Photo by Justin Ryberg
KMS Vice Principal John Boyd (above) stands next a sign representing the Michigan City Basketball League, which Boyd runs for the area’s youths.
Krueger’s Boyd bequeaths belief and passion to new generations
By Damani Edgington
Staff writer
MICHIGAN CITY – Before winning a championship, coaching future professionals and being a middle school vice principal, John Boyd was a kid who slept in class.
He was an elementary schooler in Gary, Ind., sound asleep when his teacher woke him up.
“She stuck with me.” Boyd said, “She didn’t send me out. So that was a point where I thought I could believe in people.”
Boyd went on to graduate from Indiana University and become an educator and a coach. Currently, he’s a vice principal at Krueger Middle School, where he also coached the eighth grade boys and girls basketball teams this year.
In his office and on the court, students and staff both benefit from his understanding and nurturing demeanor.
“Just every day, over the course of a general conversation with Coach, I get a lot of nuggets,” said coach Brandon Williams, who coaches and works with Boyd. “So I always look forward to that.”
Boyd got his own wisdom from his mother, Delphine Boyd. Growing up in Gary, his mother imbued not just faith but a belief system as well.
“In order for you to be really good at anything you gotta have a belief system.” Boyd said. “Whatever you believe, you have to have a system that encourages and molds that belief system. That was what made me open my mind to ways to make players and people better.”
As his belief system grew and his interests broadened, he benefited from coaches and mentors like Benjamin Jones, his little league coach, and coach Gene Johnson, his football coach.
From these coaches, he learned the three D’s: Determination, discipline, and desire. He also learned the three P’s: Persistence, preparation, and patience.
“They taught me that, and those things just stuck with me about being successful,” Boyd said.
Outside of sports, their mentorship helped him in everyday life as well. They even kept him alive.
“I got to stay overnight in Chicago,” he recounted. “I was talking to a young lady and a person bumped me out of a seat. At that moment you’re thought to be tough to be ready to attack, and instead it was like slow motion. I looked straight into his eyes and… I just saw images of the end.
“It just brought a calmness over my body and it made me say, ‘That’s OK, it’s all right, your world.’ And then I moved away. And then that same person later on in life, he was killed. And that made me understand that emotion can really get you into a lot of trouble.”
By staying out of trouble, Boyd had a successful 10-year run as head coach of Gary West Side’s boys basketball team. During his time there, he won a state championship in 2002 in the 58-55 final game against Pike High School.
Despite the high praise from those around Boyd, he simply saw it as a job that he needed to do.
“My assignment was just to walk in that gym and know that I would be successful,” Boyd said. “A lot of people highlight it, lift it up, but to me it’s like every accomplishment.”
Boyd’s life hasn’t just been highs since that day in elementary school, though. His parents’ passing affected him and changed the way he looked at things.
“It made me have to step up and be the most important Boyd, to live a certain way,” he reflected.
These euphoric highs and and sorrowful lows made him the coach he is today, though. He coached 10 more years at Michigan City High School, where he mentored international players such as ShanQuan Hemphill and Mike Miller.
Boyd also runs Michigan City Basketball League, which has grown exponentially and means a lot to the community.
Krueger basketball player Hillary Labis, who’s been working with Boyd for years, has learned many of his most important lessons.
“He always makes me get out of my comfort zone, and always believe that I can be better everyday,” she said.
As for Boyd, he balances strong belief with an open mind.
“A leader can’t think that I know it all,” he said. “A leader has to include others, uplift others when they’re ready to be uplifted, and a leader has to be strong-valued.”
His words haven’t just been limited to Hillary, though. Other students, such as Quen-Tavious Fly and Jaiden Baker, have learned from him as well.
“He helped me develop as a basketball player and as a student,” Quen-Tavious said.
Baker noted how Boyd didn’t just help him develop him athletically, but mentally, too.
“He helped me with my confidence during basketball games, not to be scared to shoot the ball and just play basketball,” he said.
And that’s just what he does. Boyd coaches because he loves the sport and enjoys passing on that love to his athletes.
“When you love something, you have no problem doing it,” he said. “You won’t have an excuse to miss, you’ll find an excuse to be there.
“You won’t think about the pain, how hard it is, you’ll only think about the greatness that possibly can come if I keep working harder and harder.”
For athletes who want to adopt this mentality, Boyd has one piece of advice.
“Find somebody who believes in you,” he said. “Find somebody who has a plan to get you to where your goals are.
“A truth teller. Somebody who is going to be as enthusiastic and energized about your dreams as they are about theirs.”