By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times

J.T. Dorsey, a Coatesville native and soccer star, is being honored by the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association for his commitment to the sport through youth development.

A Coatesville native and soccer standout is being honored for his commitment to the sport both on and off the field.

J.T. Dorsey, a top mid-fielder at Coatesville High who went on to play professional soccer and now promotes the sport through the J.T. Dorsey Foundation for Education and Wellness, will receive the Gerald Botdorf Service Award from the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association (PSCA).

According to a news release from the association, Dorsey was selected from nominees across the state for the work he has done through his foundation, such as providing soccer shoes and other equipment to children of all ages in the Philadelphia area, who would otherwise not have the opportunity to play.

Dorsey said when the U.S. Soccer Foundation wanted to expand its youth development program into the Philadelphia area and sought his help, he was happy to oblige – as long as the region included Coatesville. His foundation’s “Soccer for Success” program was established in the spring of 2012 and is now serving hundreds of children at multiple  regional sites, one of which is in Coatesville.

As established by the U.S. Soccer Foundation, the grant-funded program uses soccer as a tool to combat childhood obesity, promote healthy lifestyles for children in under-served urban communities, and provide them with free after-school programming throughout the academic year.

Dorsey said he relocated to the state capital after he was picked up in 1998 by the Hershey Wildcats, a professional soccer team based in Hershey. He ended up staying in that area after he retired in 2006 from the Harrisburg City Islanders.  But a host of relatives, including a sister and her three children, remain in Coatesville, where Dorsey is a regular visitor.

The award will be presented to Dorsey on Jan. 25 during the PSCA banquet, which will be held at the Park Inn Harrisburg West in Mechanicsburg. For more information about Dorsey’s foundation, visithttp://www.jtdorsey.org.