At the end of 2009 Mr Boyd was nominated for the prestigious Young Coach of the Year Award. Mr Boyd, who graduated from John Moore's University in Liverpool with a First Class Honours degree in Physical Education, was nominated for his contribution to sport and in particular Rugby and Cricket.

The young and enthusiastic coach worked with the forwards of Cambridge House 1st XV who had a successful run in the Schools’ Cup and Schools’ Plate before being beaten by local rivals Ballymena Academy. A number of the players involved in the squad represented Ulster Schools at Under 18 and Under 19 levels.

In April 2009, Mr Boyd coached a Ballymena Barbarian Select XV made up of the best Under 18 players in the Ballymena area. The team played a charity match at Eaton Park in front of a large crowd against the newly crowned Schools’ Cup winners Methodist College. Even though the Barbarians side only had a few preparation sessions, they gave Methody a run for their money in what proved to be a very exciting match. Most importantly, the event also raised £2500 for the very worthwhile IRFU Charitable Trust.

In July, the Ballymena man became one of the youngest coaches at senior level by taking over the reins as Head Coach of Randalstown RFC. With his appointment came an influx of young players and resulted in the Under 19 team winning their league. Also Randalstown 1stXV are currently sitting in the top four of the Kukri Qualifying 3 League . In September he was appointed Head Coach of the Ulster Under 16 North Country team where he works with some of the best Under 16 players in the country.

In the summer of 2009 Mr Boyd, a certified Level Two cricket coach, was appointed Youth Development Officer at Ballymena Cricket Club. In this role he worked with children of all ages and abilities to increase participation levels and improve basic cricket skills. Organising primary school tournaments, a week long summer camp and holding regular coaching clinics throughout the summer evenings all became part of his remit. During July he also took on the role of Head Coach of the NCU Under 13XI which competed in the Interprovincial tournament in Dublin. After a number of presentations and interviews, Mr Boyd narrowly missed out on the Young Coach of the Year award but his contribution to Rugby and Cricket has been noted and he must be congratulated on his considerable achievements at such a young age. Now a member of the PE department at Coleraine Inst he continues to use his expertise to promote and enthuse pupils in his love of sport.