"The right coach at the right moment changes the entire trajectory of a young person's life."
Honor a Coach · Est. 2021
Honor a Coach provides grants for youth athletes and coaches from underserved communities — founded by three families who believe the coaching that changed their children's lives should be available to every child, regardless of circumstance.
Honor a Coach was co-founded by elite speed coach Les Spellman and his family — Trianna, Leilana, Mila, and Nyjah — and the Buchner family — Todd, Audrey, Brooke, Tyler, Paige, Bryce, and Grandma Jan. Both co-founders carry the same conviction: the right coach at the right moment changes the entire trajectory of a young person's life — and not every young person gets that coach.
We exist to change that. Built around three founding families and the coaches they honor, Honor a Coach creates grants, recognition, and a growing movement powered by one of sport's most universal emotions: gratitude.
One of America's elite speed performance coaches. His story is the reason this organization exists.
Les Spellman is one of America's most respected speed performance coaches and the co-founder of Honor a Coach. With over 20 years of experience, he has trained Olympians, dozens of NFL athletes, NCAA stars, and USA Rugby players — but his proudest achievement is the large percentage of youth athletes he has guided to college scholarships.
"The doctor entered the room and told me 'you'll probably never run again.' I was 17 and had just been in a terrible car accident. At that point, I made the decision to commit myself to discovering how to run."
— Les SpellmanLes walked on to run track at Temple University and ultimately earned a scholarship. That experience — being counted out, then rewriting the story — became the foundation for everything Honor a Coach stands for.
Today, Les leads Spellman Performance, powered by the Universal Speed Rating, and has consulted for NFL teams, the US Men's National Soccer Team, and elite institutions across the country. His business partnership with Todd Buchner brought Honor a Coach to life — two people who believe, from personal experience, that what a great coach gives a young athlete is the most valuable thing in sports.
Honor a Coach was built by families who lived this firsthand — who watched their children be pushed, believed in, and shaped by coaches who gave far more than their job required. These are not donors writing a check from a distance. These are co-founders, lending their names and their stories to make sure the next generation of athletes gets what their own kids got.
Each founding family brings their own coaches. Their own history. Their own reason to give back.
It starts with Grandma Jan. Long before there were college programs and scholarship offers, Jan Buchner was the one driving to practice, sitting in the bleachers, and believing in her two boys — Todd and Brad — from the moment they started playing sports at age six. She supported their entire athletic journeys all the way through college. What she gave them wasn't just logistics — it was the unshakeable message that their effort mattered and someone was watching. Two generations later, that message is still echoing.
Her son Todd went on to play football for Coach Fred Dunlap at Colgate University. Coach Dunlap — now 97 years old — built a program defined not by wins but by the kind of men it produced. The relationship between Todd and Coach Dunlap has never ended. It is, in many ways, the seed of this entire organization.
Alongside Todd is his wife Audrey — who brought her own athlete's understanding to this family. Audrey competed on the equestrian team at Yale University, where sport taught her discipline, precision, and the kind of quiet courage that doesn't make headlines but shapes a person completely. The Buchners are a family that has lived athletics from every angle: as a mother watching her sons, as athletes competing at the highest levels, and now as co-founders giving back.
Todd's business partner is Les Spellman — one of America's elite speed coaches, co-founder of Honor a Coach, and a man whose own story of being told at 17 he would never run again has become a defining example of what a coach's belief can unlock. Together, Todd and Les have built Spellman Performance and the Universal Speed Rating. Honor a Coach is their way of making sure that belief reaches the athletes who need it most. The whole Buchner family — Grandma Jan, Todd, Audrey, and all four kids — are co-founders alongside them.
Brooke competed as a 2× Team Co-Captain in beach volleyball at UC Berkeley — one of the most competitive programs in the country. The leadership she earned on that court reflects everything this family believes about what sport can build in a person.
Tyler played both football and lacrosse at the University of Notre Dame — a program synonymous with excellence, character, and the kind of standards that shape athletes for life long after their playing days are over.
Paige currently plays women's soccer at Notre Dame — joining her brother Tyler in South Bend and adding her own chapter to a family story that keeps finding its way back to the highest levels of college sport. Two siblings. One storied program.
The youngest Buchner athlete, Bryce will begin her volleyball career at Tufts University in Fall 2026. Her journey is just beginning — and like her siblings before her, the coaches who shape that journey will matter more than anyone watching from the outside will ever fully know.
The second founding family will bring their own athletes, their own coaches, and their own reason to give back. Every family in this movement started the same way — with a coach who changed everything. We're looking for families who know exactly who that coach was.
Honor a Coach is built to grow. Three founding families create the foundation. Future families extend the movement. If you've watched a coach change your child's life and want to honor that — this is how.
Supporting athletes, the coaches who guide them, and the mentors who shape their futures.
Every donation funds a real coach with a real story. Here are two to start with — one who built men of character, one who refused to let a 17-year-old believe a doctor's prognosis.
Coach Fred Dunlap built something rare at Colgate University: a program where toughness and character were inseparable. Where showing up for your teammates wasn't optional. Where young men left better than they arrived — not just as players, but as people.
His wife Marlyn was equally central to that culture. A steady, warm presence who understood that the whole person mattered, not just the competitor. Together they created an environment that followed players off the field and into every chapter of their lives.
His son documented that philosophy in The Dunlap Rules — a book about a father's beliefs and the lives they shaped. The rules were simple: discipline, respect, and genuine care for the people around you. They weren't just coaching principles. They were a way of life.
A tribute donation in Coach Dunlap's name funds a grant for a youth athlete or coach who needs exactly what his players got: the knowledge that someone believed in them when it counted most.
A car accident at 17. A doctor's prognosis that would have ended most athletic stories before they started. For Les Spellman, it was the beginning of one of the most remarkable coaching careers in American sports.
Les walked on to Temple University's track team — and earned a scholarship. He learned, from the ground up and against the odds, what it truly takes to run fast, to recover, and to believe in what a body can do. That personal experience of being counted out and then rewriting the story is the engine behind everything he coaches.
Over two decades later, Les has trained Olympians, dozens of NFL athletes, NCAA stars, and USA Rugby players. But the work he speaks about most proudly is the youth athletes he has guided from underserved communities to college scholarships — the ones who needed someone to believe in them first.
A grant in Les's name funds exactly that: a young athlete or coach who has talent, drive, and no clear path forward — until now.
Designed in two deliberate phases. The first is already underway. The second follows only after the first has earned the right to exist.
If we led with tools and data, this would feel like a platform. If we lead with gratitude and story, it becomes a movement. The order isn't incidental — it's the whole strategy. Trust cannot be manufactured. It can only be earned, slowly, by showing up for the right reasons first.
Gratitude is non-political. Non-controversial. Cross-sport. Cross-generation. Socially shareable. Every person who has ever been shaped by a great coach is a potential part of this community. That is the foundation. Everything else is built on top of it.
Each year, one coach nominated through our community receives the Spellman Coach Fellowship — our highest recognition. Selected entirely on the basis of impact and character as described by the athletes they've shaped. No application required. Just a grateful athlete willing to tell the truth. Every tribute submitted is automatically a Fellowship nomination.
There are no leaderboards here. No performance scores. No data thresholds a coach must meet to be worthy of recognition. The coaches who change lives most profoundly are often the ones who never made headlines. Character and impact — as told by athletes — are the only criteria that matter.
You know the one. Honor them here. And in doing so, give another young athlete the same gift they gave you.
Honor Your Coach →Coach Fred Dunlap didn't just coach athletes — he developed men. At Colgate University, he built something rare: a program where toughness and character were inseparable, where showing up for your teammates wasn't optional, and where young men left better than they arrived. His wife Marlyn was equally central to that — a steady, warm presence who understood that the whole person mattered, not just the competitor.
The Dunlap Rules — a book written by his son — captures the philosophy that Coach Dunlap lived every single day: that discipline, respect, and genuine care for the people around you are the foundation of any lasting achievement. Those lessons didn't stay on the field. They followed his players into careers, families, and lives lived with more intention because of the time they spent under his watch.
This donation is made in honor of Coach Dunlap and Marlyn — a tribute to the belief that the best coaches give something no award can measure: the knowledge that someone believed in you when it counted most.
📖 The Dunlap Rules — available now. A son's account of a father's philosophy and the lives it shaped.
Be the first to add a real tribute. Every card on this wall represents a donation made and a coach honored.
Fill out the form. Your tribute will appear on the public Coach Wall. Your donation funds a grant for a youth athlete or coach who needs it. This is how great coaching compounds — one tribute at a time.
Applications reviewed on a rolling basis. We respond to every submission within two weeks.
Fill out the form with your contact info, grant type, and a personal statement about your goals and financial need.
Two letters of recommendation from coaches, teachers, or community leaders who can speak to your character and potential.
Our committee reviews all applications. Finalists may be invited for a brief phone or video interview.
Recipients are notified and funds are disbursed directly to approved training providers or programs.
If you've received an award letter from Honor a Coach, complete the two steps below to receive your grant funds. Both are required before disbursement can be processed.
Federal law requires a completed W-9 before we can disburse grant funds. Download the blank form, complete it with your legal name, address, and taxpayer identification number (SSN or EIN), sign it, and upload it in Step 2.
Not sure how to fill it out? For individuals, enter your name on Line 1, check "Individual/sole proprietor" on Line 3a, and enter your Social Security Number in Part I. Sign and date Part II.
Download W-9 Form (PDF) →Use the secure form below to submit your grant recipient information and upload your completed W-9. This form collects the details we need to process your award and confirm disbursement to your designated Speed Lab or program.
All information submitted is encrypted and handled in strict accordance with our privacy policy. Questions? Email todd@bxcpartners.com.
Open Recipient Form →When you make a gift, the choice is yours. Every donation can be directed to a certified USR Speed Lab anywhere in the country, or to an Honor a Coach approved designate — a coach recognized by our Advisory Board. You decide where your generosity lands.
The Universal Speed Rating (USR) was co-founded by Les Spellman and Todd Buchner to democratize performance training for youth athletes by creating a global standard score for speed in sports — giving every athlete, regardless of background or zip code, access to the same measurement system used by elite programs nationwide.
Choose any of the 200+ certified USR Speed Labs nationwide. Your donation funds three months of training for a youth athlete at that specific lab — connecting your generosity to a real facility and a credentialed coach in your community.
Find a USR Speed Lab Near You →Every coach in our grant pool has been vetted and approved by the Honor a Coach Advisory Board. You can designate your donation to support a specific coach — ensuring your gift reaches someone whose character and impact have already been recognized.
Ask About Approved Coaches →Co-founded by Les Spellman and Todd Buchner, the Universal Speed Rating was built on a simple belief: every youth athlete deserves access to the same performance standard used by elite programs. USR created a global standard score for speed in sports — making world-class measurement available to any athlete, anywhere.
A USR Speed Lab is a certified performance training facility staffed by credentialed USR Speed Coaches. Every Speed Lab uses the same proprietary assessment and development system — so no matter where an athlete trains, they receive the same rigorous, data-driven methodology.
There are over 200 certified USR Speed Labs across the country. Each one is independently operated, locally rooted, and held to a national standard of excellence. Speed Labs serve athletes of all ages and sports — from youth flag football to high school track to collegiate combine prep.
Your gift can go to the Speed Lab in your community — the one your athlete already trusts, or the one you want them to discover.
Three months of certified USR training is a complete performance development cycle — enough time to see real, measurable change. Here is what every funded athlete receives:
Every donation to Honor a Coach gives you full control over where your gift goes. You choose between two options: a certified USR Speed Lab anywhere in the country, or an Honor a Coach approved designate — a coach personally vetted by our Advisory Board.
To browse all 200+ certified USR Speed Labs and find one in your area, visit find.universalspeedrating.com.
Not sure which to choose? Our team will help match your gift to the right lab or approved designate for your community. Reach out at todd@bxcpartners.com and we'll handle the rest.
Every dollar creates access. The choice of where your gift goes is entirely yours — tag it to any certified USR Speed Lab nationwide, or designate it to an Honor a Coach approved designate recognized by our Advisory Board. Either way, your donation is fully tax-deductible and goes exactly where you direct it. Honor a Coach is a registered 501(c)(3).
Choose any of the 200+ certified USR Speed Labs nationwide. Find a lab near you →
Direct your gift to a coach personally vetted and approved by the Honor a Coach Advisory Board. Ask us about approved designates →
Scan the QR code with your phone camera to donate instantly via PayPal — no account required.
Reach out directly to arrange a donation by wire transfer, check, or any other method.
Contact Us to Donate →Make checks payable to Honor a Coach and send to:
PO Box 2175
Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067
Whether you're interested in donating, applying for a grant, or becoming a founding family — leave your info and we'll reach out personally.
Honor a Coach is built on real relationships. We don't do mass emails. When we follow up, it's a real person with a real conversation.
Questions about applying, donating, or partnering with us? We'd love to hear from you.
PO Box 2175
Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067
501(c)(3) Nonprofit
EIN: 86-3542457
Incorporated California, November 2021
