For 22 years Jason Oertling has been the man leading a highly successful St. Louis soccer program.

It’s a run that has included 21 district titles and 10 state championships. Four of those state titles came in a row, a streak that ended in the semifinals last year.

There is even a 2006 national title sprinkled into the program’s accomplishments.

But for a man who has done it all as a head coach, Oertling is still managing to break new ground. He won his 500th career game last week, when the Saints defeated Teurlings Catholic 3-1 last Tuesday.

It’s all in a day’s work for Oertling, who doubles as the school’s athletic director. While he sees the award as an accomplishment, Oertling’s instinct is to deflect credit in the accomplishment.

“Five-hundred (wins) is a big number,” Oertling said. “But when I think of the 500 wins, I don’t think of the wins; I think of all the kids that I was able to coach along the way. I don’t know how many thousands of kids that is, but that’s the number that matters the most to me.

“Yeah, I was the coach that was on the sideline but it’s been about what the kids have been able to do over the years.”

It’s been a long road for Oertling, a St. Louis alumni. He was a freshman player the first year of the soccer program and would eventually go on to take his current position.

“It’s just incredible to see how far it has come and all the accomplishments along the way,” he said. “Not only as a coach, but as an alum and a former soccer player, I take pride in the tradition we’ve created.”

Through his hundreds of wins, Oertling’s fondest memories are not necessarily of any championship or win.

“Obviously the 10 state championships stick out,” he said. “But in ways, the losses stick out just as much. There are years we didn’t win but the kids worked just as hard as those that won.

“That was the best part of winning championships. It wasn’t just winning or accomplishing the goal, but also the fact that those kids succeeded. The thing to remember are the ones that didn’t win were still as successful. Hopefully, the work ethic they learned at St. Louis and through their parents is something that will carry them through the rest of their lives.”(Kirk Meche/Special to the American Press)

Rick Hickman