There is a popular quote that reads: "the difference between something good and something great is attention to detail".

Despite being all of 12 years old, local baseball prospect Olivier Séguin clearly would like to be something great.

Whether as a hitter or a pitcher, no detail is too fine to catch the eye of the grade 7 student at Ecole St Denis who views his baseball involvement as a constant search for knowledge.

At this age, that approach definitely sets the Sudbury Voyageurs' pitcher/shortstop/catcher (and sometimes centerfielder) apart.

"Some people, they go up thinking that they just want to hit the ball really hard and far," said Séguin. "They just want to swing the bat as hard as they can."

"I hit for contact," he noted. "You really have to watch the pitch, watch the ball hit the bat. I'm not the greatest power hitter, but hopefully that develops over time."

Not that this has stopped the right-handed hitter from circling the bases this past summer - albeit not in a classic home run trot.

"It should have been a double, maybe even a single, but there were so many errors that it became an inside the park home run," said Séguin with a smile.

Still, it's his versatility that garners much attention. Patrolling CF in another game, Séguin unleased a laser to home plate that nailed an opposing runner looking to score. And when he steps on the mound, his is an international spectrum that he taps into, always searching for an edge.

"I always try and be a sponge," said Séguin. "There is a pitcher from Japan on You Tube - he's very much into detail: how to grip a ball, workouts that he does."

It allows the youngster to carry on a pitching conversation well beyond his years, even with a middling casual baseball fan.

"I throw a four-seam, two-seam and a curveball," Séguin explained. "Sometimes I throw a change-up. The four seam doesn't move as much but it has a higher spin rate which makes it go faster. The two seam runs in a little bit."

"And with the curveball, you have to really work on your wrist and learn to flick it properly."

Very much a student of the game, Séguin acknowledged a need to ease off the gas in this department, just a tad, from time to time.

"I tend to overthink too much and be too hard on myself," he said. "I need to get a little stronger and better mentally."

While baseball is his passion, the 5'4" all-around athlete also finds time to play "almost every sport that I can (at St Denis)" - all while trying to strike a healthy balance in a sporting environment that is different than when he steps out on the diamond.

"You're with you friends (with school sports), so you don't think as much about being competitive," stated Séguin. "It's about having fun, having a good time - but I am still super competitive."

And very detail oriented, by all accounts.