It is hard to imagine a more deserving honoree than Monsignor John Barry. For the past 42 years he has headed American Martyrs, one of the most vibrant parishes in the Los Angeles Archdiocese. Under his dynamic leadership, the parish has tripled in size and the faith community is involved in more than fifty ministries. Monsignor has been a strong supporter of the Saint Sebastain Sports Project since our inception. Under his watchful eye and wise counsel, SSSP supports team sports programs for thousands of underserved Catholic school children across the Archdiocese. Although a self-proclaimed uncoordinated “klutz,” he joins in the annual AMS 5K the way he heads his parish—amongst his flock, encouraging, lifting up, leading by example. “Anytime you can engage a child through sport,” he says, “you are a soul toucher.” There is no more beloved—or more inspiring– a soul toucher than our Father John.

Renata Simril – the president and CEO of LA84 Foundation, is one of the most important advocates for youth sports in this country—and a key supporter of the Saint Sebastian Sports Project. Under her leadership, LA84 Foundation has awarded multiple grants to SSSP which have helped us grow both the number of schools we support and the programs we offer. Renata has also acted as a nonprofit matchmaker, introducing us to other like-minded organizations. All of Renata’s work as a leader in LA’s civic and private sectors has been grounded in her Catholic faith. As a passionate believer in play equity, she has been involved in the Vatican’s “Sport at the Service of Humanity” movement spearheaded by Pope Francis. The Pontiff exhorted us all to Live Like We Play. Renata has truly answered his call.

Rob’s journey with CYO sports began when he was in 5th grade at St. Joseph the Worker in Fallsington, PA where he played guard on the football team. Young Rob discovered in football one of his life’s passions. Forty-eight years later, Rob is still a member of CYO as a coach and mentor. He volunteer coached at American Martyrs School in 2002 where he grew the team from nine kids to100 kids in 8 squads by 2018. Wanting to give back to underserved schools, Rob established a flag football clinic with SSSP providing teams with new uniforms, mouth guards and footballs. Four novice football teams were catching passes and running plays on their own by days end. Coach Wooden once said: “Sports don’t build character, they reveal it”. Sports have revealed Rob’s character. See the Photos

The Knights of Columbus Queen of Martyrs Council 4567 has been key to the success of The Saint Sebastian Sports Project. Since 2013, the 521 members of this local K of C council have donated $15,000 a year to our cause, helping to change the lives of countless young student athletes in under-resourced Catholic schools throughout the Southland.  Jeff Beland has been the liaison for Resurrection School in Boyle Heights and he has witnessed first hand how impactful SSSP can be. “It’s been an amazing thing to see,” he says. “The pride, the excitement from the kids, the parents, the school. Kids are getting their grades up so they can play and they love showing off their jerseys. The Knights will support Saint Sebastian’s forever and ever, Amen!”

Patty Dodd is an outstanding athlete and volleyball coach who led our very first coaching clinic on the blacktop of Holy Name of Jesus School in 2011. Patty’s clinics have honed the skills of over 100 coaches in the past six years, providing them with kid-friendly drills and teaching skills, such as the famous “Super hero” hitting sequence. Her effect has been clearly measurable – many more of our SSSP teams are making the playoffs and many of the girls are continuing to play volleyball in high school. Her love for the game—and for her young players—is inspirational.

As head referee for flag football and boys and girls basketball, Derek Sanford has been an integral member of the CYO community for nearly two decades. He has officiated at 75% of the schools in the archdiocese—mentoring many student-athletes along the way. It was Derek who saw the potential in refurbishing St. Albert’s dilapidated gym and brought the idea to SSSP. Today the facility is a testament to his wide vision, big heart and strong leadership—off and on the court.

Marc Maye, as General Manager of the Watts Rams football program,Co-founder of youth organization 4wardProgress, and Executuve Director of the non-profit Project Blue. lives the SSSP mission. He was a shining light at St. Lawrence Brindisi in 2006, when he was hired to teach PE and assumed the position of part-time assistant coach for the after-school sports program. Ten years later,, Marc Maye was coaching every team at St. Lawrence’s vibrant athletic program: flag football, girls & boys’ volleyball, boys’ and girls’ basketball, track, as well as boys and girls’ soccer. Marc’s reach goes beyond St. Lawrence. He has established several diocesan school tournaments and has been a key member of our Leadership Academy team. He is a model and mentor to every student he meets.

Peter Scott does it all. He is Saint Raphael’s Vice-Principal, Athletic Director, Jr. High Social Studies Teacher, Sixth Grade Homeroom Teacher, Boys JV and Varsity Football Coach, Boys and Girls Varsity Basketball coach, Musical Director, and Choir Director. For the past 16 years, Peter Scott has been winning championships and changing lives at Saint Raphael Catholic School in South Los Angeles. Peter embodies the spirit of the Karen Beebe Arrow Award. Whether he’s driving a student athlete home after practice, editing a high school essay, mentoring a fatherless student, or modeling grace in victory or defeat, his focus is on giving back—to God, his family, his school and his young students.

Vince DiLeva has been deeply involved with sports at Holy Trinity Elementary School in San Pedro since 1997;he coached Holy Trinity’s varsity flag football team for more than a decade. During Vince’s tenure, the team finished in the CYO Final Four 11 of 14 years, and won the champion-ship three times. The team has also played—and won– football games in the Rose Bowl, the Los Angeles Coliseum and Staples Center. Since 2007, when Vince became Holy Trinity’s Athletic Director, more than 20 alumni have been inspired to return to Holy Trinity to coach or to assist in coaching.

Jamal Adams left a lucrative 11-year career on Wall Street where he was Vice President, Senior Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch, to coach basketball and teach in the Social Sciences department at Loyola High School, his alma mater. Upon his return to Loyola, he led the Cubs to 12 league titles and two CIF Southern Section titles. As a full-time member of the Loyola faculty, Coach Adams taught Economics and African-American Studies — a course he developed and shepherded through the University of California course-approval process. Jamal has been a stalwart supporter of SSSP and conceived of SSSP’s Leadership Academy. After serving as principal for two years, he was named President of Loyola in 2024. He truly is a “Man for Others.”

Larry Muno has lived a lifetime of commitment to public service as a teacher, administrator, coach and fire fighter for the City of Vernon. Larry was a star football player at Bishop Montgomery High School in Torrance and a scholarship football player at Rutgers University. He has coached at the junior high level where he took his team to the CYO Football Championship game. He has also succeeded in rebuilding high school football programs — leading both St. Monica’s and St. Bernard’s to the CIF playoffs.

Please read more about Larry in this front page Los Angeles Times article.