Buffalo, N.Y. (Oct. 6, 2026) – Today, Oct. 6, marks National Coaches Day, and Project Play Western New York (WNY) is celebrating with an announcement of its annual Coaches Honor Roll and the 2026 Dick Gallagher Lifetime Service Award recipient.
Athletes, parents and members of youth sports organizations from across Western New York submitted dozens of nominations for local coaches. The honorees will be recognized at Project Play WNY’s annual Thank You Coach event later this month at a private celebration held in partnership with the Buffalo Sabres.
“As the backbone of youth sports, coaches serve as mentors, role models and inspirations for our young athletes,” said Project Play WNY Director Antwan Barlow. “Project Play WNY believes they should be celebrated, both to recognize the region’s most dedicated coaches and encourage others to follow their lead in becoming involved in youth sports. This class of honorees reflects the many coaches who are creating positive experiences for young athletes across Western New York.”
The Coaches Honor Roll recognizes non-scholastic youth sports coaches who work with athletes ages 13 and under. Each honoree demonstrates values that help ensure a supportive, nurturing environment for young people. These coaches also exemplify the values of Project Play WNY, which funds programs and convenes organizations to help build a community in which all children have access to sports.
2026 Coaches Honor Roll:
- Kristina Colburn, Lockport Little Loop Football and Cheer
- Lauren Doerfler, Buffalo Bomb Squad Baseball and Softball
- Marc Daul, Niagara Police Athletic League
- Madison Gauthier, River Rock Baseball League
- Elida Green, Little League Challenger Division (Olean Little League)
- Charles Johnson, Lockport Little Loop Football and Cheer
- Tony Jones, Blessed Sacrament Athletic Club
- Travis Koehler, Clarence Youth Football and Cheer Association
- Ronald Langhorne, First Tee – Western New York
- Jonathan Malczewski, Buffalo Regals Hockey Club
- Jaye Pratt, Just Blaze Track Club
- Zach Zurat, Salamanca Youth Football & Cheer
- Scott Zgoda, Clarence Soccer Club
Project Play WNY is also proud to announce that Lawrence “Larry” Bordonaro, of Mathewson McCarthy Baseball & WNY Premier Baseball Travel League, will receive the Dick Gallagher Lifetime Service Award.
The award recognizes an individual who has used their platform as a youth sports coach or youth sports organization leader to support, recognize and advocate for youth athletes both on and off the field, for a decade or more. The award honors the legacy of Dick Gallagher, a tireless youth sports advocate and Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame inductee, who also dedicated his professional life to helping young people struggling with addiction.
Dick Gallagher encouraged Bordonaro to get involved in coaching back in 1985 when his own son started T-ball. Described as setting a “standard for what youth sports in this community should look like,” Bordonaro has been a house and tournament team coach at Mathewson McCarthy Baseball for more than 40 years, as well as a fall WNY Select Baseball travel team coach for the last five years and a two-decade member of the organization’s board of directors. He has also encouraged a new generation of coaches to get involved in youth sports.
Those who nominated Bordonaro said that in his four decades of coaching, he has found the positive attributes in every young athlete, from the very talented to the players with no experience at all.
“Plenty of coaches are great with the kids who are already good,” one nominator wrote. “Larry is just as invested in the kid who has never held a bat.”
More information on each honoree can be found at www.projectplaywny.org/thank-you-coach.
