SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Former Detroit City FC midfielder and University of Michigan captain Tyler Arnone’s trek to professional soccer didn’t arrive without more than a few bumps. The Long Island native began collegiate life at St. John’s University in New York, but after a redshirt season with no action, Arnone transferred to Michigan, where his career began to excel. Over his four years as a Wolverine, his reputation expanded onto the national scale, and in hopes of being invited to the Major League Soccer (MLS) Draft after his senior season, Arnone stuck around in Ann Arbor to take summer classes to graduate a semester early.
It was in these summers when Arnone joined DCFC, another boost to his growing résumé. Having grown up in Hicksville, New York, and playing college and National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) soccer in Michigan, the next step on his road to MLS seems the most unlikely of all. Arnone now resides in South Jordan, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City, where he plays for the Real Monarchs of the United Soccer League (USL), the third tier league of American soccer.
The Monarchs, an affiliate club to Real Salt Lake of MLS, signed Arnone in March, two months after the 2015 MLS SuperDraft concluded in January.
In the weeks leading up to the Draft, Arnone had met with several teams both at the MLS Combine and in private trainings. Expected to be picked at some point over the two-day, four-round event, he was projected as one of the top midfielders in the class. But 84 picks later, an undrafted Arnone needed to find a way to rebound.
“After the draft it hit me pretty hard,” Arnone said. “I was expected to be drafted somewhere and get picked. So the next step, and the hardest thing, was getting back on my feet. I always knew I was going to find a home, (the Draft) wasn’t going to stop me… My phone blew up with support. That’s what drove me to keep going.”
Arnone became aware soon after that it would be difficult to get in the door for MLS, so he began to focus on two leagues: USL and North American Soccer League (NASL), the second highest league in the American soccer system.
The goal of reaching MLS is always in the back of his mind, but for now, Arnone’s path is about development.
“It was about finding the right place,” Arnone said. “I didn’t want to just settle and sign a pro contract just to say I’ve signed. I was very particular on where to go so that I can be successful, and so that I can move up the ranks.”
And then the Real Monarchs popped up.
A new team in its inaugural season, and one that bridged the gap between a successful youth academy and a top-notch MLS club, gave Arnone the perfect opportunity to begin his professional career. As Arnone became more familiar with the organization over those two months, joining the RSL family grew more and more desirable. He discussed it with his agent, and eventually Arnone got the phone call he’d been waiting for.
“I pressed pretty heavily to be here,” Arnone said. “I knew RSL because of Craig Waibel, who is the Technical Director here (for RSL), and he coached me a year at Michigan. I got a phone call from Waibel one day, saying, ‘The deal is done. Pack your bags. You’re flying out to Utah.’ That was probably the greatest phone call I’ve ever gotten.”
Even though he has been in Utah only for a few months, his experience with the Monarchs is living up to his expectations. With the USL club, he has the opportunity to move forward, train with the first team and learn from long-time professionals. Arnone often practices with players like Kyle Beckerman and Nick Rimando from RSL, both of which currently represent the U.S. Men’s National team in the Gold Cup.
Training alongside Beckerman, a seasoned center-midfielder in the MLS, continues to amaze Arnone everyday. While Beckerman may have the more distinguished career, Arnone knows that he has the exact build to follow in his idol’s footsteps.
“Even before I signed with the Monarchs, I would tell everyone that Kyle Beckerman was my idol of American soccer,” Arnone said. “In this country, for the MLS, I like him so much because I’m kind of a prototype of him. Obviously he’s done way more with his career, but I think I have the tools and mentality that he has. Hopefully I can develop into that type of player.”
This defensive midfielder role is what Arnone became known for during college. It’s not a position that scores the goals or tallies up assists, but one that does the dirty work — making tackles, breaking up plays; the game flows through this spot, and Arnone has embraced it.
But he’s also been playing some right back, and this is where he sees his greatest opportunity to advance.
Tony Beltran, a current outside defender for RSL, likely only has a few years left, and because of the Monarchs’ close ties with the first team, Arnone could potentially fill that gap in the coming seasons.
“In terms of who the team can mold, I’m a lot like Tony Beltran,” Arnone said. “Consistent, steady, not a flashy player, but he knows his role and does his job each day. That’s the role I took with the Monarchs.”
Learning to become a right back hasn’t been the only change, though. Now as a professional, Arnone’s day-to-day life is based around his soccer career, but he’s finding that his time with DCFC and Michigan have eased the process.
“The way you take care of yourself and your body is different being a pro,” Arnone said. “It’s a 24/7 thing now to make sure you’re eating properly, getting the proper rest. Coming from DCFC and a school like Michigan definitely prepares you for the professional ranks.”
And even though playing at such a high level is nothing new to him, every now and then reality hits him, and he realizes the dream-like opportunity before him.
“If we scrimmage and Kyle Beckerman passes me the ball, in the moment you don’t think about it, but afterwards, you do think about it, and it’s pretty cool,” Arnone said, smiling. “I remember one training session, I made a mistake and Nick Rimando got into me and let me know, ‘Hey this is what you got to do.’ Little things like that, like scoring a goal on Rimando, and then to see how down to earth those guys are, and how nice and approachable they are, is always a reassuring thing. Being at RSL, its cool to see those types of personalities in the locker room.”
Each moment reminds him that MLS is just around the corner; despite the seemingly endless road he has taken to get there.
Back on that afternoon in January, when Arnone was left out of the 2015 SuperDraft, he got a phone call from an old coach.
“Everyone’s journey is different,” Chaka Daley, the Michigan men’s soccer coach, told his recently graduated captain.
And Daley was right. The journey of becoming a pro has been different for Arnone. He wasn’t drafted, and he has yet to sign with the MLS. Right now, he’s just beginning to learn the ins and outs of professional soccer, but he’s doing so in the most favorable manner possible.
“Who knows, maybe if I’d signed with RSL, I don’t play a game this year,” Arnone said. “What good is it to me if I’m sitting on a bench not ready to play in the MLS? Here, with the Monarchs, I’m getting games. I’m getting minutes. This could be extremely beneficial for me. Maybe I spend two years with the Monarchs, and then I make that step, and now I’m a much better pro.”
From his time on campus in Ann Arbor to his summers under the lights at Cass Tech, he has the foundation for an illustrious professional career. On the western frontier of the Rocky Mountains, Tyler Arnone continues to climb.
– Ted Janes / DCFC Staff Writer
