WKBW 7 News Feature: Buffalo Sports Project Empowers West Side Youth
"Something our community really needs." That is how the neighborhood described it — and how WKBW 7 News opened its story on Buffalo Sports Project.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — On a warm evening in late May, the turf at Coyer Field belonged to the West Side. Kids in borrowed cleats and mismatched shirts ran small-sided games to two small goals while parents leaned against the fence and coaches called out encouragement in three languages. Nobody paid to be there. Nobody had to try out.
That is the entire premise of Buffalo Sports Project, the free youth soccer program founded by August Finn on Buffalo's West Side. WKBW 7 News spent the evening with players, families, and coaches for a story about what happens when a neighborhood gets a field it can call its own.
"There was nothing here for these kids after school. Now there is a field full of them, and coaches who know every single name."
From a vacant lot to a community hub
Coyer Field was not always a gathering place. For years, the stretch of turf on the SUNY Buffalo State campus sat mostly empty on weeknights — a resource in the middle of a neighborhood where most kids had no way to access organized sports.
Finn, a Buffalo native, secured a field permit in the spring of 2025 and put out a call on Instagram. Forty kids showed up to the first session. By the end of the summer it was closer to a hundred, and the program had started giving away donated cleats, shin guards, and balls so that no player had to explain why they came empty-handed.
Today the field hosts Academy training twice a week, Friday Night Lights pickup for adults and teens, private sessions, and a college exploration program that takes high schoolers on campus visits across New York State.
"Something our community really needs. They show up week after week, and the kids feel it."
No fees, no tryouts, no exceptions
The program is deliberately structured so money is never the reason a kid stops playing. There is no registration fee. Gear is provided when needed. Private training is free for West Side youth. Coaches are current and former college players who volunteer their evenings.
That model depends on donors. Cleats, balls, goalkeeper gloves, van rides, and field time are all covered by community contributions, and the program's GoFundMe campaign is what keeps the lights on and the sessions free.
"I grew up playing here. All these kids need is someone to keep the field open and keep showing up."
World Cup 2026
With the World Cup coming to North America in 2026, soccer in the United States is having a moment. For Buffalo kids, that moment is not abstract. Tournaments are on television in every living room on the West Side, and the players on those broadcasts look like the families in the stands at Coyer Field.
The program's goal is not to produce professionals. It is to make sure that a kid who falls in love with the game in 2026 has somewhere to play it, for free, for as long as they want — and someone in their corner when it is time to think about college.
Keep it free. Keep it open.
A donation covers cleats, balls, gear, and field time for West Side youth. Every dollar stays on the field.