Patrick Coyne, Greg Frane, Luis Granados & Larry Kaufer · 2016 Spark Award Winners

The Steve Cymrot Spark Award recognizes individuals whose contributions, like those of Steve himself, have been the sparks which flared up into institutions of lasting value and importance to our neighborhood. Sports on the Hill is such an institution and it would not be what it is were it not for Patrick Coyne, Greg Frane, Luis Granados and Larry Kaufer. Thanks to them, thousands of neighborhood children have had the opportunity to participate in organized soccer, basketball, baseball, lacrosse, and wrestling.

Patrick J. Coyne is a trial attorney specializing in intellectual property law who travels frequently for his work but nonetheless spends almost every Saturday morning in the spring and the fall in the “organized chaos” of Watkins School field. There he introduces five year old boys and girls to soccer – to the rules, the discipline, the attitude and, most importantly, the fun of organized sports. Patrick is married to Nancy Lazear and is the father of Megan, Peter and Rachel who are in their twenties.

Greg Frane has been involved with Soccer on the Hill for thirty years and, now that he is retired from his work as a budget program analyst withthe U.S. Department of Education, is an almost full time volunteer. He is much valued for his willingness to deal with the D.C. government to get permits for fields, legendary for being the guy who would pick up players who lived far away and who always had all the gear – uniforms, shin guards, socks and, when needed, used soccer shoes. Greg is married to Jean Frane and has two adult children, Alison and Alex.

Luis Granados, a writer and the director of the Humanist Press, started off chasing loose balls during his son’s soccer practice and was soon invited to be an assistant coach, then vice president and then president of Soccer on the Hill. Now, with his son, Paul, grown and gone from home Luis still shows up on Saturday mornings to place the goal posts at Anacostia Park and to coach the Goldzappers in the Under 10 league. He lets the players pick the name for the team but does insist they heed his mantra – “Play hard, play smart, be good sports.” Luis is married to Patricia Granados.

Larry Kaufer, retired from the railroad business, grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania where he played basketball and “hardly heard the word soccer” until his children started to play. Before he knew it he was coaching soccer and baseball teams. He helped manage the evolution of Soccer on the Hill into Sports on the Hill of which he is now president, also serving as registrar and webmaster. The last is a demanding task but one he find “a rewarding way to leverage one’s time for the benefit of kids and the community.” Larry’s adult children are Laura and Alex, who lives on the Hill.