VARSITY PROGRAM COACHING STAFF

Head varsity coach:  James sostack

Head Coach James Sostack will be entering his 28th Varsity soccer season and has over 300 wins during his tenure. Leading the boys soccer program to 16 District III appearances, he is the longest serving head varsity soccer coach in the Lancaster Lebanon soccer league.  Coach Sostack currently holds the NSCAA Advanced National Diploma and former Vice President of the LL League Boys Soccer Coaches Association.  Coach Sostack was honored in 2016 as Pennsylvania 4A Boys Soccer Coach of the Year.

Coach Sostack’s goal for his players is that they represent the core values taught in the program and continue the passion to play well beyond their high school years.  Coach Sostack instructs  AP Government and Politics, AP Macroeconomics  and  11th grade Government and Economics.  He has won seven ” We the People” Pennsylvania State Championship titles in Constitutional Law and is the former State Director for Representative Democracy in America.  Outside the classroom, he has passion for skiing (ski club advisor), mountain biking, traveling the world with his wife Julie, and supporting his local home town “football” team Ipswich Town and his London favorite Chelsea.

ASSISTANT VARSITY COACH:  GREGG DAVIS

Gregg Davis recently moved from the Harrisburg area to Elizabethtown with his wife Susan. Gregg is a retired teacher from Central Dauphin school district where he taught Psychology.  Coach Davis played collegiate soccer at Lock Haven University and Elizabethtown College.  Having successfully coached both boys and girls soccer at Hershey High School and his alma mater Central Dauphin,  Coach Davis was also the assistant varsity coach at Milton Hershey School for two seasons.  He looks forward to sharing his experience with the soccer team and coaching staff at Elizabethtown High School.

JUNIOR VARSITY COACH:  ANDREW SCHOENBERGER

Andrew Schoenberger is the Junior Varsity coach and the President of Etown United Youth Soccer Club.  We are excited to announce that Coach Andy recently completed his National license!  Andrew Schoenberger has loved the game of soccer from age 6 and still likes to pretend he can keep up with the boys.  Andrew was volunteer coach for the U-8 Girls at Rheems Athletic Association/ Elizabethtown United (EU)/ for three seasons.  He is a strong believer in creating a positive and friendly environment to keep the game fun.  Andrew assisted head coach James Sostack as they captured 4 straight Section titles 2014-2017), 3 League titles (2014, 2015, 2017), District Runner-Up (2016), and State Runner-Up (2016); losing to Conestoga in a blizzard.

A 1994 graduate of EAHS, Andrew was a 3-time varsity letterman, LL League All-Star and co-captain of the 1994 team that completed a run of 3 consecutive section titles (1992, 1993, 1994).  Andrew was a 2-year captain for the Penn State men’s soccer team that was branch campus Champions (1996) and Runner-Up (1995) where they lost in Penalty kicks.  Andrew then went to the main campus of Penn State where he played for the Men’s Club team.

He appreciates the brotherhood and spirit that soccer teaches the boys.  His goal is to give back to the sport and school that gave him so many values that he holds today and memories that will last a lifetime.  Andrew’s coaching style leads with a strong focus on individual foot skills, followed by a studied tactical awareness with a one for all, all for one team atmosphere.  He drives the philosophy into the boys that hard work pays off and if you want to have fun, put the effort in first.  The better you are at the game, the more you will enjoy it.  The last of his main focus is mental discipline and health.  Respect each other, respect the game.

VARSITY VOLUNTEER COACH: JEREME WELLS

Coach Jereme Wells will return to volunteering in the program (September)  upon his return from Scotland where he was enrolled in graduate studies.  Having graduated from Etown in 2015, Jereme is familiar with Etown’s core values and winning ways. A 3 time varsity letterman, LL League all-star and 2015 All-State award winner, as well as playing a role in winning Etown’s first League championship, Coach Wells had a remarkable high school career here at Etown. After Etown he went to Eastern University where he went on to play in 4 conference final games and win 3 of them as well as making a run to the sweet 16 of the NCAA tournaments. During his junior year he got the chance to play soccer over in Scotland with the University of St. Andrews during a semester abroad where they won the covenant Queens Park Shield (The Scottish college tournament equivalent of the NCAA National tournament). Jereme currently plays for Lancaster Lions semi-pro team

Supporting Chelsea Football Club since he began to follow the sport, his favorite player of all time is a toss-up between Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard. One of his favorite memories of watching a game was going to Washington DC to watch Chelsea play Barcalona back in 2015.

Outside of soccer Jereme enjoys traveling to see the world, playing xbox, watching movies and learning about trading foreign currencies. Jereme looks forward to working with and learning from all the other coaches as well as being a part of the Etown program again.

VARSITY VOLUNTEER GOALKEEPING COACH: BRECKEN MUSSER

Brecken graduated from Elizabethtown High School in 2019. His senior year, he lettered as a captain and was an LL League Academic All-Star. He has been a goalkeeper since the age of 10 and has volunteered as a goalie coach for the local soccer club Elizabethtown United throughout his high school career. Growing up he played for Rheems AA and then in high school for LDC Soccer Club. He is not only a student of the game but also a fan of the game with his favorite professional clubs being Chelsea and the Philadelphia Union. Outside of soccer, Brecken also played tennis for Etown his junior and senior year. He currently is a student at Penn State Harrisburg studying marketing and management. He thoroughly enjoys watching their soccer team play. Brecken has completed his United Soccer Coaches Level 1 Goalkeeping diploma and  would like to work his way up to attain the highest license for goalkeeper coaching.

VARSITY/JUNIOR VARSITY VOLUNTEER COACH: CHRISTIAN WIEAND

Coach Christian Wieand graduated from Elizabethtown in 2015. Christian was a 3-time letterman and co-captain of the first Bears team to win the LL League. Upon graduation, Coach Wieand attended Muhlenberg College where he played two seasons. After three semesters at Muhlenberg, he transferred to Lock Haven University, where he was newcomer of the year and captained the Bald Eagles his senior year. He graduated with a degree in Middle Level Elementary Education. Christian currently teaches 4^th grade math and science at Bear Creek Elementary, where he is entering his third year of teaching. Outside of soccer, Christian enjoys fly-fishing and golfing. He is very excited to return to the E-town program!

JUNIOR HIGH SOCCER PROGRAM COACHING STAFF

JUNIOR HIGH HEAD COACH: BEN MYERS

Ben Myers is the Junior High Head Coach, starting in 2021. Ben has enjoyed playing soccer on a variety of teams throughout his life.  Growing up his passion was baseball, but later that passion transitioned to soccer.  Ben has been a coach for Elizabethtown United in some capacity since 2013, when his oldest began playing U6 soccer.  Since then he has coached a number of teams for all 3 of his children.

Ben’s coaching style has been centered around preparing the kids for life, utilizing the game of soccer as a tool to do so.  He believes that while having fun is always a priority, using “teachable moments” in the game of soccer allows us to focus on building better character in our players.  The odds of someone “going pro” are so slim, that we should instead keep a mindset of developing real world skills in our players.   You will hear multiple times per season, Coach Ben’s saying of “we don’t cheat in practice, we don’t cheat in the games, and we don’t cheat in life”.  Respect is not given, it is earned.

Ben graduated from Elizabethtown Area High School in 1999 and from Shippensburg University in 2003.  He enjoys spending time with his family, fishing, running, and anything sports related.  He is currently training for his 4^th Ragnar, so if you see him out on a training run, be sure to wave hello!

JUNIOR HIGH 7TH/8TH GRADE TEAM COACH:  ED SPAYD

Ed graduated from Elizabethtown Area High School in 1992. As a student athlete he played soccer, wrestled, and ran track.  Coach Spayd continued his soccer career playing for Susquehanna University where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science.   In the summer of 1998, he did a solo bike ride across the United States to raise funds for the American Red Cross. Coach Spayd lived in Oregon for 6 years pursuing a variety of outdoor adventures.  In 2003, Ed returned to Pennsylvania and earned his Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Penn State Harrisburg.  Currently, Coach Spayd works as an Environmental Engineer for HRG Inc.

Coach Spayd has been a soccer coach for Elizabethtown United in some capacity since 2011, when his oldest daughter began playing U6 soccer.  In his free time, Ed enjoys spending time with his family and looking for new adventures.