Tyler Pasher spreads his arms in celebration
Tyler Pasher celebrates after scoring his first MLS goal. (Courtesty of Deporte Total USA)

Tyler Pasher’s journey from Elmira, Canada to Houston

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HOUSTON – Nine-year-old Tyler Pasher stood on the sideline in St. James Park as one of Newcastle United’s ball boys. The Magpies were hosting Premier League giants Liverpool. As the game played on, Pasher watched in awe, waiting for his opportunity to play his role.

It would come soon enough.

A ball went out of bounds near Pasher and the nine-year-old sprung into action going after it. Once in his possession, Pasher turned back to the pitch to give it to a player. Only, it wasn’t just any player.

Eyeing the ball and heading his way was none other than the Liverpool legend himself — Steven Gerrard.

The wonderstruck Pasher handed the ball to Gerrard and went back to his post. In that brief interaction with the world-class player, Pasher made up his mind and since that moment had a singular goal  — become a professional soccer player.

Pasher, now 27, is a Houston Dynamo FC winger who’s carved a spot in the starting XI in his first season with the club. Pasher’s journey to reaching MLS has taken him to two different academies in two different countries, a position change, a stint with an NASL team, and two USL teams — but it all started in a small town in Ontario, Canada.

Playing youth soccer

Elmira, Ontario is a small community that as of 2016 had a population of just over 10,000. One of its most notable feats is its annual Elmira Maple Syrup Festival, which holds the Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest Single Day Maple Syrup Festival with 66,529 people attending in 2000.

Growing up in Elmira, Pasher was just another kid with energy to burn. He was introduced to soccer at five years old, but at that time Pasher was just running around in a circle chasing after a ball. But it wasn’t long before Pasher started separating himself from the pack.

Four years after first playing the sport, Pasher was in England training with Newcastle United’s academy. It was during this spell that the Canadian crossed paths with Gerrard on that fateful day.

For the next six years, Pasher trained with Newcastle United and Canada’s youth national team. Newcastle liked him enough to offer him a contract, unfortunately, work permit issues prevented Pasher from signing. Despite not continuing his training with Newcastle United, the winger’s time with the English club left an impact on him.

“Some of the stuff I was learning at nine-year-old, some of the kids back in Canada were not learning until they were 20. It’s just wild the amount of education that we were getting at such as young age,” Pasher told The Bayoucitian.

“The things you’re learning and being taught, subconsciously and consciously, it just prepares you so much for the game, and definitely, that is where I created my foundation and understanding for soccer.”

Pasher returned to Elmira but the small Canadian city wasn’t brimming with soccer opportunities. He latched on with Toronto FC’s youth academy, which by car takes anywhere from 90 to 120 minutes. For Pasher, who relied on public transportation, it took anywhere from three to four hours.

One trip for Pasher included a 30-minute bus ride to the main bus station, an hour and a half bus ride from the bus station to Toronto, then a mile walk to the subway station followed by an hour subway ride, and finally, a 30-minute walk to the training facility.

The young Canadian made use of that time, however, whether it was catching up on sleep, or schoolwork. But despite the long rides to Toronto FC’s academy, Pasher’s time with the Reds wasn’t the stepping stone he had envisioned. Toronto moved Pasher from attacker to defender — making him a left-back — and never played him in a significant game.

Pasher would travel halfway across the world for his next opportunity.

Becoming a professional soccer player

In 2013, Pasher signed a contract with Finland side PS Kemi Kings in the Finnish third division to play at left wing. The then 19-year-old proved his merit by helping PS Kemi Kings win their division and advancing to the promotion playoff series. In his first year of professional soccer, Pasher hit the back of the net 11 times in 22 games.

“It was one of those situations where I hadn’t had anything for me in Canada, or in the U.S., nothing,” Pasher said.

“So it was an opportunity that came across when I played but I just wanted to go and try it and see what it was like. Obviously, I played in England but I’ve never really played professionally in a full season or league for a team somewhere. So I wanted to go and get that experience.”

The experience proved fruitful for Pasher who parlayed it into a contract with Lansing United of the North American Soccer League.

A year later, he climbed the ranks of soccer joining USL Championship’s Pittsburgh Hounds. Pasher’s stats during his time with Pittsburgh don’t stand out — 2 goals across 22 appearances — but Swope Park Rangers saw enough in the winger to sign him.

After a successful 2016 season with Swope Park Rangers, Pasher signed a first-team contract with the Ranger’s parent club, Sporting KC of Major League Soccer. However, Pasher would only feature once for Sporting KC and a year later, his contract option was declined.

Finding himself without a team once again, Pasher, then 23, signed with the USL’s Indy Eleven. It was at Indy Eleven that Pasher had a breakthrough. In 57 appearances across two-and-a-half seasons, Pasher grabbed six assists and netted 22 goals — including some bangers.

Clearly, something clicked in Pasher during his time at Indy Eleven.

“It was just more so the experienced, more and more games I was playing and understanding I was getting into the game at a professional level,” Pasher told The Bayoucitian.

“But I think a lot of it was just more so figuring out who I was as a player and kind of understanding and finding my identity as a player. And, you know through that process, a lot of trial and error. In the Eleven is where it kind of flourished and I got to find the characteristics that you’re now seeing today.”

Welcome to Houston

Those characteristics caught the attention of Houston Dynamo FC, who got a steal when it acquired Pasher from the Indy Eleven for $50,000 in allocation money.

“I had been watching Tyler for a couple of years now and he’s a player that I really liked because I think he has excellent skills. He’s very comfortable on the ball,” Houston Dynamo FC head coach Tab Ramos said. “And he does make a difference and he makes teams worry about him. And I think that’s a great trait to have.”

For Pasher, signing with the Dynamo FC meant joining a team that caters to the set of skills he brings to the pitch.

“I didn’t want to get myself in a situation where maybe I go to a team and it’s somewhere that, you know if I do get an opportunity I’m not playing in some system that fits my style,” Pasher said.

“And I had multiple conversations with Tab, and Matt [Jordan, Dynamo general manager] and they explained to me kind of what they were building here and I was excited to be a part of it. And still, I’m excited to be a part of it. So, for sure when I got presented the opportunity I did my homework, I did my research and then I just wanted to jump all over it.”

Pasher did more than jump all over the opportunity. The winger started the Dynamo’s first three games and his impact and presence were clearly seen on the pitch.

In the 55th minute of the home opener against the San Jose Earthquakes, Pasher got the ball on the left wing with acres of space in front of him.

Pasher looked up, dribbled forward. Looked up, dribbled forward.

He got inside the box, slowing down his dribbling before patiently picking out Maxi Urruti for the goal.

Against the Portland Timbers in a noisy Providence Park, a game that Pasher called his ‘Welcome to MLS’ moment, the winger whipped in a ball from the right-wing that created an own goal by Portland.

In Houston’s third game of the season, against talent-rich LAFC, Pasher’s back-post run in the 57th minute netted him his first MLS goal.

That Pasher has become such an important cog of the Dynamo’s offense so soon was not something Ramos or the rest of the coaching staff saw coming.

“I thought he would be at this point, you know, a 20-30 minute player and we would bring him along,” Ramos said after the draw against LAFC. “But you know, he’s earned every minute on the field. He gives maximum effort on every play and I’m really happy with where he is right now and how much he’s helping the team.”

Unfortunately for Pasher and the Dynamo, the Canadian winger hasn’t played since that LAFC matchup on May 1st. Pasher picked up a thigh injury and has been working his way back. His absence on the pitch has been felt as the Dynamo have yet to find a like-for-like replacement for what he brings on the pitch.

“Unfortunately, losing Tyler Pasher after the first few games obviously affects us a little because he was doing a great job,” Ramos said. “Let’s hope now that he’s recovering that he gives us what he was giving us before and more.”

Pasher has resumed training with the team and Ramos said he should be available for Saturday’s home game against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

For Pasher, the injury is but a small bump on what has been a long journey in his soccer career so far. Pasher, now firmly in the MLS, admits his game has room to grow. More specifically, the 26-year-old said he’d like to take more risks and be more clinical in the final third.

Pasher’s willingness to take risks, make sacrifices, and make use of every opportunity has led him to MLS and Houston Dynamo FC, and there’s little doubt that the left-footed winger won’t accomplish what he sets out to do the rest of his soccer career.