VOLLEYBALL Boyd competes in Senior Olympic event

The long-time player helped his team place fifth in this year's tournament.
BY JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
GIRARD -- When Findley Boyd was a senior at Slippery Rock University in 1961 and doing his student teaching at Ellwood City High, he also took a job as associate physical director at the Youngstown YMCA.
That early assignment marked the beginning of his 40-year-plus interest in volleyball, and set the stage for his recent success in the Senior Olympics.
"That's when I got interested in volleyball," said Boyd, 65, of Girard, a native of New Castle, recalling his early YMCA days working with Jeep McDonald, who was youth director and an international-known volleyball innovator, and Dick Bennett, head physical director.
Third Senior Olympics
Boyd went on to become a standout volleyball player both at the YMCA and in tournament play, and recently celebrated one of the highlights of his career while vying in his third straight Senior Olympics.
Competing for the Maryland Fairfield volleyball team, he helped his squad place fifth out of 28 teams in the 65-69 age class of the 2003 Senior Olympics held May 26-June 9 in Hampton Roads, Va.
Boyd managed to hook up with the Maryland team, managed by Richard Stillman of Baltimore, after learning that the squad was looking for good players.
He also was a member of the Dayton Southwest Volleyball Club that placed fifth at the 2001 Senior Olympics at Baton Rouge, La. And he played for the North Coast Volleyball Club from the North Canton-Akron area in the 1999 Senior Olympics in Orlando, Fla., although that team failed to place.
Good influences
Volleyball quickly caught Boyd's attention when he started working at the YMCA in 1961, primarily because of McDonald.
"I became exposed to volleyball at the Y and by that exposure I learned [how to play]," said Boyd, who has been playing volleyball for 40 years at the YMCA. "I just liked the quickness of the game. I was always a good jumper. I always had a good arm swing."
He said McDonald "was a good teacher and he was involved in volleyball internationally. He brought back up-to-date skills and he worked with you [with] these things that he was picking up, and it improved your game."
Boyd also learned a lot from ace John Tokash of Youngstown.
"John Tokash at one time he was one of the better players around here. He was one of the better players in the region." said Boyd. "He had a lot of knowledge and it rubbed off on me, and he also coached our YMCA team and I learned a lot from him [playing under him]."
Boyd said Bennett helped to prepare him to become a teacher and coach.
"Dick Bennett taught me a lot about organizing physical education classes, and it played into my [career] role because I coached track and basketball along with volleyball," said Boyd.
Teacher, coach, official
Indeed, playing volleyball is just one dimension to Boyd, who became a teacher, coach and official.
After working at the YMCA from 1961-65 -- with U.S. military service in between -- he launched his teaching career at East High. He taught 22 years at East and 10 years at Chaney before retiring in 1997, specializing in biology and general science. He coached volleyball at both schools (East from 1978-86 and Chaney from 1992-97).
Boyd also serves as a volleyball official for area high schools and the Junior Olympics. In addition, he officiates high school track and does some substitute teaching and plays baseball with the Girard Oldtimers team.
He and his wife, Barbara, have two grown children, Skip and Tim.
kovach@vindy.com