Ricky on the Run : Serra’s Boyer, Who Competes in Baseball, Track, Football and Basketball, Is a Man for All Seasons

It’s a typical spring afternoon for sophomore Ricky Boyer of Serra High.

After finishing his class schedule by 3 p.m., Boyer runs off to the school’s track facility for an hour or so of sprint drills.

Then he scurries off to the baseball field, where he practices for another two to three hours.

By about 7 p.m., Boyer is ready to return home to Compton so he can eat dinner, work on his homework assignments and relax.

It’s a hectic routine, though Boyer, 15, doesn’t appear to mind.

He ranks among the South Bay leaders in batting with a .452 average and has two home runs and eight stolen bases. In track, he has a time of 10.9 seconds in the 100-meter dash and 22 seconds in the 200 meters.

The schedule could create problems for Boyer and his coaches, but so far it has worked without a hitch.

“Me and the track coach have an understanding about this,” said Gerald Pickens, in his first year as baseball coach at the school. “Jackie Robinson was one of my idols, and I encourage kids to play as many sports as possible. I wouldn’t want to hold him back from something he wanted to do.”

There was one close call when both teams were scheduled to compete on the same day this season.

“We had a game against Daniel Murphy (at 2 p.m.) and they had a track meet earlier in the day (at 10 a.m.), but they canceled the track meet at the last minute,” Pickens said. “I was going to let him run in the meet and then come here after we started, but I ended up not having to worry about it.”

The 5-foot-9, 165-pound Boyer said the arrangement has worked well for him.

“Actually, it’s really not that difficult because both the baseball and track coach get along great,” he said. “I just go to track practice for about an hour and then I go to baseball practice for a couple of hours after that. So it’s not really that hard for me, and I still have time to go home and do my homework.”

It is a routine that Boyer has followed since he competed at Pius X last year. He transferred to Serra in September.

“I’m used to it because last year I played (junior varsity) baseball and also ran track,” he said. “Last year it wasn’t too hard because one of my sports was varsity and the other wasn’t. But this year they’re both varsity, so I try to emphasize both sports.”

His coaches think he has a bright future in baseball and track.

“He’s so talented as a track athlete that if he concentrated just on that, he’d have a chance to win state in the 100 meters next year,” Coach Charles Nash said.

Boyer has competed in the 100 and 200 meters in four dual meets and has yet to lose.

Pickens speaks highly of Boyer as a baseball player.

“In three years, I expect him to be a (major-league) prospect,” he said. “Hey, he’s a prospect now. He’s not that far from being a really great player.”

But baseball or track may not be Boyer’s best sport.

He is also a top football player for the Cavaliers and also played guard on the junior varsity basketball team last season. In football, Boyer started at defensive back as a sophomore and is expected to make an impact at running back in the fall.

“He’s one of those kids who doesn’t come along every day,” Nash said. “He’s far advanced for a sophomore. He’s the kind of kid who when he graduates will be able to determine what sport he will pursue, whether it’s football, baseball or track.”

Boyer said the biggest influence in his life has been his mother, Angela, who has raised him since his parents separated.

“I think the football comes from my mother’s side of the family because my uncle (Tim Boyer) played here and went on to San Diego State and the World Football League (with Hawaii),” he said. “I think the track part comes from my father’s side because he ran, and so did my sister and aunts.”

He said his grandfather, Richard Boyer, played the biggest role in his early development. The elder Boyer has been a coach at the Pop Warner level in Athens Park for more than 30 years, having coached athletes such as former University of Colorado football quarterback Darian Hagen and former Dodger Ken Landreaux.

Boyer started competing in baseball when he was 6 and has grown accustomed to playing against bigger and older players.

“It gave me more of a competitive edge,” Boyer said. “From the first time I came out (for the varsity), it was just like another Pop Warner game. So I’m used to it and it doesn’t worry me at all.”

He said his uncle has also helped him in his development as a football player.

“He’s been fortunate enough to have some people around him that are really supportive, from his grandparents to his mom and his uncle,” Nash said.

Tim Boyer has worked with his nephew on improving his academics.

“He’s just an average student right now, but he can get better, and I think he will,” he said.

Boyer doesn’t plan to alter his schedule.

“I’ll try to stay involved in all four, but if I had to stop playing one it would probably be basketball,” he said.

Boyer isn’t certain what sport he will play after high school. He acknowledges that baseball might be his best sport, although football and track are not far behind.

“I won’t really know that until (I graduated in) 1995,” he said.

Until then, he will continue to be a man for all seasons at Serra.