MUSKEGON – Brandon Edwards has a tremendous amount of respect for his mother, Noriko Edwards, who was a single parent who worked extremely hard for years to provide for her three sons.
So he understood when she used to chide him about the amount of time he spent playing soccer, instead of using his talents and energy to pursue more practical opportunities.
But he had other ideas, and didn’t want to give in.
“It’s funny, because my mom always used to give me crap about playing soccer,” Edwards said. “My mom is my rock. I don’t think she ever missed a day of work. But my mom’s boyfriend TJ, before he died, used to tell her, ‘Let him chase his dream.’”
As it turns out, he’s still chasing that dream at the age of 25. Edwards is having the time of his life playing with the Muskegon Risers indoor team this season, and still has hopes of catching on with a professional soccer team before he’s done.
[1]‘It’s a blessing,” said Edwards, whose Risers squad will take the field on Saturday night at Mercy Health Arena for a key game against the Cincinnati Swerve. “Not everyone gets to continue to play after college, so I cherish every practice and game, and just being able to play.”
It was just a few years ago that Edwards wondered if his days of playing high-level competitive soccer were over.
He started playing the sport as a young boy because he wanted to be like his older brother, Andrew Edwards, who became an All-Stater at Orchard View High School.
Edwards never became the type of standout his brother was, but he earned All-Conference and third-team All-State honors in his senior season at OV. He went on to play at Muskegon Community College, where his teammates gave him the ‘Hustle Award,” which he said was for “being there every day and giving it everything that I had.”
He finished his collegiate career at Davenport University, where he played for two years and used the opportunity to earn his degree.
Edwards’ final season at Davenport was in the fall of 2019, and he wasn’t really sure what his next step in the soccer world would be.
[2]Then a call came from Ben Ritsema, his old coach at MCC, who had become the coach of the Muskegon Risers winter indoor team.
The Risers were about to head to a road game in Rochester, N.Y., and a number of players were not able to make the trip. Ritsema asked Edwards if he wanted to come along and suit up for the game, with the understanding that it would only be a temporary arrangement.
“Ritsema asked me about that Rochester game, I had been to some of the indoor games and enjoyed the atmosphere, and I was all in,” Edwards said. “I still wanted to play.”
One game was all it took for Ritsema to recognize that Edwards’ intense, high-energy style fit nicely with indoor soccer, so he remained on the team’s radar.
There was no Risers soccer in 2020, due to the onset of COVID, but the team reassembled in the winter of 2021 to play a three-game exhibition schedule, and Edwards was invited to participate.
He did well in those three games and was invited back this season, when the Risers rejoined the Major Arena Soccer League 2, playing a full 12-game regular season schedule.
[3]Now Edwards is playing semipro indoor soccer on a full-time basis, and his passion to keep improving and advancing has not gone away.
He loves playing for the Risers, and would love the opportunity to perhaps get a call-up to a pro team in the Major Arena Soccer League, which is one step above the Risers’ league.
“I would love it if the opportunity presented itself,” Edwards said. “I want to try to make a highlight video and put it out there and see what happens. I would love to play professionally.”
Whether that happens or not, he will always have a place on the Risers’ indoor roster, because Ritsema loves the work ethic, dedication and enthusiasm he brings to the team.
“I don’t even know where to start – I don’t know if I can think of enough great things to say about him,” Ritsema said. “He is the ultimate team player. He is a coach’s dream and a teammate’s dream. He’s at practice every day early, and he always practices with intensity and gives 100 percent, which makes the entire team better.
“He has really become a student of the indoor game and learned the game. He watches a lot of film and has worked his way into becoming one of the top defenders in the league. As soon as he graduated from Davenport, we needed players, so I reached out to him and he said sure, he would play. Ever since that first game he’s been with us for everything. I’m sure glad I made that call.”
[4]As Ritsema indicated, Edwards is a defensive specialist, a style of play he developed growing up. He uses his speed and energy to limit opponents’ scoring opportunities, and in a high-scoring sport like indoor soccer, that type of player is extremely valuable.
But Edwards also has occasional offensive moments, and none were bigger than the dramatic goal he scored on Jan. 29 against the Cincinnati Swerve.
The Risers were trailing 6-5 late in the game and were running out of time. But Edwards managed to score with less than two minutes left on the clock, forcing the game to overtime, then Miguel Flores scored to give Muskegon a dramatic 7-6 victory at home.
For Edwards, who gets very excited and freely displays his emotions, it was an incredible moment.
“It all happened so fast,” Edwards said. “When I got in, my first thought was to just try to get in front of their goalie to screen him so one of our guys could score. Then Flores tipped the ball toward the goal from our bench side, (Francesco Calabrese) saw me open and redirected it to me, and I just tapped it in. It was all over from there. I definitely celebrated hard.”
Edwards and the Risers have been having a pretty incredible season, considering their circumstances. After not playing in any league since 2019, most people probably expected them to struggle this season, but they are currently 4-5 and in second place in the MASL 2’s Great Lakes Division. Their goal is to stay in that spot over the last three games of the regular season, because the top two teams in the division qualify for the league playoffs.
“I give credit to a lot of the guys who played those three games last year, when we went 2-1, and who came back and wanted to prove a point this year,” Edwards said. “Last season gave us some high hopes, and we wondered if we could compete at this level.”
When Edwards is not playing with the Risers, he works full-time at Pliant Plastics in Spring Lake. He’s also started a new venture as a personal coach for young soccer players in the area.
He only has one client so far, a young high school player named Jesse McClain, who plays at his alma mater, Orchard View.
While Edwards still has big dreams for his own career, he also loves sharing everything he’s learned with up-and-coming players.
“He’s my first student, my guinea pig,” Edwards said about McClain. “It’s cool to have a young player come and want me to help him out. At the end of the day, it’s all a blessing. I’m still able to play, and I would like to give back to the community and share the things I’ve learned.”