Prince George, BC - Sourosh Amani is the first UNBC men's soccer player to sign a professional contract. Amani, an alumnus of the Timberwolves men's soccer program, played in Prince George during the 2012 fall season and is the first UNBC men's soccer player to sign with a professional European club team.

As a transfer student Amani came to UNBC with both the experience and the skill needed to help ease the Timberwolves through their transition from the college league to Canada West. He made an instant impact when he arrived in Prince George, bringing up the Timberwolves level of play significantly as they poised to enter their first year of Canada West play. Unfortunately his career in green and gold was cut short due to an injury in late September 2013. A collision with the opposing keeper resulted in a fractured fibula and tibia. The injury and rehabilitation that followed may have kept Amani out of his boots but that didn't mean he was off the pitch completely, he continued to support his team both at training and at games from the sidelines.

"Due to my injury I did not spend a whole lot of time on the pitch with UNBC. However, from a psychological point of view, I learned a lot from head coach Alan Alderson about what it takes to take your game to the next level and about pursuing and achieving your life goals," said Amani about his UNBC experience.

Head coach of the men's soccer program Alan Alderson was thrilled when he first signed Amani and is happy to have played a part in helping Amani accomplishing one of his life goals.

"Sourosh was a great addition to our young Timberwolves team in our first Canada West season, his passion for the game was apparent from the moment he stepped on the pitch," said Alderson. “We are so excited for Sourosh and so incredibly happy that he was able to recover from that nasty injury and do the massive amount of work to get back his strength, fitness and touch and be able to realize one of his dreams - getting signed as a professional player.  He is such a terrific young man, and we will all be cheering him on and hoping that he will meet his new challenges with great success!"

The contract is a dream come true for the young footballer but there was no fairy-godmother or shooting stars involved. Amani worked tirelessly during his rehabilitation in order to get to the level he needed to achieve his goals. Countless hours working by himself after practice focusing on the aspects of the game he did not excel at is just part of how Amani got to where he is now.

"It was a great feeling to receive an offer. I worked extremely hard on my recovery and practiced hard daily with the goal in mind to sign a professional contract, but what I have learned is that there is no shortcut to achieving your goals. There are no hidden secrets or magic potions. It is all about hard work during the times when no one is watching you. Once you know your strengths, stay after practice and work on your weaknesses. Every day that goes by I am still looking for and always will be looking for ways to improve myself," said Amani.

Amani has already begun training with his new squad BI/Bolungarvik located in Iceland. BI/Bolungarvik is a relatively new club, which formed when two clubs from neighbouring towns merged in May 2006. In just four short years the newly formed club jumped up three divisions entering first division for the first time in 2010, since then the club has remained a staple of Iceland's top division. Amani will be wearing jersey number 21 and is playing as an attacking right back for his new club. 

"I am very happy to be playing again, and glad that I can experience life and football in Iceland," said Amani about the transition to his new club. "But I do hope to be able to return to Canada one day as a professional player or youth coach. In the future I would like to be able to make a contribution to youth soccer in Canada".

Apart from being very excited about his new team and the move to Iceland, Amani was quick to add that he would like to thank the people who took great care of him in Prince George, especially after his injury.

"Mentally it was very tough for me to deal with such a heavy injury at that point of my career. However, the support I received encouraged me to come back stronger than before. There are a lot of people I should thank, however, Brad, Debbie, Owen and Liam Stewart deserve a very special thank you. I will never forget the kindness that they showed by taking me into their house as their third son and brother allowing me to get back on my feet thousands of miles from home. Prince George might be located in Northern BC and have cold winters, but the community in PG and UNBC always show a lot of warmth," added Amani.

Sourosh Amani is not only the first men's soccer player but the first UNBC Timberwolves alumni from any sport to go on and play professionally after their university career. Head coach Alan Alderson hopes that Amani is just the first of his players to sign with a professional team and that there will be more in the near future.

“When I started at UNBC two years ago, I challenged our players to see who would be the first UNBC men's soccer alum to sign a professional contract, and we are not surprised at all that Sourosh was able to make the jump into the professional ranks after watching him play and train here on a regular basis," said Alderson. "There are others here who will have a great shot at playing pro as well, and we will hope that they will have learned from watching the level of commitment, discipline and focus that Amani has modelled.”

 The men's soccer program will start their training camp in mid- August before heading east for a series of exhibition games in Edmonton and Calgary.

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