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 TravisB次元官网网址� 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, thereB次元官网网址檚 a soccer net and artificial turf he never got to use.
B次元官网网址淭hat was for him to train on, and that net, we assembled that the day before he died,B次元官网网址� lamented his father, Miki.
B次元官网网址淗e wanted it, so we ordered it, put it together on the Tuesday, and on Wednesday he was dead. And I canB次元官网网址檛 take it down.B次元官网网址�
| 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 B次元官网网址� pronounced SELL-yay B次元官网网址搘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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B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 no excuse,B次元官网网址� Miki said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 like pulling a trigger of a gun, as far as IB次元官网网址檓 concerned.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 why we donB次元官网网址檛 call it an accident, we call it a crime,B次元官网网址� added TravisB次元官网网址� 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.
B次元官网网址淭hat was the hardest thing I ever did,B次元官网网址� he said in a quavering voice while seated on his homeB次元官网网址檚 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 B次元官网网址� Miki, Carola and their daughter Sara, along with MikiB次元官网网址檚 brother Markus and family friend Angie Suomi B次元官网网址� gathered there to speak to a reporter for the first time since TravisB次元官网网址� 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 B次元官网网址� at the Fast Track go-kart place in Langley and also at the Ace Hardware store on CloverdaleB次元官网网址檚 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 WhitecapsB次元官网网址� youth program came calling.
B次元官网网址淗e decided with a heavy heart to focus on soccer,B次元官网网址� Carola remembers. B次元官网网址淗e tried to play baseball for another year after that, but it didnB次元官网网址檛 quite work, just not enough time.B次元官网网址�
| 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.
B次元官网网址淓very morning he left at 5:30 and didnB次元官网网址檛 get home until 7, and he kept straight-As and never complained once,B次元官网网址� Miki said.
B次元官网网址淔or a 15-year-old kid, thatB次元官网网址檚 pretty good.B次元官网网址�
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.
B次元官网网址淗e was just excelling, and loved it,B次元官网网址� Carola recalled. B次元官网网址淪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.
B次元官网网址淲e were talking about it, all three of us,B次元官网网址� she said, gesturing toward her husband, her eyes dewy.
B次元官网网址淗e never got to make the decision.B次元官网网址�
Carola stopped talking, for a brief moment of silence in the conversation.
In the distance, a siren.
B次元官网网址淒o you hear that?B次元官网网址� she asked. B次元官网网址淵ou probably donB次元官网网址檛 hear those sirens right now,B次元官网网址� she continued, B次元官网网址渂ut you have no idea what weB次元官网网址檙e going through. I hear them and IB次元官网网址檓 right back there, on that day it happened. I hear them every day.B次元官网网址�
Cigarette in hand, Miki nodded in agreement.
B次元官网网址淚 even asked the police to stop using their sirens around here, because I just canB次元官网网址檛 hear them,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 know they canB次元官网网址檛 do that, but it just drives me nuts.B次元官网网址�
| 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.
B次元官网网址淗e didnB次元官网网址檛 talk about it, no,B次元官网网址� Miki related. B次元官网网址淎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.B次元官网网址�
Carola said Travis was working hard to graduate several months early, in January of 2018.
B次元官网网址淲e didnB次元官网网址檛 know which university heB次元官网网址檇 go to,B次元官网网址� she said, B次元官网网址渂ut we wanted to keep him in Canada, and maybe that was going to be back east somewhere.B次元官网网址�
He wanted to be in business, or accounting.
B次元官网网址淗e loved money,B次元官网网址� Sara added with a smile. B次元官网网址淗e had options. He was really smart.B次元官网网址�
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 TravisB次元官网网址� 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.
B次元官网网址淪urrey United approached us that they wanted to do a tournament in TravisB次元官网网址� name, and we never thought something like that would happen, and so fast,B次元官网网址� Carola explained. B次元官网网址淪o they took it in their own hands, with peopleB次元官网网址檚 help B次元官网网址� so many volunteers and great people, and the community just wants to help and contribute and honour Travis, and that is so touching.
B次元官网网址淔rom the day this happened,B次元官网网址� she added, B次元官网网址渨eB次元官网网址檝e had overwhelming support from people, some we didnB次元官网网址檛 even know, with flowers and cards, letters. We want to thank everyone.B次元官网网址� We didnB次元官网网址檛 even know how to get through a day, the next minute, nothing, without our friends.B次元官网网址�
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 UnitedB次元官网网址檚 technical director.
B次元官网网址淗e was a champion and true competitor and a kid that truly loved every second of his sports experiences,B次元官网网址� Clarke wrote. B次元官网网址淪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.B次元官网网址�
The website also includes video of Travis in action on the soccer pitch.
B次元官网网址淎 player he had some good battles with, his dad always shot video of the games, of his son playing B次元官网网址� every single game,B次元官网网址� Miki explained. B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙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.B次元官网网址�
With Surrey UnitedB次元官网网址檚 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 B次元官网网址淪eljeB次元官网网址� above it, is tattooed on MikiB次元官网网址檚 back, life-sized and in the same font.
Fighting tears while standing outside his sonB次元官网网址檚 bedroom, Miki pulled up his shirt to reveal the breathtaking artwork.
B次元官网网址淥n jersey day or whatever, people ask where mine is. Well, itB次元官网网址檚 always with me, right there on my back.B次元官网网址�
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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