Student athletes come in many different forms and personalities. Despite this, one multi-sport student athlete in the district shines a different, yet extravagant light on those around him. Whether one knows him as a friend, teammate, player or student, Johlil Blanchard is a student athlete that impacts teammates and coaches around him.

Blanchard is both a football player and a member of the track team, playing running back and cornerback on the field and specializing in sprints on the track. Blanchard said the motivation to get better stems from the desire to prove his doubters wrong any opportunity he gets. 

“I would say proving everyone wrong, something about proving people wrong just gets me going, it gets me excited,” Blanchard said.

In order to feed off of his motivation, Blanchard welcomes doubters and does not let the thoughts of strangers impact his self-confidence. 

“Why would I want people to believe in me? At the end of the day, if I believe in myself, why would I need other people’s validations and belief in me, if I believe that I can do it,” Blanchard said.

Motivation fuels Blanchard to workout and train, with desire to become the best he can be. But his discipline is what allows him to reach goals. With the rigorous course of being a two-sport athlete, Blanchard stays disciplined through the belief in a higher purpose.

“God gave me a gift, and I don’t want to waste it. So I use my gift to play sports. That really drives me because I know I will regret not doing this in my future knowing God gave me the ability to do the things I do on the field and on the track,” Blanchard said.

The discipline Blanchard possesses keeps him focused on success in the classroom, which Blanchard is committed to finishing with success for his family.

“School is really hard for me. . .  but I know that I have to do this if I want to make my family proud,” Blanchard said.

Blanchard said that he wants to do well in all aspects of life so that he can bring pride to his last name. Family pride, performance in sports and dedication in the classroom are all involved in pushing through challenges and achieving Blanchard’s goals for the future.

“Being a student athlete comes with a lot of challenges, the mental and the physical, but with discipline and action, you can do whatever you want,” Blanchard said.

All of the stress of being a student athlete affects Blanchard, however he likes to wind down from the tough regime by playing video games, which he said is a large part of his offseason.

“I dabble in a little bit of Fortnite,” Blanchard said.

Blanchard takes his love for video games and finds a unique perspective on life that separates him from others.

“I look at life like it’s a video game. . .  I look at life from a whole different perspective to the majority of people around me,” Blanchard said.

Many of Blanchard’s teammates have felt his contagious personality, including Senior Zach Olechnowicz, a two-year football captain who also runs track with Blanchard. Olechnowicz met Blanchard through his older brother, Josiah Blanchard.

“I met Johlil when Josiah and I were going into freshman year. We went to Cedar Point together,” Olechnowicz said.

Olechnowicz said that Blanchard is a talented teammate who has developed a strong work ethic in football and track.

“His talent is definitely there . . . he’s dialing in, going to all the football lifts and comes to work a track practice,” Olechnowicz said.

Olechnowicz also said that Blanchard has a positive impact on the locker room and overall team atmosphere through his humor.

“He has an ability to make a lot of people laugh, I think that’s just the way he is . . . he’s always there if you need someone to talk to on the sideline and laugh about a certain situation,” Olechnowicz said.

Olechnowicz sums up Blanchard’s personality into one word to describe his fun and humorous personality.

“My favorite word to describe him is ‘goober’,” Olechnowicz said.

Another person that has seen Blanchard’s growth as a student athlete is Billy D’Amico, who has known Blanchard for several years. D’Amico coaches Blanchard in both of his sports, and witnesses first hand Blanchard’s talent.

“Johlil is very fast. He placed All Suburban League in the Open 100, the only freshman to do that last year. He won us a lot of meets with his speed,” D’Amico said.

D’Amico said that he expects Blanchard to improve through his work ethic. Off the field and track, D’Amico has gotten to know Blanchard well, and said he is a sarcastic person but supports his teammates to do well.

“Johlil is very unique because he rarely gives out praise to people seriously. He gives out praise jokingly sometimes and it’s very sarcastic. But anyone knows that if Johlil really does compliment you, it must be a pretty darn good compliment,” Blanchard said.

Blanchard’s sarcasm is a joy to D’Amico and others, and D’Amico looks to match his humor.

“Johlil is very funny, I know as a coach and a staff member at Revere, if I can get Johlil to laugh, I must of told a pretty funny joke,” D’Amico said.

While his personality outside of sports is very easy-going, Blanchard shows deep passion in competition, which D’Amico sees up close.

“We were running at Copley and everyone knows my stance on how I feel about Copley . . . he got the baton in the four by two and caught the kid from behind and ended up beating him. And he was very excited for it because of just knowing how much it means to me. And he gave me a hug afterward,” D’amico said. 

The unique personality that Blanchard has is felt by his teammates and shows through his diversity between having fun and being dedicated.