Sierra Boyuk could always envision the day where she would commit to playing post-secondary athletics.

That this day would come with the announcement that the talented multi-sport athlete would be the first official recruit of the newly-formed Laurentian Voyageurs women's flag football team, however - well, that's a little more right out of left field.

A smooth-skating hockey forward who excelled within the Sudbury Lady Wolves program for years, Boyuk certainly garnered the attention of some scouts along the way.

In the end, the toll of the ultra-competitiveness that comes part and parcel of Canada's favourite winter sport, most notably at the higher levels of the game, would see the 18 year-old who is as quick in track shoes as she is on the ice opt to simply focus on her academics.

At least until a very unexpected option would come her way.

"I was walking down the hall one day and Miss (Karley) McGlade showed me that Laurentian had made an Instagram page and they had (flag football) tryouts coming up," noted the senior at Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School.

"I was shocked but wanted to sign up right away. Then I saw that you actually had to already be enrolled at Laurentian."

A little more investigative work and the comforting knowledge that Lance Patrie was head coach of the team (Patrie and Boyuk knew each other well from the high-school flag football ranks) made the decision a no-brainer, committing to the team for the 2024-2025 season and beyond.

A self-acknowledged tomboy growing up, Boyuk would garner an exposure to football courtesy of those male family members who follow the professional game much more closely.

"My brother (he is 21 now) always loved football, so he and my dad and me would go to the Confed field all the time and just throw the ball around," Boyuk recalled. "And it was like a big football; it wasn't a women's size."

"I was young, maybe nine, and they would whip it at me," she laughed. "They would not hold back so I got used to catching the big football."

But it was her speed and quickness and not her receiving abilities that separated Boyuk from the crowd basically from the time she first entered the high-school ranks - though her knowledge of the game would have to play catch-up to her skill set.

"I never really watched football or understood the rules," she said. "I definitely found it hard to grasp the concept of the game at the start. I could never get the yards and the downs - I was never used to that."

But raw athleticism is something special.

As a high-school freshman, Boyuk would score her team's only TD in a 15-7 Division B final loss to the Confederation Chargers, a powerhouse squad that would go on to win the Division A banner the next three years running.

With Covid throwing a wrench into things, Boyuk and the Gators resurfaced in earnest for the 2022 fall season, making the jump to the Division A ranks as their star tailback earned Most Outstanding Player honours in the league.

This was also the first year that Boyuk would be called upon to do double-duty, a game changer in terms of offering a much bigger picture look at the game of flag football.

"When I jumped to defense, that was the first time I saw it from both perspectives on the field," noted Boyuk. "When you're on defense, you start to understand how to angle out a running back so that they lose yards, you learn how to keep them to the outside."

"It helped me understand where a defense is positioned and how to cut off of them to get to that open space."

Boyuk requires only a small gap in the defense to make something big happen - and then she is off to the races, quite literally.

"I love that feeling of knowing we had 80 yards to go because the second you get by the line, you can just fly," she said with excitement in her voice.

Uncertain of her future both athletically and academically, Boyuk decided to tackle the so-called "victory lap", an appropriate designation in her case, as it turned out. Named as Division A league MVP, Boyuk would score the Gators' first two majors as BAC claimed their first ever "A" banner thanks to a 21-7 win over the Lance Patrie - coached Lasalle Lancers.

"He (Patrie) cares so much about the game and our coaches would always speak so highly of him," said Boyuk. "He's always such a good sport, even if we beat his team. He would always wish the best for us. I was really happy to hear that he would be coaching."

Still waiting to decide whether her major will steer her towards Teaching or Nursing, Boyuk knows that there will be some adjustment needed as she moves from the 7 v 7 full field game to the 5 v 5 format that runs across the field rather than the full length of it.

"I think this will be a lot more agility based," said Boyuk. "You have to be able to make those quick cuts and stuff. It's a more narrow field but you can still find open spots. You just have to look for them more."

Or, sometimes when you're really lucky, that next opportunity just finds you.