At his family home in Surrey, Travis Selje is everywhere, yet nowhere.
Reminders of a teenager taken too soon are visible immediately, upon entry at the front door.
Framed soccer and baseball jerseys line the wall up the stairs leading to Travissa国际传媒� bedroom, virtually untouched since that fateful evening two years ago Friday (May 3).
A blue hoodie of his also rests untouched on a newel post where he left it, at the top of the stairs outside his trophy-filled room. On an opposite wall, a framed collection of photos includes images of Travis in every grade through school, with a blank space for the Grade 12 year he never experienced.
Outside, theresa国际传媒檚 a soccer net and artificial turf he never got to use.
sa国际传媒淭hat was for him to train on, and that net, we assembled that the day before he died,sa国际传媒� lamented his father, Miki.
sa国际传媒淗e wanted it, so we ordered it, put it together on the Tuesday, and on Wednesday he was dead. And I cansa国际传媒檛 take it down.sa国际传媒�
| A framed collection shows photos of Travis Selje in every grade through school, with a blank space for the Grade 12 year he never experienced. (Photo: Tom Zillich) |
At around 9 p.m. on May 3, 2017, Travis Malcolm Selje sa国际传媒� pronounced SELL-yay sa国际传媒搘as on his way home from a soccer practice when a speeding Cadillac slammed into his Honda Prelude, which was stopped at a red light, heading east.
The 17-year-old, a high-level athlete and straight-A student, succumbed to his massive injuries at Royal Columbian Hospital two days later.
Last October, Surrey resident Rituraj Kaur Grewal, 24, was charged in connection with the crash, her next day in court to come next year.
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sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 no excuse,sa国际传媒� Miki said. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 like pulling a trigger of a gun, as far as Isa国际传媒檓 concerned.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 why we donsa国际传媒檛 call it an accident, we call it a crime,sa国际传媒� added Travissa国际传媒� mother, Carola.
Near the site of the crash, on the southwest corner of 64th Avenue and 176th Street, a roadside memorial includes a white metal cross built by Miki, a machinist by trade.
sa国际传媒淭hat was the hardest thing I ever did,sa国际传媒� he said in a quavering voice while seated on his homesa国际传媒檚 cozy backyard patio, which the family had built partly as a safe haven for Travis and his older sister, Sara, to socialize with friends.
On a sunny morning last week, the heartbroken Selje family sa国际传媒� Miki, Carola and their daughter Sara, along with Mikisa国际传媒檚 brother Markus and family friend Angie Suomi sa国际传媒� gathered there to speak to a reporter for the first time since Travissa国际传媒� death, to talk about and also about a foundation launched in his name.
They also shared fond memories about Travis, the ultra-competitive athlete and neat-freak student who somehow found time to hold down a pair of part-time jobs sa国际传媒� at the Fast Track go-kart place in Langley and also at the Ace Hardware store on Cloverdalesa国际传媒檚 main drag, not far from the home Travis had known since birth.
Carola remembers her son as a hard-working boy who excelled at soccer and pretty much everything else he set his mind to, including the game of baseball. One day, at the age of 12, Travis had to choose between the two sports when operators of the Vancouver Whitecapssa国际传媒� youth program came calling.
sa国际传媒淗e decided with a heavy heart to focus on soccer,sa国际传媒� Carola remembers. sa国际传媒淗e tried to play baseball for another year after that, but it didnsa国际传媒檛 quite work, just not enough time.sa国际传媒�
| Travis Selje in action with the Whitecaps youth soccer program. (submitted photo) |
For his Grade 10 year, Travis commuted daily to Burnaby Central Secondary for classes with the other young Whitecaps prospects.
sa国际传媒淓very morning he left at 5:30 and didnsa国际传媒檛 get home until 7, and he kept straight-As and never complained once,sa国际传媒� Miki said.
sa国际传媒淔or a 15-year-old kid, thatsa国际传媒檚 pretty good.sa国际传媒�
Four years into it, with injuries mounting and change in the air, Travis left the Whitecaps program to return to Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary, much closer to home.
At age 16, he was also again positioned as centre-back defender with Surrey United, the club where he began playing the game as a five-year-old, in 2005.
sa国际传媒淗e was just excelling, and loved it,sa国际传媒� Carola recalled. sa国际传媒淪o this was in Grade 11, when universities had approached him already, about going to this place or that place, so he said he would make his decision after playing in the Canada Games that August, with Team BC.
sa国际传媒淲e were talking about it, all three of us,sa国际传媒� she said, gesturing toward her husband, her eyes dewy.
sa国际传媒淗e never got to make the decision.sa国际传媒�
Carola stopped talking, for a brief moment of silence in the conversation.
In the distance, a siren.
sa国际传媒淒o you hear that?sa国际传媒� she asked. sa国际传媒淵ou probably donsa国际传媒檛 hear those sirens right now,sa国际传媒� she continued, sa国际传媒渂ut you have no idea what wesa国际传媒檙e going through. I hear them and Isa国际传媒檓 right back there, on that day it happened. I hear them every day.sa国际传媒�
Cigarette in hand, Miki nodded in agreement.
sa国际传媒淚 even asked the police to stop using their sirens around here, because I just cansa国际传媒檛 hear them,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淚 know they cansa国际传媒檛 do that, but it just drives me nuts.sa国际传媒�
| Travis Selje with Rex, the family dog he got to enjoy for the final six months of his life. (submitted photo) |
Back to the subject of Travis and soccer, his parents say he did not see himself playing pro.
sa国际传媒淗e didnsa国际传媒檛 talk about it, no,sa国际传媒� Miki related. sa国际传媒淎nd I think he was a better baseball player than a soccer player, but soccer was a better opportunity at the time, and for me it was a way for him to get into scholarships, an education, and he knew education came first, too. Soccer was a way for him to get that.sa国际传媒�
Carola said Travis was working hard to graduate several months early, in January of 2018.
sa国际传媒淲e didnsa国际传媒檛 know which university hesa国际传媒檇 go to,sa国际传媒� she said, sa国际传媒渂ut we wanted to keep him in Canada, and maybe that was going to be back east somewhere.sa国际传媒�
He wanted to be in business, or accounting.
sa国际传媒淗e loved money,sa国际传媒� Sara added with a smile. sa国际传媒淗e had options. He was really smart.sa国际传媒�
With the help of Suomi and others, the local soccer community will come together on June 2 for the inaugural TS3 Inspires tournament, created as a fun-filled day for preteen players on 80 teams to celebrate Travissa国际传媒� life, in a six-on-six format.
Naturally, the games will be played at Cloverdale Athletic Park, the place where Travis spent his final hour conscious.
sa国际传媒淪urrey United approached us that they wanted to do a tournament in Travissa国际传媒� name, and we never thought something like that would happen, and so fast,sa国际传媒� Carola explained. sa国际传媒淪o they took it in their own hands, with peoplesa国际传媒檚 help sa国际传媒� so many volunteers and great people, and the community just wants to help and contribute and honour Travis, and that is so touching.
sa国际传媒淔rom the day this happened,sa国际传媒� she added, sa国际传媒渨esa国际传媒檝e had overwhelming support from people, some we didnsa国际传媒檛 even know, with flowers and cards, letters. We want to thank everyone.sa国际传媒� We didnsa国际传媒檛 even know how to get through a day, the next minute, nothing, without our friends.sa国际传媒�
PHOTO: Framed photos of Travis Selje and other items fill the top of a dresser in his bedroom. (Photo: Tom Zillich)
includes several tributes to Travis written by former coaches and others who remember watching him play soccer, including Jeff Clarke, Surrey Unitedsa国际传媒檚 technical director.
sa国际传媒淗e was a champion and true competitor and a kid that truly loved every second of his sports experiences,sa国际传媒� Clarke wrote. sa国际传媒淪urrey United SC celebrated all of his successes in his teenage years with Whitecaps FC and were proud to see him return to SUSC at U17. In the short period that he returned to the club before his tragic passing, Travis inspired his 2000 (birth year) teammates and many of the young players that emulated him in the club. He also set a standard of being a great teammate and competitor that will influence SUSC teams and players positively for years to come.sa国际传媒�
The website also includes video of Travis in action on the soccer pitch.
sa国际传媒淎 player he had some good battles with, his dad always shot video of the games, of his son playing sa国际传媒� every single game,sa国际传媒� Miki explained. sa国际传媒淭heysa国际传媒檙e from Coquitlam, and he put that together and gave it to me. He went though every video he had and picked out highlights of Travis playing.sa国际传媒�
With Surrey Unitedsa国际传媒檚 BCSPL team in his final season, Travis wore #3, so the TS3 Inspires tournament name is combination of his initials and his jersey number.
Travis was born on March 5, 2000, and his jersey with the Whitecaps youth program was #35, a representation of his birth month and day. That Whitecaps jersey number, with the word sa国际传媒淪eljesa国际传媒� above it, is tattooed on Mikisa国际传媒檚 back, life-sized and in the same font.
Fighting tears while standing outside his sonsa国际传媒檚 bedroom, Miki pulled up his shirt to reveal the breathtaking artwork.
sa国际传媒淥n jersey day or whatever, people ask where mine is. Well, itsa国际传媒檚 always with me, right there on my back.sa国际传媒�
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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