Slipping out from his post as running back in the Sudbury U16 Jr Spartans' backfield on Saturday, Levi Blouin hauls in a crossing pattern pass from QB Evan DeMarchi pretty much in the dead centre of the field.

By the time that Blouin had half a step on the Huronia Stallions’ defenders, the entire Sudbury sideline knew that this race was over.

A 15 year old multi-sport talent at Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School, Blouin clearly has a knack for evading opposing tacklers on the turf as well as clearing hurdles on the track with the very best of them.

It’s just not always his thing.

The eldest of three children in a family that has spent much of their lives in the Valleys (Valley East and the racetrack region of Rayside-Balfour), Blouin initially gravitated to basketball as his “first real sport” at the age of nine or ten.

As recently as this past winter, the 5’9.5” grade nine student had suited up with either the Sudbury Jam or Sudbury Storm on an annual basis, his role on the court allowing for contact, though certainly not endorsing it.

Pretty much an average sized kid, Blouin felt tugged in a different direction, however, one in which he had absolutely no idea that he could excel.

“I started with lacrosse about four years ago and that kind of sparked the love of contact,” said the Valleyview Public School graduate who fully acknowledged some personal anxiety when he first stepped on to that floor.

“Then I went out to Joe Mac (Joe MacDonald Youth Football League) and that went well – then out for the Jr Spartans and I made it and started that season. It just took off from there.”

Blessed with the speed to outrun his defensive peers when competing at ages where the fundamentals of tackling and maintaining outside coverage are still being engrained in the youngsters, Blouin knew full well the day would come where he would have no choice but to run inside – or change positions.

“You can’t shy away from the contact,” he said with a smile, the concept carried with him like a badge of honour. “You have to go at it, brace yourself and take it. If you take the hit to them, it’s not as bad.”

The adrenaline rush that comes from that perfectly applied hit was one that Blouin discovered early, still learning the critical stick skills required to shine as a member of the Sudbury Rockhounds (rep box lacrosse team).

“I think it was just something I found out that I was good at,” he said. “My big thing in lacrosse was hitting people. And when I got the big hit, everyone was excited. I didn’t experience anything like that prior to that.”

An overwhelming amount of football plays culminate with the ball carrier being taken to the turf by opponents who feel absolutely no need to abide by a “handle with kid gloves” mindset - which doesn’t mean that Blouin and others of his ilk wish to see that same majority of plays begin that way.

Hitting the hole properly is a learned skill for pretty much every running back and tail back around.

“My first running back coach, J.J. McKnight, he was really good at teaching how to read the gaps, learning where to go,” said Blouin. “This year, I had a few days with Team Ontario (he and Sudbury teammates Byron Marshall and Ryder D’Amours have cracked the roster) and I learned an incredible amount of stuff.”

“You’re always looking outside, but if that’s not there, you have to take whatever there is. Hit the hole, drop your shoulder and pray. You’re going to get hit; just be ready for it.”

Thankfully, even the sturdiest of hurdles in track and field bears little resemblance to those gigantors who work the trenches in football. As Blouin made his way to the track factory that is the home of the Knights, his speed was a given.

“I told Mister Ward (Lo-Ellen head track coach Colin Ward) I was a sprinter and he said to come and try the hurdles,” noted the young man who erased the SDSSAA novice record in both the 100m (14.61 – faster than the current NOSSA record) and 300m hurdle events (42.67) last week at the city championships.

“At Lo-Ellen, we are lucky to have very good hurdle coaches,” said Blouin. “I seem to have a natural thing for it – and with great coaches, it turned out great. Prior to this last meet, I was very much relying on natural athleticism. The technique is coming along, but it’s a slow process in learning the hurdles.”

Thankfully, if worse comes to worse, Levi Blouin can always initiate contact, even if somewhat involuntarily, with the hurdle. We all know who is coming out on top once this contact is made.

His sports schedule, at the moment, is nothing if not absolutely insane.

The NOSSA Track & Field Championships are set for Wednesday and Thursday in Sault Ste Marie, with Blouin and his Jr Spartans cohorts returning home for a Saturday afternoon encounter with the Quinte Skyhawks.

OFSAA undoubtedly lurks on the horizon while his progression through the three stages of Team Ontario U16 tryouts means that Blouin is off to Nova Scotia in July for provincial football matchups.

Like the accomplished runner that he is, Blouin is taking it all in stride.

“It’s a lot, but I love this life,” he stressed. “I couldn’t live without always having something on the go.”