When Mark Berson was hired as the head coach of the men’s soccer team at South Carolina in 1978, he didn’t think he would still hold the position 36 years later.
It’s not that he thought he would be somewhere else by now, it’s that he wasn’t thinking that far in advance.
“You don’t really think in those terms,” Berson said. “You’re more thinking about the next practice, next match and the next season. Over time a number of years go in the books.”
Practices came and matches went and, before long, Berson emerged as the leading active head coach in Division I men’s soccer in wins. Berson now owns 465 career victories, with all but 11 coming at the University of South Carolina.
None meant more to the long-tenured coach than the team’s latest win.
“The last one against Mercer,” he said when asked which of his 454 wins at South Carolina meant the most. “And the next one. The most important one is the next one, not anything we’ve done in the past.”
That’s the mentality Berson had when establishing the men’s soccer program at South Carolina prior to the 1978 season.
However, just months before the start of the season, the team was without the fundamentals needed for a successful soccer team.
“When I was hired here in March [1978], we kicked off in September,” he said. “We did not have a field, we did not have uniforms, we did not have a schedule and we did not have any players. And I didn’t have a staff.”
Berson’s squad scraped together a winning season despite the disadvantage, losing only three games in the Gamecocks’ inaugural season. The team ultimately finished with the seventh-best record (13-3-1) in school history, judging by winning percentage (.794).
The next season, South Carolina made its first NCAA tournament, one of 20 appearances Berson would eventually lead the Gamecocks to. His tenure at South Carolina has seen 31 winning seasons in 36 years of coaching.
Berson’s teams became a staple at the NCAA tournament during the ‘80s and ‘90s, making an appearance in the postseason 10 of 11 years spanning from 1985 to 1995.
His success led him to new experiences across the globe, heading the U.S. National U-18 team in the Granatkin/Leningrad tournament in the former Soviet Union in 1989.
“That was a very interesting time,” Berson said. “We had, basically, a KGB agent who was our liaison. But it was a great opportunity to train and to bring our team over. The interaction with the players was really educational.”
After his experience in the Soviet Union, Berson returned to the states to lead the Gamecocks to a 17-3-2 record and an appearance in the NCAA quarterfinals.
Nearly 40 years after hanging up his cleats to pursue the coaching side of soccer, Berson is still infatuated with the game he played as a student at North Carolina. He has sacrificed time to participate in youth coaching, serving as the state coach for the South Carolina Youth Soccer Association. In 1992, the association welcomed him into its hall of fame.
“I just really enjoy the teaching aspect of coaching,” Berson said. “That’s been the part that has been the most fun and the part that keeps you coming back is the competition, the chance to work with student athletes and the teaching. There is always something that’s different and that’s challenging. So, it’s just a continually renewing process.”