Tyler Lawson -- Social Media Ringmaster

[Nyx 68]

 

 

 

 

 

    Tyler Lawson was born in Poway, California to two loving parents. Tyler, from birth, always seemed to have a stronger bond with his father than anyone else in his life, while his two siblings tended to gravitate towards their mother. Tyler from a young age was much taller, and much more athletic than most of his other peers -- and due to his large advantage, he found himself falling in love with the art of sport. The competitiveness was something that called out to him, and while he tried his hand at many sports, he never seemed to find one that stuck with him. He started with soccer - which he had much enjoyed, though he felt was a bit bland at times despite his natural talent. Tyler, to this day, believes had he wanted it hard enough; he would've been scouted by professional youth academies everywhere. He tried football for a while too, usually playing at quarterback because he could see over his line so easily when most others around him could not. He found football to be a bore, as he stood around throwing a ball, he felt that he himself wasn't accomplishing much, but rather, his team was. He even tried basketball for a year or so, thoroughly enjoying it. He played the point, usually running the floor and facilitating the offense. That was until middle school, when his coach forced him to play center, again, because of the size advantage he posed amongst his peers.

 

 

      Quickly, he found himself getting burnt out from sports entirely. He had loved the competitiveness, but none really called out to him at all - he was skilled but didn't have the desire or drive to be good at any sports that he had tried. Just when he felt like giving up, his father took him up into the attic where he would show him his old hockey stick and all of his accomplishments for UCLA -- what would later become Tyler's alma mater. "You . . . you played hockey?" Tyler would ask enthusiastically, with stars filling his eyes. "Woah . . ." He exclaimed, his eyes resting upon multiple awards hung up. His father chuckled, and explained to Tyler how he had at one point considered going pro overseas -- but that starting a family with his mother had stopped him. Tyler's father continued to play for UCLA, setting records and obtaining an engineering degree in the process.

 

 

       That would be the day that Tyler decided he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and learn to play hockey. Now, Tyler was terrible -- no, horrible at first. He could hardly stand on his own two feet while on the ice, which angered him deeply. It lit a fire beneath him, and between that, and the training of his father, he was rapidly improving. He quickly became one of the most talented players in his age group across the country, and it was clear that he'd have a future in hockey, should he want it. When Tyler's father noticed his improvement, he realized that he had exceeded even his talent by the time he was a junior in high school. He decided from then on, he'd call up a favor from an old trainer of his from his time at UCLA - the trainer had worked with various universities during his years, and even worked with a few VHL players in the off-season when they had time. Under the new guidance of said trainer, he would go on to have his best two seasons ever - winning a State Championship in both his junior and senior years, and making All-American honors his last two years in high school. He'd leave high school as a five-star prospect, deciding to sign on to UCLA on a full-ride scholarship.

 

 

       Forming a dynamic duo at UCLA with one of his former high school teammates, they seemed nearly unbeatable to start the season as Tyler Lawson scored a hat trick in his debut game against their biggest rivals, the USC Trojans. For months, the rising star who'd seen his success nearly everywhere as his hype had been growing online since high school, it was all reaching a peak as he proved he could do it at the next level - college. Questions were quickly starting to arise, and with how good he appeared now, people were starting to wonder if he could perform at the NEXT, next level. However, in a game mid-way through the season against Arizona State, disaster struck on the ice. Lawson was putting on his usual fiery, competitive performance - all of his family in attendance, as he had one goal on three shot attempts early in the first period. With the puck tucked away firmly against his stick, he fancifully danced on the ice, making defenders as he looked for another goal. Putting himself in position to score, he winded back his stick and -- WHAM! He instantly felt a sharp pain in his knee as he got checked low by one of his opponents, a dirty move, and he felt himself drop to the cold ice, searing his face against its icy hot touch. He tossed his stick aside, the pain taking over all of his thoughts, as he quickly yelled out in pain gripping at this leg mercifully. He begged, a cold sweat coming over him, pleading that he'd be alright. Despite his cries, though, Tyler knew all too well what had happened the second it had. He knew that this very well could be the end of his hockey career.

 

 

        Two days later, Tyler was lying in a bed at Dignity Health, a hospital center not too far from his home (or his campus, for that matter). He felt sick constantly, as he refused to eat, his mind racing and stuck solely on the thought of if he'd ever play again. Every single time the doctor would come into his room, it was the same thing: "Will I ever play again?" to which the doctor seemed to shrug off, claiming that 'it's not my place to tell you at this moment,' or 'we don't know'. 

 

 

         After some time had passed, he'd asked again to which he replied, "You will not play hockey again." He was devastated, though, he also refused to take it for an answer, no matter what his doctor would say. He performed rehab on his MCL, and he recovered quicker than anyone had expected. Before he knew it, he was walking around back at campus. He felt uneasy being back -- many giving him sympathetic smiles or averting his gaze, and his phone was constantly chiming with messages to 'get well soon', and he couldn't put up with it anymore.

 

 

          When Tyler decided enough time had passed, he called his agent, pleading with him to find him a job - any job with any team anywhere. He had failed to get selected by anyone in the VHL Draft after his injury and was desperate for a job. Granted, he had done a little bit of skating - for rehab purposes, not in playing any intense games or whatnot, but he could tell he was a totally different player than before. As he took to the ice and donned in his gear, he got back into the rhythm of playing the game, refusing to let it all end there. His agent advised him strongly against this, though there was no way he'd let that get in the way of his dreams. 

 

 

          Luckily for him, roughly 50-60 games or so into the season, he got a call from someone representing the VHLM Houston Bulls, to which he instantly found his heart racing. Would this be his second chance? He thanked the man for his time, and forwarded his number to his agent to handle the proceedings. Tyler's injuries had seemed to have had healed over, and his rehab had gone perfectly. The same doctors that said he'd never played again - well, cleared him to play. He was ecstatic and couldn't believe the news. 

 

 

          While he may not have felt quite as skilled as he once was, he was more fired up than he had ever been before, and he knew deeply that would be enough to lead him to success. With a new, unbreakable spirit and resiliency, he would be suiting up for the Bulls and playing hockey once more.

 

 

          And off to a hot start, he was. He scored two goals in his first two, and with lots of games left in his career for him to play, he couldn't wait to get started. He had finally gone pro.

 

Edited January 19 by Nyx

[LucyXpher 1,572]

Great bio!  Love the backstory, and a great start to his pro career! I'm sure there's so much more to come!