Mark Luther Steffens (born June 9, 1953, in Huntington,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States) is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

coach.

Playing career

A native of

Huntington, New York Huntington is one of ten Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States. The town's population was 204,127 at the time of the 2020 census, making it the 11 ...

and also raised in

Syosset, New York Syosset is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place in the Oyster Bay (town), New York, Town of Oyster Bay, in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, in New York (state ...

, Steffens attended The King's College in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he graduated with a degree in

Physical Education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

. He started for the soccer team in each of his four years at the college. Upon graduating from college, Steffens signed his first and only professional contract with American Soccer League side

New York Apollo The New York Greeks was an American soccer club based in New York City that was a member of the American Soccer League (1933-1983), American Soccer League. The team began as the amateur Greek-Americans. The club played lower Premier Division of ...

. Soon after this experience, he immediately began his coaching career.

Coaching career

Steffens began his coaching career at the high school level, where he held the position of head coach at Berner High School from 1975 to 1979. He later took over the head coach position at his alma mater, The King's College for the next three years and then subsequently joining

Farmingdale State College The State University of New York at Farmingdale (Farmingdale State College or SUNY Farmingdale) is a public college in East Farmingdale, New York, United States. It is part of the State University of New York. The college was chartered in 1912 a ...

as an assistant for a year. After experiences at both the secondary and post-secondary levels, Steffens was hired as an assistant coach under Shep Messing for the

New York Arrows The New York Arrows were an indoor soccer team that played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992), Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1978 to 1984. They were the MISL's first dynasty, winning the first four championships. H ...

of the Major Indoor Soccer League. The franchise struggled in the New York market and fell into bankruptcy. Steffens was hired again as an assistant in another New York incarnation in the MISL with the

New York Express The New York Express was a soccer team based out of Uniondale, New York that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. They played only part of the 1986–87 MISL season before folding just after the league's midseason All-Star Break. Their home ...

. A year later, he was promoted to the role of head coach. Steffens returned to youth coaching as he accepted an assistant coach position at Syosset High School, where he remained in this capacity until 1994. While holding this role, he served as coaching director for the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) and head coach for one of the league's clubs, the Commack Connection, from 1990 to 1996. After these posts, he served as head coach at Chaminade High School for two years. After spending his entire life and career in New York, Steffens moved to Charlotte in 1997, where he accepted the head coaching role with the

Charlotte Eagles The Charlotte Eagles is an American amateur soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1991, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at the ...

. He served in this role from 1997 to 2014. Under his direction, the club won two USL-2 Championships. He was awarded the USL-2 Coach of the Year award twice in 2004 and 2008 respectively. In 2007, he was named into the USL Hall of Fame. He left as head coach when the Eagles decided to self-relegate to the

USL PDL USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will feature ...

after the 2014 season. Steffens was hired as head coach of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on December 17, 2014. On July 21, 2019, it was announced that Steffens would take charge at Stumptown Athletic, a

National Independent Soccer Association The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States. The league is previously in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019. NISA initially used a fall-to-spring season for ...

team based out of

Matthews, North Carolina Matthews is a town in southeastern Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte. The population was 29,435 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

. In January 2021, Steffens returned to the Lady Eagles as an assistant coach.

Personal life

Steffens is the son of Rev. Paul Steffens, director of the Christian Fellowship House in Syosset and also pastor of Syosset Gospel Church, along with his other son. Steffens is also a

non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. The term has been used in the context of various faiths, including Jainism, Baháʼí Faith, Zoro ...

ordained minister himself. Steffens and his wife Diane have three daughters, Jennifer, Christy and Sarah, and nine grandchildren. He currently resides in Waxhaw,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

Honors

Club

;

*USL-2 Championship (2): 2000, 2005

Individual

*USL-2 Coach of the Year (2): 2004, 2008 *USL Hall of Fame inductee

References

External links

Pittsburgh Riverhounds profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steffens, Mark 1953 births Living people The King's College (New York City) alumni American men's soccer players American soccer coaches New York Apollo players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Soccer players from New York (state) People from Syosset, New York Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC coaches National Independent Soccer Association coaches People from Waxhaw, North Carolina Men's association football players not categorized by position High school soccer coaches in the United States Sportspeople from Huntington, New York 20th-century American sportsmen