said Whittington. "But I also think that Tyson will be able to repay the first one who gives him a real chance." Russell missed the first 4 rounds of the season rehabbing his injury. When he finally appeared in the starting lineup for the round 5 matchup against A&M FC it had all the makings of a triumphant return. In the 13th minute Russell scored his first goal for his new club to put them up 1-0. But 20 minutes later he crumpled to the field in agony, this time an MCL strain in his other knee. It will be at least 4 more weeks until he can try to play again.
So in a season and a half of being a professional, Russell has made 3 appearances. The good news is he's scored in 2 of those 3 matches. It's impossible to say what the future looks like for Tyson Russell, but you can hear the desperation in his voice when he talks about it. "If I can't play this game I don't know what I'll do. I'm fully committed to playing again, and I think Cedar Park is the perfect environment for me to recover in. I don't want to be anybody's charity case. I want to contribute."
