He is a goalkeeper, an avid biker, a snowboarder, a wakeboarder and now Athlete of the Month.
The Dixie State University men’s soccer coaches decided that Tyler Walters, a senior criminal justice major from Ogden, deserves to be the Athlete of the Month for August because Walters has excelled on the field as well as in the classroom.
Walters hasn’t only impressed his coaches but also his teammates.
“He’s always pushing us and being positive out on the field,” said middle defender Dominic Torres, a junior business major from Mountain Home, Idaho. “He is always encouraging us to do better.”
The other players agree that Walters is the teammate who makes sure each player on the field knows his position and what he needs to be doing during the games and practice.
“He knows what he is doing and has been here for four years,” Torres said. “It’s good to have someone like him who has been here awhile and knows the system.”
Soccer has always been Walters’ choice sport.
“I’ve been playing since I was two or three years old,” said Walters. “My parents got me into it when I was really young, and I have just kept with it ever since. It’s been a passion.”
Off the field, students can find Walters riding his bike around campus, at the lake wakeboarding, or on the slopes snowboarding. He said he loves to do outdoor activities.
“Tyler represents every aspect of what an athlete should be,” head coach Danny Ortiz said. “He takes his classwork very serious. He’s an amazing teammate and a good leader.”
In 2012, Walters posted two shutout games. Walters had eight saves in a double overtime win against University of Hawaii at Hilo. His second shutout came in a tie to Hawaii Pacific University where he had nine saves in the game.
Walters said his favorite game was against Grand Canyon University in 2011. GCU was celebrating its 25th anniversary as a program. The game was the first Pacific West game for DSU.
“They were the conference champions the previous year, as they usually were, and nationally ranked in the top 10,” Walters said. “We were able to shut them out 1-0 for the win. This game was the start to a 7-0 start to our season.”
Walters pitched the shutout with nine saves in that game.
After graduation, Walters plans on moving to Salt Lake City to continue his skills of defense and protection that he has shown on the soccer field as a police officer in the police academy.
