Kenny Underkofler Honored with 2024 E.D.G.E./PDGA Educational Award
Prodigy Disc is excited to congratulate and recognize Kenny Underkofler (PDGA #102886) for winning the 2024 E.D.G.E. / PDGA Educational Award. The announcement came at the 2025 PDGA Junior World Championships in Emporia, Kansas. Per the PDGA, the award recognizes outstanding contributions in the field of disc golf education.
The Wichita, Kansas native teaches within the Wichita Public Schools system, and uses his passion for education in and out of the classroom. As a host of several clubs and events, Kenny has fostered a community of disc golfers that allows anyone, young or old, to have fun and learn about the sport.
In 2021, he started a traveling league for junior players called miniBOMBERS. The initiative provided an opportunity for junior disc golfers from around the Wichita area to meet and play at various courses on temporary tee pads once a week. He also hosted the first-ever Junior C-Tier in the area that year. Since then, Kenny has worked tirelessly to champion the game and introduce players of all ages to the sport, running clubs, tournaments, and clinics for players of all ages, but with an intentional focus on students.
"Goal number one is to have fun," said Kenny. "Originally, I wanted to give Juniors an opportunity to play casual rounds with their peers rather than going out and playing with adults and feeling like they were not on that level. Thus possibly getting frustrated and losing the excitement."
Kenny Underkofler leading a juniors clinic. (Photo: Kenny Underkofler)
That focus on Juniors has shown much fruit in the last few years. The miniBOMBERS club has seen kids grow in their skills as players and advance to playing in tournaments within the MA4 and MA3 divisions. Several kids who have participated in the program have also received invitations to Junior Worlds. That growth is the biggest highlight of the work to Kenny, "It's awesome to know I had a little part in fostering their passion for disc golf in the beginning."
Currently, along with miniBOMBERS, Kenny also runs disc golf clubs at two elementary schools in the area. The intention is to hand over the leadership at the second club to a new generation of leaders, which will open the door to expanding to more schools and growing the number of clubs available to students.
Kenny with students holding thier first of many discs. (Photo: Kenny Underkofler)
Kenny is a member of Prodigy's Ambassador team. The goal of the Ambassadors is to positively represent Prodigy online and in person as community leaders, competitors, and disc golf enthusiasts. Prodigy's track record of recruiting and investing in talent over the last 12 years is unparalleled in the disc golf world, making Kenny's tireless passion for investing in the next generation of disc golfers a present-day guiding star for us. He's not only a role model for our Ambassador program, but also for the disc golf community as a whole, showing how to grow the sport. We could not be more excited to see this honor given to him this year!
