PROFILE: Teddy Leggett ’21, Lehigh Men's Lacrosse

The junior played for the Canadian Men’s Senior Field Lacrosse Team in the 2019 Team USA Fall Classic.

Steve Boyle

March 16, 2020

Athletics

Junior Teddy Leggett, who is on pace to finish third all-time at Lehigh in caused turnovers and groundballs, has received back-to-back second team All-Patriot League honors. He is also a former J. Daniel Nolan Award winner as the Mountain Hawks’ top first-year male student-athlete. While Lehigh is his focus, the Canadian-born Leggett was one of 12 collegiate players added to the Canadian Men’s Senior Field Lacrosse Team roster as the squad begins its evaluation process for the 2022 World Championships. He played for Canada in the 2019 Team USA Fall Classic.

MAJOR: Bioengineering

WHAT’S YOUR DREAM JOB?
I'm studying bioengineering right now so, preferably something involving work in the medical industry. I'm also kind of trying to do a bit of pre-med stuff, so maybe med school down the road but mostly something in the medical field.

WHAT GOT YOU STARTED PLAYING LACROSSE?
I was in, like, fourth grade and I just started playing and then kind of stuck with it. I used to play a lot of hockey, so I thought I’d add a spring sport. … I started to excel at it a bit more, at least in high school, and then ended up here.

YOU WERE RECENTLY NAMED TO THE CANADIAN MEN’S SENIOR FIELD LACROSSE TEAM. HOW DID THAT COME ABOUT?
It’s still early in the process. It's like a tryout kind of thing. The next world games are in 2022, so they're just trying to get some younger guys in. But I got to play with them and had an awesome experience. I knew a couple of the coaches, so they asked me to play, and hopefully later down the road, with more tryouts, I’ll do well.

WHAT’S THE PROCESS BETWEEN NOW AND 2022?
We'll probably have the tryouts and get a larger group together and see what works, but [I’m going to] just stick to college and what I'm doing now, and then, I think, it'll sort itself out.

THE CANADIAN TEAM HAS FINISHED THIRD OR BETTER IN EVERY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS SINCE 1967.
Yeah, they have a good squad. Lacrosse is a big Canadian sport. It's hockey and lacrosse, the main ones.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO EVEN BE INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS?
It's an awesome honor. Anytime you get the opportunity to wear your country's colors, it's really special.

DID YOU EVER THINK YOU’D HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY?
No, not really. I mean, it's kind of something you're always like, 'Oh, that'd be unreal if it happened.' But I just worked at it and I don't know, it just happened.

WHAT WILL YOUR SCHEDULE BE LIKE?
I think if something like [the Fall Classic] comes up, then I’ll end up going to that, but for the most part right now, it's just pretty sporadic, not like consistent tryouts. We have a guy on our team, Cole Kirst, who's trying out for the US U19 team right now, and then Caleb Creasor, who is trying out for U19 Canada. They're probably working on that stuff a bit more because those games are this summer.

WHAT WAS THE WEEKEND YOU SPENT WITH THE CANADIAN TEAM LIKE?
It was awesome. I knew a lot of the guys coming in, I [either] played high school with them or they’re their kind of old coaches. So, it's cool just playing again with guys I used to know and then I met a lot of great guys too.

WAS THERE A WOW FACTOR OR DID YOU FEEL LIKE YOU BELONGED?
When I first started playing, I was a bit nervous, because you're playing against a lot of professional guys. But then as soon as the game started, you just settle in and do it, do what you always do. I definitely felt like I belonged but also nervous at the same time.

AT LEHIGH, YOU’RE ON PACE TO FINISH THIRD ALL-TIME IN GROUND BALLS AND CAUSED TURNOVERS. DO YOU EVER THINK ABOUT THAT?
You just kind of go out and play and hope you do well, but nothing like chasing records or anything. Just playing, having fun, going out there with your guys and trying to win games. I'd rather get a ring on the finger than pick up whatever record.

YOU MENTIONED HOCKEY BUT DID YOU PLAY ANY OTHER SPORTS GROWING UP?
Hockey is a big one. I love hockey. It's pretty much only hockey and lacrosse, growing up at least. My main sport was hockey.

WHAT’S YOUR PROUDEST ATHLETIC ACHIEVEMENT TO DATE?
In high school we won a lot, we were a pretty good high school team. In box—box lacrosse is indoor lacrosse—I won the Minto Cup, which is the national championship for Junior A. So that was pretty cool. … I'm hoping we can get a Patriot League Championship or maybe even further here and that would probably be number one.

LEHIGH PLAYED THE EVENTUAL NATIONAL CHAMPION VIRGINIA LAST YEAR. WHEN THEY WON IT ALL, DID YOU THINK ‘WE WERE BEATING THEM AT HALFTIME’?
Yeah, you kind of do, but at the end, we lost that one. But I’m kind of more excited that we get another crack at them this year. Hopefully we're the ones that win the national championship this time and they're thinking that. But, they're a really good team. When we played them, it was really a tough game. I thought we played OK but we just didn't finish strong.

I SAW YOU’RE A SHANIA TWAIN FAN. THAT’S NOT SOMETHING YOU USUALLY HEAR FROM A COLLEGE STUDENT IN 2019.
It’s just kind of funny. I was filling out [the Lehigh lacrosse questionnaire] and I was near my mom, and my mom and I will always drive in the car and listen to a Shania Twain CD. I like all types of music, but it was, not like a joke, I like Shania Twain, but she was playing in the background and it was just kind of a fun answer.

Teddy Leggett posed in a shooting stance with his lacrosse stick

WAS THERE ANY ADJUSTMENT IN COMING TO COLLEGE HERE FROM CANADA?
Not really. I actually have dual citizenship. We moved down to the States for a bit [when I was younger] and my mom actually works in D.C. at the Canadian Embassy. I like to call us ‘border people.’ We'll say, ‘All right, we can go to Canada for winter break’ or something, and then we'll head to Canada for a little while and come back to the U.S. So it was pretty easy. It wasn't really anything to get acclimated to because I had been [in the U.S.] for a while, but college in general, [that’s a] different kind of everything.

WHERE EXACTLY ARE YOU FROM IN CANADA?
The Toronto area. I was born in Markham and then for high school I lived in Vaughan.

TORONTO IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE CITIES. WHERE’S THE NEXT PLACE I HAVE TO GO IN CANADA? MONTREAL IS HIGH ON MY LIST.
Oh, definitely Montreal. British Columbia is really nice. I haven't been out to BC but BC is really good. Obviously, Quebec City, Montreal, those are really fun ones.

WHO HAS BEEN YOUR BEST MENTOR?
A few coaches along the way. My high school coach [Brodie Merril] was really good. He is a professional lacrosse player [in Canada]. I was a short stick before I came to play with them and then he switched me over, so he taught me a lot. As far as mentors go, basically all my coaches ... [Lehigh lacrosse] Coach [Kevin] Cassese as well, he’s a phenomenal coach.

WHAT’S SOMETHING MOST PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO LEARN ABOUT YOU?
I'm a big chess guy. The team and I will play a best-of-seven series in chess.

DO YOU HAVE A NICKNAME?
I just go by Teddy.

IS THAT YOUR GIVEN NAME?
I'm an Edward, but I go by Teddy.

IS THERE A REASON YOU WEAR NO. 45?
It's kind of a tradition at my high school that guys would go on to college and wear the number 45. No one was allowed to wear 45 in high school because [the last] kid [who did] passed away. It's kind of a tradition where we honor him. I wasn't there when he went there, I didn't know him or anything but it's a tradition that people try and do.

WHAT’S THE BEST THING ABOUT THE LEHIGH LACROSSE PROGRAM?
I like the feel of it. It's also just the teammates, all the guys, it's such a close knit group. You walk in your first day and you're immediately a part of that group and that family.

WHAT’S THE BEST THING ABOUT LEHIGH AS A UNIVERSITY?
It's beautiful, it's gorgeous. I get to study what I want, and I get to play sports. Overall it's just a great fit, just everything about it.