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

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

, 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 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

coach.

Playing career

A native of

Huntington, New York The Town of Huntington is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York. Founded in 1653, it is located on the north shore of Long Island in northwestern Suffolk County, with Long Island Sound to its north and Nassau County adjacent to the west. ...

and also raised in

Syosset, New York Syosset (also known as Little East Woods or Locust Grove) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the Town of Oyster Bay, in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 19,259 at the 202 ...

, Steffens attended The King's College in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where he graduated with a degree in

Physical Education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

. 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. The team began as the amateur Greek-Americans. The club played lower Premier Division of the German American Soccer League w ...

. 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 Alfred G. Berner Middle School is a middle school that serves Massapequa, New York since 1987 after the conversion from Berner High School. The school was named after Alfred G. Berner, who served on the Board of Education from 1945 to 1954. The ca ...

from 1975-1979. 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. It is part of the State University of New York. The college was chartered in 1912 as a school of ap ...

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 Shep Norman Messing (born October 9, 1949) is a retired American soccer goalkeeper and current broadcaster who works as the lead analyst for New York Red Bulls matches on the MSG Network. In 2021 he took the position of chairman of the Major Arena ...

for the New York Arrows 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 during the league's midseason All-Star Break. Their home are ...

. 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 Syosset High School (SHS) is a public high school located in Syosset, New York, United States, in Nassau County, on Long Island. It serves as the public high school for residents of the Syosset Central School District. As of 2012, the news maga ...

, 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 1990-1996. After these posts, he served as head coach at

Chaminade High School Chaminade High School is a Roman Catholic Marianist college preparatory high school for boys in Mineola, New York, United States. Chaminade’s main campus is also home to Saragossa Retreat Center, one of their three retreat houses. Athletics ...

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 are an American professional 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 ...

. 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 developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

after the 2014 season. Steffens was hired as head coach of the

Pittsburgh Riverhounds Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1999 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American so ...

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 in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019. NISA initially used a fall-to-spring season format with a ...

team based out of

Matthews, North Carolina Matthews is a town in southeastern Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of Charlotte. The population was 27,198 according to the 2010 Census. History In the early 19th century, the new settlement that would become Ma ...

. 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. Overview The term has been used in the context of various faiths including Jainism, Baháʼí Fait ...

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 state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

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 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 Huntington, New York People from Waxhaw, North Carolina Association footballers not categorized by position High school soccer coaches in the United States Sportspeople from Nassau County, New York