How Belgium Forward Tom Boon is Getting Better With Age

Belgium men’s team forward Tom Boon has hit a purple patch – he is aging yes but at 35, is enjoying the ‘form’ of his life – the Leopold striker has hardly put a foot wrong in the 2024-25 Men’s Pro League after a pretty sedate 2024 Paris Olympic campaign (given the high performance standards he sets for himself). His lean run at Paris could have been one of the factors leading to Red Lions’ disappointing quarterfinal exit.

Boon has literally grabbed all the public attention in the 2024-25 Men’s Pro League slamming three hat-tricks – in the Amsterdam leg, he scored hat-tricks in Belgium’s 4-3 and 6-3 wins over Olympic silver medallist Germany at the Wagener Stadium – he lapped up a third hat-trick in the Sydney leg in Belgium’s 5-3 victory over Argentina.

The four-time Olympian, who was instrumental in Belgium’s silver medal-finish in the 2023 World Cup at India scoring 8 goals, has been instrumental in Belgium being perched second in the Pro League points table with 16 points behind tabletoppers England – he is the leading goal-scorer in the 2024-25 Men’s Pro League with 14 goals off 8 games.

The rollicking form of Boon, who made his senior international debut in 2008, has been come in handy for Belgium, who has had a coaching change of guard with Shane McLeod (his second stint as Red Lions coach) replacing Miguel Van Heuvel, who had stepped down after the 2024 Paris Olympics campaign. His form is great news for coach Shane McLeod as the Red Lions are going through a transition phase with the likes of Olympic captain Felix Denayer, world’s most capped player John-John Dohmen, Cedric Charlet, Florent Van Aubel, and Loick Luypaert retiring.

The man, who has been part of Belgium’s 2018 World Cup and 2021 Olympic winning teams, has come in for copious praise from Red Lions chief coach Shane McLeod. “Boon is working very, very hard and appears to be really happy in the team environment. He’s enjoying the energy that a lot of new players have brought in and taking his responsibilities really well. And when people take their responsibilities, they’re often rewarded with good performances,” says Shane.

The former New Zealand men’s hockey team coach believes the presence of Boon is a big deal for the many young players in the side. “The young players enjoy playing with him and are learning a lot from him. But the other side of that coin is he’s gaining a lot from them.”

The Red Lions chief coach has no doubts that Boon is right up there among the world’s best hockey forwards. “Boon would be one among the world’s top forward alongside Netherlands’ Thierry Brinkman – both have same ingredients you would expect from a striker. I know some of the Indian forwards are good but Boon and Brinkman score consistently at the highest level that puts them in a different league,” he reasons.

Tom Boon did not really needed any inspiration to take up hockey – the sport runs in the Boon household – his sister Jill Boon has also played Olympic hockey for Belgium women’s team – his grandmother Jacqueline Ronsmans was a Belgian international player, just like his mother Carine Boon-Coudron and his uncles Eric and Marc Coudron (358 caps).

The Leopold hitman, who has scored 184 international from 362 international appearances for the Red Lions, still has so much to offer wearing the number 27 jersey.