Inderpal Bagri was not going to let a potentially devastating injury stop him from playing the sport he loves.
The 16-year-old Fraser Valley Select soccer team striker is looking forward to scoring goals on the pitch this season. He is also looking to be a leader on the bench and have fun with his teammates as he enters his third season of select team play in Prince Rupert.
However, despite having established himself on the team as a capable goal scorer with strong ball control, and what his coach describes as a knack for consistently being in the right place at the right time, there was a time when Bagri’s ability to play soccer, or to participate in sports generally, was in doubt after suffering a severe arm injury when he was hit by a van.
The accident took place in 2010 when Bagri, who was 10 years old at the time was riding home from a friend’s place.
“I was riding out of my friend’s driveway,” he said. “I looked right, I looked left and I was sort of on the street, but I wasn’t completely in it. I saw this car coming really fast so I went forwards and he went forwards too. I went backwards and he tried to swerve. He didn’t stop or anything. Next thing I know, I’m on the ground.”
Bagri said he his left arm was broken in four different places, and required metal rods and a long period of inactivity to allow the injured limb to heal. Bagri said he still carries a large scar from where the doctors performed his surgery, and even though the rods have been taken out recently, the injured arm is not fully straight.
“I was out of action for three years,” Bagri said. “I couldn’t play soccer, I couldn’t play anything,”
Bagri’s doctors said there was a chance he would never be able to play again because the damage to his arm was so severe. However, Bagri said he kept pushing to make sure he recovered as much as possible.
“I can’t even remember how many months of therapy I needed for my arm because it was just so weak from me not using it for a long time,” he said.
At this time, Bagri had already been playing soccer for about four years, having first started playing with his family and friends as a young child in Abbotford, B.C. Bagri said he would enjoy himself even when he was not winning games.
“We just got together with a couple of friends, picked up a ball and we just started kicking it around,” he said. “Next thing you know we were joining a league and it was just fun.”
Having developed a love for the sport, Bagri said he was determined to do what it took to regain the strength in his arm necessary to continue playing. After working for three years to build the strength back up in his arm, Bagri said he tried out for his local select team.
“I tried out for this big premier team and I made it the first time,” he said. “And after that, I just kept on getting better after training everyday, just working on control speed.”
Bagri said his family moved to Prince Rupert from Abbotsford where he has played on the select team for the past three years. Alex Hogendoorn is Bagri’s select team coach this summer. He said he has challenged Bagri to be a better leader off the field in addition to playing well on it.
“He’s done a very good job encouraging people and trying to be that leader,” Hogendoorn said. “He’s doing a lot more of the vocal stuff in addition to showing the way with his play.”
Bagri said making the transition to playing with a new team was made easier by how welcoming his teammates were.
“Down in Abbotsford with the competitive league, it’s just not always fun,” he said. “It was serious all the time and you just have to keep focused. Here’s, it’s a bit more loose and we just have fun and that’s what I like about it.”
Bagri said he is going to keep pushing in the future to see where his passion will take him. He said he dreams of playing soccer on the highest level, but is open to whatever the future throws his way.
“I’ve always wanted to be aw professional soccer player,” he said. “But ideas change, things change, and while I’d still like to play at that level, I’ll wait and see where things go.”