Tim Tyma


Tim Tyma is a former American soccer forward, coach and referee. Tyma played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League, National Professional Soccer League and USISL.

Player

Youth

Tim Tyma, younger brother of John Tyma, graduated from Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School where he was member of the 1975 Ohio State High School soccer championship team. Tyma attended Cleveland State University where he played on the men's soccer team in 1979.

Professional

Tyma left college after his freshman season to turn professional with the Kansas City Comets of the Major Indoor Soccer League. He spent most of two seasons on the Comets reserve team, seeing time in only four first-team games. In 1984, Klaas de Boer left Cleveland State to become the head coach of the expansion Canton Invaders of the American Indoor Soccer Association. He signed Tyma who at the time was working odd jobs in the Chicago area. The Invaders won the 1985 and 1986 championships and finished runner-up in 1987. That year, Tyma was the AISA Defender of the Year. In 1985, Tyma spent the summer with the Tulsa Tornados of the USISL. In January 1988, the Invaders traded him and Pete Smith to the Milwaukee Wave in exchange for Randy Pikuzinski. Tyma went on to be named the 1988 and 1989 AISA Defender of the Year with the Wave. On October 23, 1991, the Wave sold Tyma's contract to the Illinois Thunder. On June 17, 1992, the Wave purchased Tyma's contract back from the Thunder. However, a few weeks later, Wave coach Keith Tozer decided to return Tyma's rights to the Thunder who failed to protect him in the expansion draft. The Cleveland Crunch then selected him in the draft and he signed with the Crunch in September 1992. He played five seasons with the Crunch. A knee injury suffered during the 1996–1997 season eventually led to surgery just prior to the 1997–1998 season. The Crunch activated him off the injured list in January 1998, but he was unable to play and was waived a month later.

Coach

On July 30, 1996, Tyma signed a two-year contract with the Cleveland Crunch as a player-coach.
Currently Tyma is an assistant coach for the girls varsity team at North Royalton High School in North Royalton, Ohio, in suburban Cleveland.

Referee

Following his retirement from playing, Tyma became a referee in the National Professional Soccer League and later in the college ranks. He continues to serve as a professional indoor soccer referee.
He was inducted into the Illinois State Soccer Association Hall of Fame in 1992.