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Emotional Buc buckles down

Nick Pasvantis has gotten his act together on the field and in the classroom.

By FRANK PASTOR
Published April 26, 2006

NEW PORT RICHEY - Knowing his next move would affect not only his senior season, but the rest of his life, Gulf outfielder Nick Pasvantis sat still for several minutes before removing his jersey.

Coach Shaun Wiemer first took the gesture to mean Pasvantis was turning in his uniform.

Instead, Pasvantis placed the jersey on the bleachers and began running the first of 35 hills, one for each minute he was late for a pregame practice late last month. Each trip took him 40 yards up a sandy hill, 40 yards across, 40 yards down the hill and 40 yards back to the starting line.

As if that wasn't enough to prove he was committed to staying on the team, Pasvantis cheered from the bleachers without complaint after he was benched for that night's game.

"It showed me that he's turning into a man now," Wiemer said. "He's willing to accept responsibility and take his punishment and move forward, not take the easy way out and quit like so many kids have done before."

Pasvantis could have quit on himself after academic and disciplinary problems last year cost him his spot on the team and nearly resulted in him being sent to an alternative school.

But changes in attitude and behavior and hard work in and out of the classroom helped Pasvantis regain his eligibility and put him in position to graduate with his class pending the outcome of an online class and a senior project.

Once a candidate for expulsion, Pasvantis is a candidate for Gulf's turnaround student of the year.

"He's been really a pleasure to coach," Wiemer said. "Sometimes, he gets some temper problems on the field, but it's just because he cares and wants to excel. He gets frustrated if he has a bad game.

"But he's really learned to control his emotions. That was his main thing when he got in trouble with everybody. He couldn't get a handle on his emotions."

Pasvantis takes out his frustration on the ball, batting .372 for fifth-seeded Gulf (12-13, 7-7), which plays No. 4 Nature Coast Tech in the Class 4A, District 8 quarterfinals today at Pasco.

Batting leadoff, Pasvantis (who has a county-high 18 stolen bases in 19 attempts) helps set the table for the middle of the Bucs' lineup, including Brandon Decker, who set a school single-season record with nine home runs.

Pasvantis was the leading hitter on Gulf's junior varsity as a sophomore but was ineligible last season. He had run-ins with teachers at school and was becoming difficult to handle at home.

Faced with the likelihood of having to settle for a GED or being sent to an alternative school, such as a trade school, he took online courses during the summer and committed himself to turning the Cs, Ds and Fs he used to receive into As and Bs.

Pasvantis said his grade point average improved from 1.7 to 2.6 and he expects it to go higher after the next grading period. He hasn't had any detention or in-school suspension, Wiemer said.

Pasvantis said his problems were the result of "hanging out with the wrong people." Though it wasn't easy to give up his old friends, he said his love for baseball and reluctance to disappoint his family were stronger.

"I have to do what's best for me," Pasvantis said. "The kids I hung out with are not going to be there when I'm 20-25 years old. I had to do something for myself."

Pasvantis' progress hasn't gone unnoticed. He recently was called into the principal's office and asked, "What did you do?" Pasvantis recalled.

"I thought I was in trouble," he said. "(The principal) said, "There are 500 kids in school, and you got turnaround student of the year.' I was shocked. I didn't know what to say."

He knew who to call, phoning his mother, Paula Audino, and stepfather, George Durbin, to thank them for their support.

"They kept me in the house doing my schoolwork and gave me good advice and good lectures on, "In the future, you don't want to be this, you want to be that,' " Pasvantis said. "It taught me my dos and don'ts and rights and wrongs."

Pasvantis now has a plan for the future. He wants to play baseball in college and pursue a career as a record producer.

Wiemer said he will try to set up Pasvantis for tryouts with junior colleges next month. Pasvantis' uncle, Ron Durbin, a producer who has worked with the likes of Dr. Dre and Aerosmith, can get him into the recording industry.

"I see lots of possibilities," Pasvantis said.

[Last modified April 26, 2006, 01:22:18]