For some young athletes, it's said time is needed to allow them to grow into their bodies. But Sam Sedore, an imposing physical presence since his entry to the Sudbury football scene, has always looked comfortable in his body.
The Huntsville native, who moved to Sudbury in Grade 8, had to learn to grow into the game of football instead.
And grow he did. Sedore has been the most dominating force (in the opinion of this writer) in the SDSSAA high-school varsity football league this fall.
He is truly a man among boys. At 6-5 and playing on both sides of the ball, Sedore can impose himself on virtually every single play. It certainly wasn't always like that, despite the height advantage that he enjoyed, even dating back to his days in the Joe MacDonald Youth Football League.
"Everyone was telling me that I should play, just because of my size," Sedore said. "I thought I would like the contact and stuff."
That he did. A lifelong hockey player, Sedore found a much healthier outlet for his aggression and intensity, though trying to capture both elements in a controlled setting was no easy task.
"Sam was a very emotional player when he first started with us," said Lo-Ellen Park head coach Kevin Ellsworth, the man who has watched the development of his star lineman through five years of football with the Knights. "He had the hockey player mentality.
"(But now he understands) football is a very different game. You have to play with intensity, but it has to be level."
Sedore himself recognizes as his maturity grew, his game improved.
"Early on, I was still pretty hot-headed," Sedore said. "I just realized that I would never be able to play if I always had a target on my back. I realized I just can't do that if I wanted to keep playing."
A trek to Toronto as part of a Northern Ontario all-star team last spring — coming off a stellar fall football season — was yet another eye-opener for him.
A defensive end until Grade 12, Sedore also began playing offensive tackle in 2013, increasing his versatility in the eyes of university scouts.
"I'm still trying to get used to the 'O' line, because it's just my second season there," said Sedore. "It was weird not tackling someone every single play."
Weird, perhaps, but key, in the eyes of Ellsworth, who has seen his fair share of talented local footballers move on to varying degrees of success in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport ranks.
Coming off a tough loss to Lively in the city finals last year, Ellsworth issued a challenge to Sedore, as the big senior prepared for his swan song in the high school loop.
"He was looking for a full commitment to hit the gym throughout the summer, staying focused on what you want to do," said Sedore.
And what he wants to do, apparently, is to become the best football player his innate physical ability will allow.
Even if it takes a little time to grow into it.
@northern_life
