Kevin Gallagher has come full circle as an athlete and later as a coach for Minisink Valley. He is a well-respected teacher, coach and faculty member. His leadership skills and shared vision are hallmarks of his many and varied successes.

Kevin Gallagher graduated from Minisink Valley in 1977 where he wrestled for Hall of Fame coach Frank Carrozza. Kevin was a Section 8 place finisher his senior year. After high school, he followed Coach Carrozza to Orange County Community College. Kevin then transferred to Division II Southern Connecticut University where he wrestled under Coach Don Knauf.

Kevin succeeded in different places during his illustrious coaching career. He spent two years in Middletown rebuilding a program from the ground up. In 1985, Kevin became the head wrestling coach at Division I Wagner college on Staten Island. Kevin had the pleasure of coaching his brother, Matt, who was an NCAA qualifier, as well as Joe Burke and Dan Sanchez. At Wagner, Kevin won Metropolitan Conference Coach of the Year and Division I New England Coach of the Year, 1989. Kevin also coached Rocky Point coach Darren Goldstein.

After the Wagner stint, Kevin moved upstate to Oxford where he turned them into a powerhouse. C.J. Hansen became Kevin's first NYS Champion in 1993. Craig Tefft was an NHSCA Champion for Coach Gallagher as well. Kevin returned, in 1998, to Minisink Valley as a Health and Physical Education Teacher and Assistant Wrestling Coach.

In 2000, Coach Gallagher was given the reins of the Warrior team where he created one of the best wrestling programs in NYS and amassed an incredible record of achievement. Kevin is the winningest Section 8 coach and has an active dual meet record of 567-104. He guided Minisink Valley to NYS Dual Meet Champions in 2015, 2020 and 2022, with team runner-ups in 2018 and 2023. Kevin's teams also won the NYS individual tournament team title in 2020 and 2023.

Coach Gallagher's teams have won ten Section 8 Tournament titles and seven Section 8 dual meet titles. Kevin has also had four teams ranked nationally: 2015 (39th), 2021 (41st), 2022 (32nd) and 2023 (48th). Minisink Valley has qualified 90 wrestlers for the NYS tournament. He guided 32 wrestlers to the awards podium and 8 individual New York State champions. They are C.J. Hansen (Oxford, 1993), A.J. Aeberli (2016), Zack Ryder (2018, 2020, 2022, 2023), P.J. Duke (2022) and Ethan Gallo (2022, 2023).

Kevin was inducted into the New York State Hall of Fame in 2018. He was also named 2015 National Wrestling Coaches Association Coach of the Year for New York State.

Assistant coach Scott Hendershot observed that Coach Gallagher's philosophy has remained consistent over the years, which is to "Get better each day." Furthermore, "Kevin is an incredible leader who gets everyone in the program to believe in a common goal." Kevin's consistency and passion is what makes him an upper echelon coach in NYS and beyond."

Kevin and his wife, Kathy, have been married for 36 years. Together, they raised three daughters: Halley, Alex and Brooke. His family is a vital part of the Minisink Valley wrestling community.

Coach Gallagher is a well-respected coach throughout New York State and beyond. He possesses great leadership skills. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame welcomes Kevin Gallagher for induction into the class of 2023 for Lifetime Service.