Northern Vision Care Youth Athlete of the Month: Levi McLain

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — It’s absolutely fascinating to see what youth athletes are able to accomplish, such as Levi Mclain, a 15-year-old who has earned a black belt in Taekwondo and an orange belt in Jiu-Jitsu.

Levi was selected as April’s Northern Vision Care Youth Athlete of the Month for his commitment and success in a pair of martial arts that focus on discipline — a feat that some younger athletes may have trouble with.

At seven-year-old, Levi’s mom signed him up for martial arts at Red Dragon to see if it would help him with his “emotional control,” and according to the 15-year-old, it worked.

“I feel a whole lot more in control now than I did seven years ago,” said Levi.

At first, Levi was enamoured by combat sports because it was “what you see in the movies,” but his passion grew beyond that mindset as he got older.

“I don’t know how to describe it really well. I don’t know exactly what drew it to me, but I am very passionate about it.”

“I kind of just seemed to really enjoy the aspect of combat without actually hurting anybody and it being like a very competitive sport.”

Two years after beginning his journey into martial arts, Levi was invited to help Master Ben Marsh of Red Dragon teach his kids jiu-jitsu classes and has been helping out ever since.

“I definitely do enjoy teaching. It’s a really good feeling when you help a kid do something. Then you see them do the stuff that you helped show them. It’s really cool to see that,” said Levi.

For someone who used to be unable to control their emotions, martial arts seemed to positively impact Levi. He says his top priority before stepping into the gym is treating everyone respectfully.

“A gym needs to have the right atmosphere for training because if you’re not like a respectful person, then you kind of push everyone away. It’s really hard to enjoy the sport when you’re drilling with somebody or training with somebody who isn’t respectful.”

Currently, Levi doesn’t have a firm idea of what the future holds for him. He says he takes his education seriously in case he decides to go to a post-secondary school but also wants to heavily consider competing as a martial artist to get to on larger stages, such as the ADCC or IBJJF. Another option may be opening his own gym one day.

In his spare time, Levi is reading or hanging out with his friends playing board games or role-playing games.

Congratulations to Levi McLain for being named the Northern Vision Care Youth Athlete of the Month for April.

If the athlete you nominated didn’t win this month, keep nominating! The votes carry over, so keep submitting your picks for the Northern Vision Care Youth Athlete of the Month!

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