Luke Schartner, the head coach of Berean Christian School’s boys varsity soccer team, has been recognized by The Palm Beach Post as its boys high school soccer coach of the year for the recently completed 2022-23 season.
Schartner, who just completed his 17th year as Berean’s head coach, led the team to an 11-6-2 record this past season. This year, Berean won its second consecutive Class 3A, District 13 title.
The soft-spoken Schartner was surprised when he was told about this first-time coaching honor for him. “I was pretty shocked,” said Schartner, who believes that his best days as a coach are still in his future. “I’m still working on becoming a great coach. Hopefully, I’ll get there one day.”
Berean’s biggest win of the season was its 3-2 victory over Miami’s Riviera Prep on Feb. 8 in the Florida High School Athletic Association’s Class 3A, Region 3 quarterfinals. In that match, Berean was the No. 6 seed, while Riviera Prep was the heavily favored No. 3 seed.
After that regional quarterfinal victory, Schartner’s team traveled to Miami for a regional semifinal game against No. 2 seed, Archbishop Carroll. While Berean lost 4-0, the game was closer than it appeared on paper, as the match was scoreless for the first half.
As Schartner reflects on the 2022-23 season, he was impressed by his players’ ability to be competitive with an even keeled and mature mindset.
“My players were loose, relaxed and they knew how to have fun,” he said. “On the field in games, my players were tough as nails and believed in themselves. They could problem solve as a group during games.”
While every player on Schartner’s roster contributed to the success of the team, three of his players truly emerged as invaluable team leaders. They were Trey Lance, Miles Kelly and Jacob Wells.
Lance, a senior, was the team’s center-forward with a knack for scoring goals. This past season, Lance had 21 goals and two assists. “Our coaching staff was wondering where the goals were going to come from, and then Trey stepped up as a goal scorer,” Schartner said.
Kelly, a junior, was the team’s starting goalkeeper. Kelly is a very efficient goalie.
“Miles is our leader from the back of the defense,” Schartner said. “He is excited about the chance of being the hero.”
Wells, a senior midfielder, leads by example in practices and games.
“Jacob was always the first to arrive at practice,” Schartner said. “He is quiet, humble and hardworking.”
While Schartner will lose some players to graduation in May, he is confident that Berean’s winning ways will continue next year, since he has a deep roster and a competitive junior varsity squad this past season, which will fill the voids left by departing seniors.
