Photo by: Larry French
Beaming With Pride
7/1/2019 5:30:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse, Student Athlete, Features
By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications
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Teddy Leggett has a lot of pride in his home country.
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"Making Team Canada is one of the end goals on my goal sheet," he said. "That's a huge driving goal."
Â
No matter what's on Leggett's goal sheet in any given moment, he has an internal drive to succeed that has led to consistent (and impressive) play. Through two seasons with Lehigh men's lacrosse, Leggett owns 140 groundballs and 43 caused turnovers, easily on pace to be among the program's all-time leaders in both categories. His 79 groundballs this past season were tied for first in program history among non-faceoff specialists.
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As the C.S. Lewis quote reads, "Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching." For Leggett, there doesn't need to be a coach or teammate in attendance to work hard.
Â
That work ethic is something people around him notice as well.
Â
"Infectious is probably the best work to describe Teddy's work ethic," said classmate and fellow long-stick midfielder Matt Douglas. "The ability to make his desire to succeed rub off on his teammates is pretty special. I would say it's definitely one of his stronger traits as a player, and as a person."
Â
"I see Teddy as the work ethic pace car for our program," said Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese. "No one works harder on the field, in the weight room and in the library. He wants to be great at anything and everything he does, and he is willing to work harder and longer than others in order to get it."
Â
Leggett admittedly works so hard because he values the opportunity to be a student-athlete at a prestigious institution.
Â
"I love playing lacrosse and have a phenomenal opportunity to go to school here," said Leggett. "I'm grateful for that and don't want to squander the opportunity."
Â
Teddy certainly earned his chance to play Division I lacrosse. Growing up, the 5-foot-8 Leggett was often counted out.
Â
Teddy was born in Canada (Markham, Ontario). At a fairly young age, his family moved to Virginia for his parents' work.
Â
"My dad is a big science guy; he has moved all around working in different spots," said Teddy. "As soon as we got to Virginia, my mom started working at the Canadian Embassy. Northern Virginia is home base for my family. My oldest brother lived in Toronto and now he's back in Virginia doing an internships at the embassy. We are real border people. We are always visiting grandparents in Canada or back down in Washington, D.C."
Â
Teddy's immediate family is his only family members in the United States, with the rest in Canada. Teddy has dual citizenship, and sees both countries as home.
Â
"I definitely consider myself a bit more Canadian, but have been to the states for so long too," he said.
Â
Leggett actually went back to Canada to play high school lacrosse at The Hill Academy, which produces a number of Division I college lacrosse players, including former Mountain Hawks' Patrick Corbett '14 and Nolan Apers '18.
Â
While at The Hill Academy, Teddy excelled, but not necessarily because of his talent.
Â
"I was always told that other guys are immensely more talented. But you never know how hard someone else is working," said Leggett. "I've always felt like I've had to do as much as possible to level the playing field."
Â
One way Leggett levels the playing field is between the restraining lines; he takes pride in owning the midfield. Specifically, he said picking up groundballs is his "favorite thing to do."
Â
"I call it the work zone – the faceoff wings and in the ride," said Leggett. "I like a gritty feel to the game."
Â
That "feel" fits the Lehigh men's lacrosse program perfectly.
Â
"Teddy embodies our core principles – passion, selflessness, discipline and toughness," said Cassese. "He thrives by doing the dirty work and picking up tough ground balls in the middle of the field, harassing ball carriers in the ride and giving up his body to make the small, gritty plays that show up as winning edges in our stat column. Teddy has consistently led the team in that category in his career."
Â
Early in Leggett's career, he jumped right into the lineup. He went on to earn second team All-Patriot League honors as a freshman and was named Lehigh Athletics' top first-year male student-athlete.
Â
"I wouldn't say it was easy, it's obviously difficult and hard, but the transition felt pretty normal," said Leggett. "Playing for The Hill Academy, a lot of guys were also playing DI. We'd play against a lot of top high school programs. I got really used to doing school work on the bus all the time."
Â
Along with playing high-level lacrosse, many intangibles (like learning how to work effectively on a road trip) helped in Leggett's adjustment to college.
Â
"Obviously, I struggled a bit with learning new defenses, new guys and college in general, but I felt as ready as I could," he said.
Â
That feeling of readiness led Leggett to 61 groundballs as a freshman, good for second on the Mountain Hawks. None were bigger than in the 2018 Patriot League Semifinals vs. Navy. Off the opening faceoff of overtime, he collected a hard-fought loose ball, the Mountain Hawks called timeout and Lucas Spence followed with the game-winning goal that sent Lehigh to the championship game.
What was Leggett doing at the end of practice the following day?
Â
Picking up groundball after groundball, like he has done more times than he could count.
"Teddy is definitely a vacuum out there," said Douglas. "His skills are a product of the extra reps that he gets daily after practice, but his relentlessness and nose for the ball are just things he was born with. I really don't think that's coachable."
Â
Combine talent with an unrelenting work ethic and you get big-time performances in critical situations.
Â
"Teddy is the king of extra work and has created a habit of bringing others with him," said Cassese. "He has been a tremendous teammate from day one, and I know we are going to see Teddy continue to develop as a high-level leader for this program in his junior and senior years."
Â
Statistics, by their very nature, lead to a focus on the past. Leggett's mindset is complete opposite; he has developed a forward-thinking mentality. He takes one moment at a time, a mindset he especially adopted as a sophomore.
Â
"Whenever (sports psychologist) Jarrod Spencer comes in, he gives me some helpful tips about staying in the moment," said Leggett. "A lot of times, I would jump ahead a bit. I believe staying in the present was one of the bigger differences this past year, being able to take a step back and think 'this is where I am now' rather than 'this is where I was yesterday' and 'this is where I want to be.'"
Â
"Teddy is definitely still hard on himself and holds himself to a high standard, but he's learned to move onto the next play and keep a short memory," said Douglas. "Staying in the moment helps him make big plays, and his attitude rubs off on others more than he realizes."
Â
The current "moment" for Leggett features taking a number of summer classes to stay on top of his academics. He is by the way… Leggett was named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll last month, posting 3.47 spring semester GPA in bioengineering.
Â
At the same time, Leggett is taking advantage of being on campus by getting better on the field and in the weight room.
Â
"I also reached out to one of my professors, who said I could probably do a bit of lab work too," said Leggett. "It would be awesome to get a bit of research under my belt as well."
Â
While working towards his bioengineering major, Leggett also has aspirations of medical school.
Â
"Ever since seventh or eighth grade, I wanted to be a doctor," he said. "I meet with my academic advisor often, so I have a big list saying here are my core bioengineering classes I need, then we'll sprinkle in premed requirements throughout."
Â
Leggett's ultimate goal is working in a hospital, pediatrics or "something along those lines."
Â
"That would be the dream job," he said.
Â
Another dream for Leggett is becoming a member of Team Canada. Only halfway through his collegiate career, he appears well on his way to giving himself a chance.
Â
One day, he may be picking up groundballs on the field, look over and see a Team Canada scout.
Â
And if that happens, there's no doubt Teddy Leggett will be ready and will be beaming with pride.
Â
Â
Teddy Leggett has a lot of pride in his home country.
Â
"Making Team Canada is one of the end goals on my goal sheet," he said. "That's a huge driving goal."
Â
No matter what's on Leggett's goal sheet in any given moment, he has an internal drive to succeed that has led to consistent (and impressive) play. Through two seasons with Lehigh men's lacrosse, Leggett owns 140 groundballs and 43 caused turnovers, easily on pace to be among the program's all-time leaders in both categories. His 79 groundballs this past season were tied for first in program history among non-faceoff specialists.
Â
As the C.S. Lewis quote reads, "Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching." For Leggett, there doesn't need to be a coach or teammate in attendance to work hard.
Â
That work ethic is something people around him notice as well.
Â
"Infectious is probably the best work to describe Teddy's work ethic," said classmate and fellow long-stick midfielder Matt Douglas. "The ability to make his desire to succeed rub off on his teammates is pretty special. I would say it's definitely one of his stronger traits as a player, and as a person."
Â
"I see Teddy as the work ethic pace car for our program," said Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese. "No one works harder on the field, in the weight room and in the library. He wants to be great at anything and everything he does, and he is willing to work harder and longer than others in order to get it."
 Leggett admittedly works so hard because he values the opportunity to be a student-athlete at a prestigious institution.
Â
"I love playing lacrosse and have a phenomenal opportunity to go to school here," said Leggett. "I'm grateful for that and don't want to squander the opportunity."
Â
Teddy certainly earned his chance to play Division I lacrosse. Growing up, the 5-foot-8 Leggett was often counted out.
Â
Teddy was born in Canada (Markham, Ontario). At a fairly young age, his family moved to Virginia for his parents' work.
Â
"My dad is a big science guy; he has moved all around working in different spots," said Teddy. "As soon as we got to Virginia, my mom started working at the Canadian Embassy. Northern Virginia is home base for my family. My oldest brother lived in Toronto and now he's back in Virginia doing an internships at the embassy. We are real border people. We are always visiting grandparents in Canada or back down in Washington, D.C."
Â
Teddy's immediate family is his only family members in the United States, with the rest in Canada. Teddy has dual citizenship, and sees both countries as home.
Â
"I definitely consider myself a bit more Canadian, but have been to the states for so long too," he said.
Â
Leggett actually went back to Canada to play high school lacrosse at The Hill Academy, which produces a number of Division I college lacrosse players, including former Mountain Hawks' Patrick Corbett '14 and Nolan Apers '18.
Â
While at The Hill Academy, Teddy excelled, but not necessarily because of his talent.
Â
"I was always told that other guys are immensely more talented. But you never know how hard someone else is working," said Leggett. "I've always felt like I've had to do as much as possible to level the playing field."
Â
One way Leggett levels the playing field is between the restraining lines; he takes pride in owning the midfield. Specifically, he said picking up groundballs is his "favorite thing to do."
Â
"I call it the work zone – the faceoff wings and in the ride," said Leggett. "I like a gritty feel to the game."
 That "feel" fits the Lehigh men's lacrosse program perfectly.
Â
"Teddy embodies our core principles – passion, selflessness, discipline and toughness," said Cassese. "He thrives by doing the dirty work and picking up tough ground balls in the middle of the field, harassing ball carriers in the ride and giving up his body to make the small, gritty plays that show up as winning edges in our stat column. Teddy has consistently led the team in that category in his career."
Â
Early in Leggett's career, he jumped right into the lineup. He went on to earn second team All-Patriot League honors as a freshman and was named Lehigh Athletics' top first-year male student-athlete.
Â
"I wouldn't say it was easy, it's obviously difficult and hard, but the transition felt pretty normal," said Leggett. "Playing for The Hill Academy, a lot of guys were also playing DI. We'd play against a lot of top high school programs. I got really used to doing school work on the bus all the time."
Â
Along with playing high-level lacrosse, many intangibles (like learning how to work effectively on a road trip) helped in Leggett's adjustment to college.
Â
"Obviously, I struggled a bit with learning new defenses, new guys and college in general, but I felt as ready as I could," he said.
Â
That feeling of readiness led Leggett to 61 groundballs as a freshman, good for second on the Mountain Hawks. None were bigger than in the 2018 Patriot League Semifinals vs. Navy. Off the opening faceoff of overtime, he collected a hard-fought loose ball, the Mountain Hawks called timeout and Lucas Spence followed with the game-winning goal that sent Lehigh to the championship game.
ÂTough, hard-fought groundball for Teddy Leggett to start overtime of the 2018 Patriot League Semifinals. pic.twitter.com/JuGAbuHYfJ
— Lehigh Lacrosse (@LehighLacrosse) July 1, 2019
What was Leggett doing at the end of practice the following day?
Â
Picking up groundball after groundball, like he has done more times than he could count.
ÂTeddy Leggett's huge groundball on the first faceoff of overtime last night didn't happen by accident. Another practice, another opportunity to hone his craft. pic.twitter.com/WxCfXqtNJv
— Lehigh Lacrosse (@LehighLacrosse) April 28, 2018
"Teddy is definitely a vacuum out there," said Douglas. "His skills are a product of the extra reps that he gets daily after practice, but his relentlessness and nose for the ball are just things he was born with. I really don't think that's coachable."
Â
Combine talent with an unrelenting work ethic and you get big-time performances in critical situations.
Â
"Teddy is the king of extra work and has created a habit of bringing others with him," said Cassese. "He has been a tremendous teammate from day one, and I know we are going to see Teddy continue to develop as a high-level leader for this program in his junior and senior years."
Â
Statistics, by their very nature, lead to a focus on the past. Leggett's mindset is complete opposite; he has developed a forward-thinking mentality. He takes one moment at a time, a mindset he especially adopted as a sophomore.
Â
"Whenever (sports psychologist) Jarrod Spencer comes in, he gives me some helpful tips about staying in the moment," said Leggett. "A lot of times, I would jump ahead a bit. I believe staying in the present was one of the bigger differences this past year, being able to take a step back and think 'this is where I am now' rather than 'this is where I was yesterday' and 'this is where I want to be.'"
Â
"Teddy is definitely still hard on himself and holds himself to a high standard, but he's learned to move onto the next play and keep a short memory," said Douglas. "Staying in the moment helps him make big plays, and his attitude rubs off on others more than he realizes."
Â
The current "moment" for Leggett features taking a number of summer classes to stay on top of his academics. He is by the way… Leggett was named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll last month, posting 3.47 spring semester GPA in bioengineering.
 At the same time, Leggett is taking advantage of being on campus by getting better on the field and in the weight room.
Â
"I also reached out to one of my professors, who said I could probably do a bit of lab work too," said Leggett. "It would be awesome to get a bit of research under my belt as well."
Â
While working towards his bioengineering major, Leggett also has aspirations of medical school.
Â
"Ever since seventh or eighth grade, I wanted to be a doctor," he said. "I meet with my academic advisor often, so I have a big list saying here are my core bioengineering classes I need, then we'll sprinkle in premed requirements throughout."
Â
Leggett's ultimate goal is working in a hospital, pediatrics or "something along those lines."
Â
"That would be the dream job," he said.
Â
Another dream for Leggett is becoming a member of Team Canada. Only halfway through his collegiate career, he appears well on his way to giving himself a chance.
Â
One day, he may be picking up groundballs on the field, look over and see a Team Canada scout.
Â
And if that happens, there's no doubt Teddy Leggett will be ready and will be beaming with pride.
Â
Players Mentioned
M/A
/ Men's Lacrosse
A
/ Men's Lacrosse
D
/ Men's Lacrosse
LSM/D
/ Men's Lacrosse
A
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