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12/19/2017 11:00 PMBlair Allen owns three characteristics that coaches love to see: talent, an excellent work ethic, and a sharp mind. Blair recently finished his senior season as a member of the Valley Regional-Old Lyme football team and led the Warriors in tackles by making more than 100 at his inside linebacker position. He also contributed to the offense as a slot receiver and tight end. In the spring, Blair will play right field for the Valley baseball team.
Blair earned a spot on the All-Pequot League First Team, as well as the Most Improved Player Award for the Warriors’ football squad in the recent fall season. He also helped Valley have a great year that saw the team win nine games, claim a division title, and make the playoffs. The experience of sharing so much success alongside so many longtime friends made a huge difference in Blair’s development as both a player and a person.
“I think that this entire season has been life changing—the culmination of 12 years of football and my friends coming together to make history. We won the conference. We got our year up in the gym,” says Blair, a Deep River resident. “On a more individual level, I’ve been doubted a lot of my life. It was my year to show that this hard work has paid off. It was my chance to show what I could do. At the end of the season, to go All-Conference and be named Most Improved Player, it was a huge honor. I can’t express how grateful I am to my parents, my coaches, and my teammates for helping me. This whole campaign has been so influential on my life and what I’m going to accomplish in the future.”
Blair got his start in football around same time he began playing baseball. Blair says that baseball is his favorite sport, but adds that it’s really tough for him to pick one over the other.
“I started playing both baseball and flag football in kindergarten at five or six. Both sports I’ve loved all my life. My life wouldn’t be the same without either. Baseball is the sport I am looking to play at the next level. That’s always been a dream of mine since I was first exposed to baseball,” Blair says. “If I had to choose, I would say baseball, but I love football, the preparation, and the battle that goes along with it...I love football for what it’s taught me through the years. That’s been a great experience to play at a high school level and build relationships with teammates I’ve been playing with since flag football.”
It took years of hard work for Blair to claim his starting spot with the Warriors’ football team. When Blair first arrived at Valley Regional High School, he came close to dropping football entirely.
“Really, I was on the fence about playing football when I got to Valley. We hadn’t been a strong team throughout my youth. We won very few games throughout my five seasons,” says Blair. “I felt like it would be in my best interests to concentrate on baseball, play fall ball, and work out in the offseason. My parents encouraged me to try one more year, and we won the state championship [in 2014]. Then I just fell I love with the coaches, and I thought we could continue to do something special.”
Head Coach Tim King sure is glad that Blair opted to join the football squad. King says that Blair had a big influence on the Warriors through his intellect, hard work, and overall demeanor during the past four years.
“He’s a very smart kid. We relied on him a lot of the time to make the calls on the defensive front. Between him reading the play coming up and knowing the formations and doing a lot of film study, he was able to put himself in that position and where we needed to be,” says Coach King. “He did a great job getting into the weight room over the summer and last fall. He’s also a heck of baseball player. That’s probably his best sport. He’s just a good athlete. He is a great young man, pleasure to have and pleasure to coach.”
Baseball may be Blair’s top sport, but it also provided a big challenge for him during the 2017 spring season. Blair had to put in extra time to earn his starting spot and then had to work even harder to overcome a season-ending injury in order to be ready for the beginning of the football season.
“I started off the season not starting, but then I got the opportunity. I dedicated hundreds of hours in the winter, waiting for the opportunity to come, and I wanted to make sure I kept my spot. I worked my way into the cleanup spot,” Blair says. “Then I got injured, and I tore several ligaments in my ankle. That was one of the toughest things I’ve had to deal with in my life. Being on crutches, going to therapy, and not being able to lift my lower body was tough in the summer, and just trying to get myself close to where I was before the baseball season started. I think it healed up nicely.”
Beyond his work on the diamond and the gridiron, Blair is a member of the National Honor Society at Valley Regional. Blair feels there’s a similar dynamic between that organization and the sports teams he plays for.
“It’s similar. It’s a bunch of like-minded people there for the same thing, whether it be for the love of the game or to provide service to the community, and that could be the town, the school, tutoring, or other events,” says Blair. “It’s people wanting to be there for others and seeking some sort of benefit from it. You do it because you love it, and you want to succeed.”
Blair made sure that he has plenty of options when it comes to college. He wants to play baseball, but it’s also important to Blair that he prepares himself for life after his time in the classroom is finished.
“I applied to 17 schools across the country. A lot of application and SAT fees,” says Blair. “I made the decision to go baseball instead of football. I thought about it, and the main thing for me, though—baseball or not—I want to be at a university that’s going to challenge me and help me grow and set me up for my future success. Sports aren’t forever. You need to work, have a job, support yourself, and a family.”