Leon Boyd is a former Triton and Olympian who also played in two World Baseball Classics with the Dutch National baseball team. He remembers his time as a Triton and the opportunities baseball gave him playing under legendary Triton coach Don Archer.
"I was fortunate enough to play for Don Archer from 1999-2002 with the Tritons. In 1999 I joined a group of players a year older that Don Archer had coached up from 12 year olds and was treated early as an equal. Don made sure there were no egos and that the “team” aspect was strictly upheld. Donny Baseball, as we called him, cared about his players more than the game and was not afraid to have our backs on the field. We knew not to argue any calls because he was going to stand up for us.
Being chosen to the BC Selects camp was pretty neat, making the team alongside a Triton team mate and my long time third baseman Matt Stewart was a very cool experience. Winning gold was the icing on the cake. Playing for the Tritons opened the door to my collegiate career. Many of the team mates I had during my three years with the Tritons were scouted, given scholarships, found their own scholarships or worked their way on to college teams. I was a tall, skinny, low 80’s MPH pitcher, undrafted out of high school. Don Archer stressed the bulldog mentality and limiting walks. I excelled in these aspects of pitching, keeping the ball low, and hitting my corners and going deep into games. I had a decent amount of success leading to a few scholarship offers and took a partial scholarship to a Treasure Valley Community College (TVCC), a junior college in Oregon my first year out of high school. From TVCC, I went on to Play at a very good Division 1 program in Georgia - Armstrong Atlantic University.
My parents have always lead an active lifestyle and encouraged me to do the same throughout high school. Running and weights became a staple outside of my baseball practices and games, which made the adjustments to the collegiate baseball programs much easier. I learned a lot of fundamental baseball and pitching basics from my time with the Tritons. I’ve continued to learn about how to improve gain an edge and win by not being satisfied or thinking I know how to pitch."
It wasn’t until 2005, when Leon realized he could apply for a Dutch passport, that he went on to play in Europe (Belgium) prior to signing with the Dutch Major League in 2007. That year he went on to play for the Dutch National team and was part of the team that won the European Championship. From there, he played in the 2008 Olympic games, two World Baseball Classics as well as being part of the Dutch National team that in 2011 won the World Championship - a great feat that a European country has not accomplished since 1938.
Since his retirement from the Dutch team, Leon has returned home and is still playing in the Men’s league in Burnaby, enjoying his friends and game he loves. As Leon’s parents still live in the Peninsula, we look forward to having him out to a game and checking out his old stomping grounds. Maybe his old coach and LA Angels scout Don Archer is nearby.
For more on Leon and a good read, Melissa Couto of the Canadian Baseball Network wrote an article on Leon. Click the link below.
http://www.canadianbaseballnetwork.com/articles/sir-leon-boyd-white-rocks-knighted-princess-beatrix/
