OKLAHOMA CITY – In June of 2024, the Mid-Del School District proudly announced that Mid-America Christian men's soccer alumni Tyler McIntosh was promoted to be the Assistant Principal at Midwest City High School, located just east of Oklahoma City with an enrollment of nearly 1300 students.
Before assuming the role, McIntosh served as a history and government teacher at Midwest City High School as well as the head boys' soccer coach from 2017-19 as well as an Assistant Principal with Midwest City Middle School. While his impact has been strongly felt over the last seven years in the Mid-Del School District, McIntosh believes his experience with the game of soccer is what helped him be prepared to be the best educator he can be.
From the time he was just three years old, Tyler McIntosh had a soccer ball in his mitts and at his feet. With a father who coached club level soccer as well as served as the President of the Sand Springs Soccer Club and an older sister who also played competitively at the club level, McIntosh built a love for the game at an early age.
When he was five years old, he was practicing with his sister's U-12 club team and five years later, McIntosh developed a love for goalkeeping as he helped his sister's U-17 team as a practice keeper while also becoming a standout player in his own right with the Sand Springs Soccer Club and Sand Springs High School.
However, the time his high school and club career came to a close, McIntosh had a decision to make. He knew he wanted to get into youth ministry while also continuing to play soccer.
"I was very drawn to the Christian school environment," stated McIntosh. "At that time, I was wanting to get into youth ministry, but after speaking to the pastors at my church, they strongly encouraged that I go to school to get an education degree. They told me that it is good to have a backup plan in-case I decide not to go into ministry."
While being recruited and scouting colleges that had a ministry program, the choice came down to two schools affiliated with the Sooner Athletic Conference, Mid-America Christian University and Southwestern Christian University.
"I was trying to decide between those two schools, but at the time, MACU needed a goalkeeper a little bit more. Also, meeting with some of the people in MACU's Department of Education really helped me decide is where I wanted to go," McIntosh added. "Really, everything with MACU matched up and aligned with all that I wanted to accomplish."
"Tyler was a leader and a unifier on our team," stated Zach Bice, who alongside Evan Dresel served as the head coach of the MACU men's and women's soccer programs from 2006-18. "He had a great ability to relate with all the guys on the team. Tyler was and is strong in his faith and always wanted to have a positive impact on his teammates. He was a talented goalkeeper and had a great ability to be positive and encouraging, even when it wasn't easy."
At the conclusion of the 2011 season, the MACU Men's Soccer program was coming off one of its toughest campaigns in its relatively young history. The program had just finished with a 2-13-2 record and were looking to bounce back heading into the 2012 season with an incoming group of talented players. Along with McIntosh, the program added one of its all-time leading goal scorers and MACU's future Co-Player of the Decade Raphael Bonelle in the attack along with experience in its defense and midfield with Andrew Webster, Brett Brown, Javier Hernandez, Kevin Cabello and Willy Deleon returning to the squad as well as his fellow goalkeepers Jakob O'Meara-Gill, Mike Chivera, James McNew and Brad Bradford.
"There was a legitimate push on the dedication side of things," McIntosh stated about the transformation of the team heading into his freshman season. "We had some phenomenal returning players and with soccer, sometimes all it takes is a couple of skilled guys in key positions that can make or break a team. When I joined the team, we were adding some personnel that really helped out those returning players like Rapha (Bonelle) as well as Gleydson and Peterson Neri down the line. We ended up building a really solid core group. My main goal when I joined the team was to inspire some confidence in that back line and provide some encouragement before going into the attack."
The squad spearheaded by McIntosh guarding the net put together a massive turnaround for the program as MACU wrapped up the 2012 campaign with a 9-7-2 overall record while going 3-3-2 in SAC, marking the first time since the program joined the league that the team finished with a .500 or better record in conference play.
The Evangels took a step forward in 2013 when the program tied its then single-season record in wins (11) while also capturing the program's first NCCAA Central Region Championship since the 2009 season with a 2-1 win over Southwestern Christian at the Dill Soccer Field on November 23.
By the time McIntosh's collegiate career came to a close following the 2015 season, the standout goalkeeper would set marks that to hold to this day in MACU's men's soccer record book. Over his four-year career, McIntosh holds the program records for saves (421) while notching four of the top five single-season saves marks. McIntosh also holds the record for the most games played of any MACU goalkeeper (71), logging the most minutes (6635) while also tallying the second-most wins (30).
"When I look back at my time at MACU, my favorite moment was when we were able to beat SCU for the NCCAA Regional Championship," stated McIntosh. "It was a moment that really stuck with me since I could have easily ended up at either school, so it was really cool to be a part of something like that."
As a result of his incredible accomplishments, McIntosh was selected to MACU's first ever All-Decade Team while also being named an NAIA and NCCAA Scholar-Athlete before graduating with his Bachelor's of Science degree in Education from MACU in 2016.
It didn't take long for McIntosh to hit the ground running with his career in education as not only did he become a history teacher at Muskogee High School as well as an assistant coach for the boys' soccer team, but he ended up receiving an almost immediate promotion to the head coach position after the previous coach left for a new position just before the start of the season.
"Something that really helped me going into my first year of teaching and coaching is I felt the pressures of being a student-athlete prepared me to be a teacher and a coach," added McIntosh. "Between morning and afternoon practices, classes and homework, and then you've got games and travel…there are skills you have to develop and I think there's that little bit of pressure that is very relatable to the education field as a whole. When you're going into your first year as a teacher, it's very sink or swim, so I believe my experiences as a student-athlete at MACU helped me be prepared for the road ahead."
Following his year in Muskogee, McIntosh's education journey brought him back to the Oklahoma City area as he became a teacher at Midwest City High School as well as the head coach of the MCHS boys' soccer team from 2017 to 2019.
After finishing his Master's degree in Educational Administration and Supervision from the University of Central Oklahoma in the spring of 2019, McIntosh was promoted to the Assistant Principal of Midwest City Middle School and this past summer, was elevated to the Assistant Principal at Midwest City High School where he oversees the 10th grade class.
"I love getting to see the work that we are putting into the kids and the work the kids are putting in to better themselves, and to really see it come to fruition," McIntosh stated about his favorite thing about being an educator. "We get to see how these kids overcome adversity whether its academic, athletic, behavioral and take pride in seeing how the kids learn and adapt. Not only do we see them grow academically, but also growing socially and emotionally to become better people."
"Tyler is the sort of guy you want on your team and left an incredible mark on the program," Bice added. "I'm proud of all he has done and how he continues to pour into students and teachers."
"I was very fortunate to play all four years I was at MACU," stated McIntosh. "I was blessed to have some great teammates that poured in and pushed me to help me be successful. I am very much appreciative of the team and the university as a whole."
