Nolan Bellerose was 3 years old when his mom died. A few months later, his dad walked out and never returned, leaving him in the care of people who were making questionable decisions.

It appeared Bellerose was heading down a dangerous path.

“I was getting into trouble and doing bad things with the wrong kind of people,” he said on CBC/Radio-Canada.

Bellerose’s childhood was filled with anger and pain, until he got the chance to play football – something he’d always dreamt of doing but could never afford.

“It’s just changed me so much, made me into the man I am today and I’m loving it,” Bellerose said.

Today, Bellerose is a 6-foot-2, 225-pound offensive lineman for the New Westminster Hyacks (British Columbia) football team, and believes the sport saved his life.

 “If I was still going down that path without football I wouldn’t be here right now,” he said on CBC’s the Current. “I would probably either be dead or in jail right now. I believe that 100 percent.”

Hyacks head coach Farhan Lalji attributes Bellerose’s turnaround to the discipline and values that football teaches.

“We throw life skills at them in a real tangible way and they realize that there is no negotiating it,” Lalji said to The Province. “During the offseason, this past January and February, Nolan started to work really hard and we saw that transformation happening.”

Football gave Bellerose the fighting chance he needed to get out of a rough situation. He is graduating high school this year and plans to head to college to pursue a career in social work.

Whether he plays football or not in college, his end goal is to “motivate youth around Canada to play (the) sports they want, to do and see that it can change their lives too.”

Photo Courtesy of Gerry Kahrmann