By his own admission, Jerrad Tyson was never the most talented football player growing up. Born in Hobart, his footballing prospects were also low. The only professional sports team Tasmania had at the time was their cricket team.
Jerrad worked hard though, determined to make it as a professional footballer. Although originally an outfield player, Jerrad found himself between the sticks when his team needed a goalkeeper and quickly found he enjoyed the position.
As a teenager he moved to the Gold Coast to play with the Sunshine Coast in 2008 and then the Brisbane Strikers in 2009 in the National Premier Leagues Queensland. In 2010 he realised his dream when he debuted for Gold Coast United.
But professional football is a tough world and Gold Coast United failed financially putting him and his teammates out of work in 2012.
As luck would have it, the Western Sydney Wanderers had just been given approval to join the A-League and Jerrad now found himself based in the west.
Jerrad was part of the Wanderers squad that took out the League before falling to the Central Coast Mariners in the grand final.
Football business again saw Jerrad move on with him heading to Hong Kong before going to Perth and then back to the Wanderers.
Jerrad speaks about his work off the field, what he does to ensure he’s ready to take the field when called upon as well as what it takes to be a professional footballer.
He has also taken his passion for nutrition and preparation and turned it into a program that teaches aspiring athletes how to apply themselves off the field to prepare for a professional career called The One Percenters.