Declan Boldy grew up in Strongsville with his parents, sister, and brother Andrew Boldy ‘18. Declan spent his formative years playing soccer and football. His journey in rugby didn’t start until he came to Saint Ignatius.
Declan played soccer his freshman year at Saint Ignatius. His soccer tenure ended when he was cut from the soccer team at the beginning of sophomore year. With his time as a Soccer Cat over, Declan’s new fall focus was football. Declan played running back, though his playing time was limited. After all, his competition was star back Jahadge “Bo” Floyd '19. Declan played football until the end of his junior year, when he decided it was time to hang up the football cleats and focus on rugby.
Declan has been playing rugby at Saint Ignatius since his freshman year. His parents, specifically his mom, were surprised that he wanted to play, but she realized that he was following his brother Andrew. Declan’s rugby skill didn’t come to him easily. Passing and rucking were a huge obstacle in his development. However, his soccer background made his kicking skills perfect for his play as part of the backline. Once Declan overcame his obstacles, his game started to come together and eventually, all the pieces fell into place.
During his freshman season, Declan and his teammates made it all the way to states. Even though the team lost, they were officially the first freshmen team to make it to states. Over the next few seasons, Declan grew as a player, starting Varsity B as a sophomore and earning a spot as a sub in the 2017 A-Side State Championship. During his junior season in 2018, Declan made it his goal to start on the Varsity A squad.
Through hard work and dedication to his play, Declan started his first A-Side game against Gonzaga during his junior year. Throughout his junior season, with the help of his teammates, Declan’s play improved tenfold. During this season, he broke five school records (points in a single game, points in a single season, conversions in a single game, conversions in a single season, and conversions in a career). When asked about the new records, Declan gives most of the credit to the 2018 team.
“It’s just my job to kick the ball through the posts, but in order to do that we have to score tries first,” Boldy said. “If it wasn’t for my teammates scoring as many tries as they did, this would not have been possible.”
This type of attitude shows Declan’s growth not only as a player but also mentally and even more… spiritually.
During his junior year, Declan went on Kairos 202. Boldy later served as a leader for Kairos 208.
“To begin, they were both really great experiences,” Declan said. “I loved being able to experience a retreat with my classmates and grow closer to them and to God. It’s an experience that I wouldn’t trade for the world, and the bonds I formed during retreat will last a long time. After going on this retreat I wanted to lead a Kairos retreat myself in hopes that other Ignatius students would have as meaningful of an experience as I did. Fortunately, I was able to lead Kairos 208 as the retreats rector, that is the leader of the student leaders. There’s no better feeling than watching the retreatants grow closer to each other and to God and know that you have a part to play in that. It’s a wonderful thing to be a part of Kairos at Saint Ignatius. It’s unlike any other experience I’ve had.”
Declan can’t wait to get back on the pitch for the upcoming season. Declan will take on a new position as fly-half and a new role as a tribe leader. After graduating from Saint Ignatius, Declan plans on majoring in nursing and hopes to attend and play rugby for The Ohio State University.
Declan would like to thank his mother and father for all their support over the past four years, as well as his brother, who urged him to play rugby in the first place. Finally, Declan would like to thank all of the coaches, the 2017 State Championship team, and the 2018 State Championship team, for all of their teaching and leadership in his formation as a player.