Reversal of Fortune
During many of the men's soccer games at Spartan Stadium this past fall, you could find Amir Pasic in the front row of the bleachers. He would sit for a few minutes, stand up, and pace back and forth muttering words under his breath.
What seemed like the stress of a dedicated fan was actually the stress of a teammate forced to the sidelines by ineligibility.
Pasic was ruled ineligible by the NCAA upon his arrival to Castleton after transferring schools four times in three years. The NCAA requires student athletes to sit out an entire year after transferring more than once to prevent them from transferring solely because of athletics.
However, Pasic's journey from school to school was not just soccer related.
After moving to the United States from Bosnia at the age of 4, Pasic grew up and attended high school in Burlington, VT. He was a standout goalkeeper for Burlington High School, winning a state championship as a starter in net his sophomore year.
After graduating high school in 2011, Pasic took his talents to the University of Central Arkansas, a Division 1 soccer program. After a year and a half, he transferred to the University of Connecticut for one semester, and then back to Central Arkansas.
"Transferring to UConn was a great experience because I got to train with some amazing players but financially it was never going to work, which forced me to go back to Central Arkansas," Pasic said.
Pasic appreciated his time at Central Arkansas as well, but quickly learned it wasn't for him.
"Being at Central Arkansas was a good experience, I got to see so much of the country traveling with that team, but I didn't like living in the south. I wanted to be closer to home," Pasic said.
Pasic's homesickness was fueled by his mother's illness, as she's battled cancer since he was in high school.
"I really wanted my mom to be able to watch me play, and I wanted to be closer to home in case my mom's health worsened," Pasic explained.
With his need to be closer to his family and finish college, Pasic transferred to St. Michaels College in the spring of 2014, and then finally to Castleton just days before the 2014 fall sports season began.
Soon after his arrival, Amir was informed by head coach John O'Connor that the NCAA had deemed him ineligible. That began the waiver process.
"We had to do a waiver where we answer certain questions and send any materials we think are pertinent to why Amir should be eligible," O'Connor said.
O'Connor, working with Associate Dean for Athletics and Recreation Deanna Tyson and Assistant Director of Compliance Brittany Higgins, gathered all of the necessary materials required by the waiver process.
"We sent transcripts from St. Michaels, Central Arkansas and UConn, we had a personal statement from him, a personal statement from us and information regarding his mother's illness," O'Connor said.
After weeks of anticipation, the NCAA finally reviewed the waiver materials. They decided to turn down the waiver and informed O'Connor and Tyson that Amir would have to sit out the whole season.
"I felt terrible for Amir. I felt so bad because he was working so hard and he was so much a part of the team. He was at every practice and so willing to help everybody," O'Conner said.
Tyson echoed O'Connor's feelings, but wasn't ready to give up just yet.
"The NCAA felt we didn't provide a good enough reason for him to get the waiver. I felt terrible. I talked to the NCAA representative and asked if there was anything I could do, and she said I could appeal the decision, so that's what we did," Tyson said.
The appeal included sending more information regarding the health of Pasic's mother, a letter from St. Michaels explaining how he was misinformed on the number of credits that would transfer there, and a personal letter from Tyson.
"I included a personal letter to the NCAA explaining how Amir is the perfect example of why they have these waivers. Amir goes to every practice, every game, he's a great student athlete and the only thing missing for him was being able to compete," Tyson said.
Several days passed and Pasic, along with everyone involved in the appeal process waited anxiously for a response from the NCAA.
Finally, the call came.
"The woman from the NCAA called and said 'we've never done this before, but we overturned the appeal," Tyson said.
"In my 15 years here we've never had an appeal go through. Brittany Higgins came in and told me and I said 'that's unbelievable!'" she explained with a smile.
The news was passed on to O'Connor, who then told Pasic he was officially eligible to play.
"Finding out I could play was an amazing feeling. I was happy that I'd finally be able to be there on the field in a game with a group of guys that I became so close with so quick," Pasic said.
After sitting out 13 games, Pasic made his first appearance in a Spartan uniform on Oct. 17 in a game at Green Mountain College.
Within minutes of being on the field, it was evident that the anxiety he once showed as a teammate watching from the sideline was gone. Instead, he showed the intensity and confidence of a goalie ready to make a difference.
And he did.
Pasic had three shutouts in his first four appearances in net for the Spartans, most notably a 1-0 win over powerhouse Middlebury – an emotional game in which his mother watched him in person for the first time since he was in high school.
"I was excited for my mom to be able to watch me play because she's been through so much and she's been such an inspiration to me. It was a feeling I'll never forget and a feeling I'll never be able to put into words," Pasic said with a smile.
Pasic will return to Castleton for his final season of eligibility next fall, giving him a full off-season to participate in team workouts and training sessions.
O'Connor is excited for Pasic to continue improve in the off-season and sees the veteran goalie as a huge asset to the team for the near future.
"His leadership really enhances what we have and I think that'll really be great for us. The goalie position is so important and I think he'll become a great leader and mentor for the guys on our team," O'Connor said.