Life as a Mountaineer – Pascal Derwaritsch
September 22, 2019 09:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Pascal Derwaritsch left his native Altlussheim, Germany, to come to the U.S. to play soccer and get an American education, but at West Virginia University, he's gotten much more than could ever bargain for.
"Soccer is way more than just a sport," Derwaritsch says. "It's a tool to integrate people everywhere. It's, for me, first coming here to the U.S. I didn't know anyone in the U.S. and I basically had a family right away. I had friends right away. So, soccer is way bigger than just playing."
Derwaritsch continued.
"We have diversity. Even the guys coming from the U.S., they are traveling and leaving their families and friends to come here. We all have one goal and we're united under the Flying WV, fighting for each other," he says.
Derwaritsch is part of a West Virginia University men's program that has made a return to the Top 25. Last year's team finished ahead of NCAA runner-up Akron in the Mid-American Conference regular season standings and ended the year ranked No. 17 in the final Soccer America poll.
The Mountaineers remain in the polls this year at No. 20 following a scoreless draw with No. 12 Charlotte and an impressive, 5-2 victory over No. 15 Coastal Carolina.
Earlier this week, WVU overcame an early deficit to knock off Cincinnati, 2-1, on the road. Foreign players such as Derwaritsch, now a senior, have been a big part of soccer's turnaround.
"We don't have a system in Germany playing for colleges," Derwaritsch explains. "We play for clubs and that's it. If you want to play at a higher level and study at the same time, you have to do both independently."
Derwaritsch can do both here at WVU.
"My parents gave me their full support," he says. "The language took me a while to catch up on that. The whole system of playing, a whole season here is one semester and three games a week and that's pretty tough on your body, so it took me a while to get adjusted."
He has.
This summer he also got a jumpstart on his post-collegiate career by doing an internship with the XFL, now led by former WVU Director of Athletics Oliver Luck.
He helped with the summer showcases the XFL put on this summer to identify talent when the league begins operations next spring.
"Since Oliver Luck is the CEO of the XFL, that's basically how it started," he says. "The XFL was great. We had ex-professionals players from different universities. One of the guys came from Pitt and there was a lot of trash talking between West Virginia and Pitt, obviously."
Derwaritsch even had an opportunity to go out and show what he could do kicking some field goals.
"I think I did pretty well for the first time," he says. "The 30s I got but the 40s … I've got to work on that one a little bit."
Life of a Mountaineer is presented by WVU Medicine.
Produced by Sarah Ramundt.
"Soccer is way more than just a sport," Derwaritsch says. "It's a tool to integrate people everywhere. It's, for me, first coming here to the U.S. I didn't know anyone in the U.S. and I basically had a family right away. I had friends right away. So, soccer is way bigger than just playing."
Derwaritsch continued.
"We have diversity. Even the guys coming from the U.S., they are traveling and leaving their families and friends to come here. We all have one goal and we're united under the Flying WV, fighting for each other," he says.
Derwaritsch is part of a West Virginia University men's program that has made a return to the Top 25. Last year's team finished ahead of NCAA runner-up Akron in the Mid-American Conference regular season standings and ended the year ranked No. 17 in the final Soccer America poll.
The Mountaineers remain in the polls this year at No. 20 following a scoreless draw with No. 12 Charlotte and an impressive, 5-2 victory over No. 15 Coastal Carolina.
Earlier this week, WVU overcame an early deficit to knock off Cincinnati, 2-1, on the road. Foreign players such as Derwaritsch, now a senior, have been a big part of soccer's turnaround.
"We don't have a system in Germany playing for colleges," Derwaritsch explains. "We play for clubs and that's it. If you want to play at a higher level and study at the same time, you have to do both independently."
Derwaritsch can do both here at WVU.
"My parents gave me their full support," he says. "The language took me a while to catch up on that. The whole system of playing, a whole season here is one semester and three games a week and that's pretty tough on your body, so it took me a while to get adjusted."
He has.
This summer he also got a jumpstart on his post-collegiate career by doing an internship with the XFL, now led by former WVU Director of Athletics Oliver Luck.
He helped with the summer showcases the XFL put on this summer to identify talent when the league begins operations next spring.
"Since Oliver Luck is the CEO of the XFL, that's basically how it started," he says. "The XFL was great. We had ex-professionals players from different universities. One of the guys came from Pitt and there was a lot of trash talking between West Virginia and Pitt, obviously."
Derwaritsch even had an opportunity to go out and show what he could do kicking some field goals.
"I think I did pretty well for the first time," he says. "The 30s I got but the 40s … I've got to work on that one a little bit."
Life of a Mountaineer is presented by WVU Medicine.
Produced by Sarah Ramundt.
Players Mentioned
MF
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