'It's what gives me hope': Liberty boys soccer team helps coach Tyler Hussey in cancer battle

Before Peoria Liberty's boys soccer game on Dec. 11 against Mesa Skyline, players stood on the field and unfurled a banner that read, "No Lion fights alone."

Head coach Tyler Hussey was fighting back tears.

The love and support from the team have helped Hussey during his fight with cancer.

He is missing Tuesday night's big rivalry game against Peoria Sunrise Mountain because he's in the Mayo Clinic for chemotherapy treatment that will cause him to remain overnight. He hopes to return in time for Thursday's match against Surprise Shadow Ridge.

But never during his cancer battle, which included having one of his lungs removed, did he think of stepping away from the team.

"Everyone has their haven, their safe zone, their motivation," the 39-year-old Hussey said about coaching his 5-3 Lions. "That would take that away from me.

"This program, the boys, the coaching staff, the community, the school, it's what gives me hope."

Through high school and college, he played soccer. He still is in contact with his college coach. He coaches his 12-year-old daughter's club soccer team.

"The relationship I've built with the boys goes beyond the soccer field," he said. "Hopefully, it's a positive impact for them, something that they'll remember."

Yes, the players are truly impacted and inspired by their coach. After that banner presentation for the home opener, and after the players were introduced, the Lions went on to beat Skyline 8-0.

"I was in game mode," Hussey said. "Donna, the lady that runs the press box, got on (the public address system) and did a little message, and the team was holding the banner. Coach Mac, my assistant coach, knew. He said, 'We got this for you.'

"We came out on fire. Shot after shot after shot. It ended up being a fun night."

Senior defender Beau Harris said this team is so close to Hussey, that they would do anything for him. Senior forward Daveed Umoren, who started in the secondary on Liberty's Open Division state championship football team, said he wouldn't know that his coach has gone through a horrible ordeal.

"If you didn't know him, you wouldn't know what he is going through at all," Umoren said.

Diagnosed with synovial sarcoma last spring

It's been an incredibly hard year for Hussey, who in February of last year started feeling symptoms.

"I wasn't thinking about it," said Hussey, who still plays adult-league soccer. "I thought maybe I'm getting old. I thought it was an injury. It got a little worse in my left leg. I talked to my wife and a couple of people that it really hurts."

They thought it sounded like a blood clot.

Hussey had an ultrasound, which confirmed it was a blood clot in the leg. Doctors checked to see if there were other blood clots.

"When they scanned the chest, that's when they came back and doctors said, 'This isn't good, you have a tumor,' " Hussey said. "It's pretty large. They said it was like 16 centimeters. That was spring break of last year, in March."

He went to the hospital and had a biopsy. He was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that occurs almost anywhere in the body, most commonly in the arms and legs, according to Mayo Clinic.

Hussey had it in the chest cavity.

"The tumor grew and grew and grew," he said. "It was big. It was too big to do surgery. The lung collapsed because it was pushing on all my organs. My kidney wasn't working. My liver wasn't working. One after another.

"I was in Mayo Clinic for the whole month of May. They were trying to do chemotherapy but my body rejected it and I went into ICU. Doctors thought I was done. My wife (Holly) fought for me. My wife saved my life. My wife was an advocate for everything, because I wasn't really coherent at the time."

Hussey was putting on about 35 pounds of water weight due to the tumor.

"It's been one heck of a year," he said.

Hussey underwent 11 days of radiation in June. There was GI bleeding in the middle of that, sending him to the Emergency Room.

"Slowly, I started to get better," he said. "They did some scans in July and August, they said, 'The size has reduced enough to do surgery.' I had a decision to make, whether I do chemo or surgery first. I decided to do surgery, because this whole time I was thinking, 'Let's get this thing out.' "

He had surgery on Aug. 30. He has a scar from arm pit to arm pit, wires holding his sternum together. He had one lung removed.

"There was a time I was on oxygen and couldn't walk," Hussey said. "I couldn't get up very well and move around. I had physical therapy coming to my house. My mom and dad have a condo here. They'd help."

His wife, who is a doctor, and 12- and 9-year-old daughters have helped. It was hard on his daughters, especially the younger child.

He has been teaching since the beginning of the school year, but when he does his chemo treatments, he will miss a day or two of teaching and coaching.

'Hope to very soon declare him cancer free'

Liberty Athletic Director Eric Gardner said Hussey's attitude every day of positivity and confidence that he'll win this battle is inspiring.

Last week, with clumps of hair continually falling out in the shower, he finally shaved his head. He texted his assistant coach Tim McLaughlin with a before and after photo, and McLaughlin texted him back with his before and after photo, showing that he shaved his head in support.

He wears a beanie during practices. With his immune system shot, a tissue for sniffles is always at hand. He perseveres.

"Yesterday (Monday), the first day back to school, he was in the classroom teaching knowing that today he starts his next round of chemo, beanie on his head covering his loss of hair and he simply just continues to be committed to the task ahead of him and refuses to look at this as a negative," Gardner said. "Just another hurdle that he will overcome.

"His courage through this sickness has been nothing short of an example of strength and resiliency.  We truly appreciate the entire Liberty Family and Community being committed to “No Lion fights alone.”

McLaughlin has been helping out Hussey for the last 10 years Hussey has been in charge of the Liberty soccer program. McLaughlin urged Hussey to get to the hospital when he was having leg pain last year.

"He's a fighter and we're ready for him to roll through these post-op stages and hope to very soon declare him cancer-free," McLaughlin said.

Hussey said he's thrilled with how well his team has been playing. Harris said Hussey's example to fight through has led to a 5-3 start to this season.

"It holds us to a standard," Harris said. "Especially during games, if we're down, we never give up."

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Liberty boys soccer team inspired by coach's cancer battle