MSUB SPORTS – When Grady Bryson was in eighth grade, he traveled to Las Vegas with his club soccer team for a regional tournament. The opportunity to travel away from home to play the game he loved captivated Bryson, and it was this tournament and club team in particular that marked the realization that soccer had become his true passion.
 
"Soccer hadn't really entered the equation yet for me," Bryson said regarding the time leading up to the trip in eighth grade. "My coach Paul Patterson pulled me aside and asked me what I was planning to do for high school. He told me he saw a real future for me in soccer and that I had a lot of potential."
 
Bryson grew up in Montana City, Mont., where he developed skill in both soccer and football as a kid. When the time came to make a high school decision, Bryson had numerous factors weighing on his mind. "I had to choose between Boulder, Capital or Helena High," Bryson said. "For a long time I thought about which football team I wanted to play for and where my friends were going to go."
 
In the end, it was the Las Vegas tournament that swayed Bryson's decision away from American football as he elected to pursue soccer at Helena High. It didn't take long for Bryson to realize his potential to continue his playing career past the high school level, as the decision to play soccer instead of football paid immediate dividends.
 
"There wasn't any question in my mind that I wanted to keep playing competitively as long as I could," Bryson said. "The college search kind of came up quickly, and coming from Montana you have to really recruit yourself to coaches. I ended up finding a place where I thought I would be happy, and I met a lot of good people there."
 
Bryson packed his bags for the West Coast, heading to Forest Grove, Ore., to play for Pacific University of the NCAA Division III Northwest Conference. The idea of changing scenery influenced Bryson during his initial college search, but after two seasons in the program he decided to return closer to home.
 
"I liked the team a lot (at Pacific) but it just wasn't quite the right fit," Bryson remembered. "I looked for a different school and that's how I ended up here."
 
Part of Bryson's decision to make the switch hinged on his ambition to see if he could play soccer at the next level and move up to Division II. A former high school teammate encouraged him to come to an MSUB ID camp, and in March of 2013 Bryson impressed the Yellowjacket coaching staff enough to garner an offer.
 
"Grady is a player that I greatly respect because he transferred from Pacific and took a chance by coming here," said MSUB head coach Alex Balog. "He came to one of our ID camps, did well enough, and we signed him."
 
"I liked what I saw of the program when I first came here, and being closer to home has been a big perk," Bryson said regarding the transition. "My parents have come to all of our games this season, even when we are on the road."
 
While Bryson faced uncertainty as his high school career wound down, he cited inspiration from his coach that encouraged him to never stop aspiring to be the best player he could be. "My high school coach Carl Straub really developed me as a person and as a teammate," Bryson said. "I definitely learned a lot under him, and he was the only coach I had for consecutive years growing up. He always encouraged me and my teammates to pursue our playing careers as far as we could go."
 
Bryson helped Helena High to the 2010 state championship title, a moment that stands out as one of the finest in his playing career. Comparing a more recent victory to his top achievement from his prep career, Bryson recognized a 1-0 win over Western Washington this season. "We were long overdue for a victory against Western Washington, and playing that game in front of more than twelve hundred people was really rewarding," Bryson said. "We had played so well in previous games but had lost to them numerous times. This year it was nice to get the win, it was really satisfying."
 
While Bryson hasn't stolen headlines as a starter at MSUB, he plays a crucial role as a midfielder off of the bench for Balog's program. Most importantly however, it is the value Bryson makes out of his minutes on the field that elevate him and display his highest abilities.
 
"Grady is a player who has a very accurate idea of where he is on our team," Balog said. "Without settling for the time he gets or ever being content, he never stops asking how he can improve and become a better soccer player. What I like about that is he understands where we are as a team, and that is rare for a guy even in his senior season."
 
Perhaps Bryson's extraordinary understanding of how his individual role fits into the team solidifies his eventual goal of becoming a head soccer coach. "Seeing what teams are capable of when you get eleven people on the field to work together towards a common goal is a big reason why I want to be a coach one day," Bryson said. "I want to further the cause of soccer in the US and help the sport grow here. I'd like to see the US win the World Cup before I die and if I could have any kind of helping hand in that it would be pretty cool."
 
Being a member of the MSUB squad has helped Bryson open his eyes and gain a more global perspective regarding the game, as this year's team features players from 11 different countries. "It has definitely been great talking about the sport with the foreign players, because they've grown up understanding the game at a much quicker rate than I did," Bryson said. "I never really watched soccer growing up, because it was always football or baseball on TV."
 
The diverse culture at MSUB has helped shape Bryson's view of the game, but at the same time he draws inspiration from the most domestic of his teammates. "I played against Kyle and Matt growing up, and I have known them for a long time," Bryson said regarding fellow seniors Kyle Emerick and Matt Brink who are from Billings. "We didn't play against each other in high school, but in club soccer Kyle and I went head-to-head because he was a right forward and I was a left back. He and Matt have both been awesome and we have grown pretty close over the last year and a half. It has been nice having them as two of the leading figures on the team and having been here for four years."
 
"I am glad that Grady is another one of our seniors who is from Montana, because he knows exactly what it means to represent the state and do as well as he can," Balog said. "When we go on trips outside of the state, it is important to him that we represent Montana properly. He has the pride of representing MSUB in everything that he does, and he is someone that I have very much appreciated having on our team."
 
Just as Bryson has dedicated himself to the men's soccer program and to MSUB as a whole, he is thankful for the opportunity he received in becoming a Yellowjacket and is grateful for what the experience has taught him.
 
"One of the main reasons I came here is because Alex wanted to coach the style of soccer that I wanted to play," Bryson said. "This year we have seen that be adopted by the team, and we are passing the ball around really well. The experience has also opened me up to the world community, and there are so many international people here, not just players on the team."
 
Graduating from eighth grade with a mere 40 people in his class, Bryson's friendships now extend to corners of the globe he never imagined he would connect to. "It has been nice getting to know people from all over, especially people who aren't even on the team," Bryson said. "There are a lot of different countries represented at this school, and it is nice making friends with all of them and hearing what they have to say."
 
While Bryson's initial stay in Oregon was temporary, he enjoyed his time there and foresees a potential relocation out west after his time at MSUB. Bryson commented on the rich, thriving soccer cultures in Portland and Seattle as the type of environment he'd like to embed himself within, as he gets set to pursue his dream of coaching upon the completion of his playing career.
 
"Billings has been a great place for me, but I never saw myself coming here out of high school," Bryson said. "I really liked Oregon and I could definitely see myself living in the Portland or Seattle area in the next five years."
 
As his career winds down, his journey throughout the world of soccer has just begun. In less than two years at MSUB Bryson has developed an international perspective of the game, and learned what it truly means for a team to come together and play as one. The fact that he has limitless inspiration to nourish his understanding of the game into a coaching career will undoubtedly carry him towards success in his life after college. More than likely, his path will point the same way it did after high school, with an open door and his next life experience beckoning.