St. Francis boys soccer coach Glen Appels, the winningest boys soccer coach in San Gabriel Valley history, earned his 500th career victory on Thursday night with a 4-0 win over Flintridge Prep.

St. Francis boys soccer coach Glen Appels (far left), Principal Tracy Traver, Fr. President Tony Marti and athletic director Matt Luderer celebrating Apples’ 500th coaching victory on Nov. 30, 2023. (Courtesy of Matt Luderer)
Appels has had a lot of success at St. Francis during the more than three decades he has been at the school. He became the head varsity coach in 1989 and has been coaching at the school for 36 years.

Family, friends, former players and his 90-year-old father, Joe Appels from Tucson, were among those in attendance for Thursday’s game and congratulated him after his milestone achievement.

“The people around me were what made the night special,” Appels said. “The wins are nice, but the relationships you build over the years, with the school, with players, with the staff, that’s what makes it all worth it. It was a great night, and I appreciated everyone who was there that made it so special.”

Appels is just the fourth boys soccer coach in California history to reach 500 victories according to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). He is just the second coach in CIF Southern Section history to accomplish the feat.

Appels trails only Palos Verdes Peninsula’s Alan King in Southern Section coaching victories. King finished with 509 victories in 2003, which means Apples can became the CIF-SS all-time boys soccer coaching leader with 10 more wins, which could happen this season.

Porterville’s Francisco Nuno is second all-time in California with 518 wins and California’s leader is Paul Rose, who won 867 games for Carmichael Jesuit (1979-2001), which is the fourth most all-time wins by a high school boys soccer coach in the country.

“I didn’t know all that,” Appels said of his place in history.

“I never thought about records or longevity,” he added. “I remember when Alan (King) got his 500th and thought, ‘nobody is every surpassing that.’ I look back and think how incredibly naive I was. I wanted to teach English and loved soccer my whole life and thought this was a good job and just never stopped doing it.”

The Golden Knights have won three CIF Southern Section championships, a CIF State Southern California Regional title and 10 league titles during his tenure. Appels also been named the CIF-SS coach of the year three times.

St. Francis won its first championship under Appels in 1996, defeating Arroyo Grande 4-0 for the Division III title. One of the players on the 1996 team was captain Pete Vagenas, who later won a national title at UCLA and went on to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Vagenas was on hand Thursday night to celebrate with his former coach.

“The 1996 title was special because that was my first good team and we hadn’t won any CIF championships at the school since 1964, so that one felt really good,” Appels said. “And it was great to see Pete, he has meant so much to our program.”

Appels has had several coaching accolades during his tenure, including being named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA ) Far West region coach of the year in 2001, which came after St. Francis’ second championship. It defeated Diamond Ranch 3-1 for the Division IV title.

St. Francis’ last section title under Appels came when it shared the Division II crown in 2003 after a 1-1 tie in the championship with Woodbridge.

Appels has gone on to receive other awards since, including the California Coaches Association coach of the year award in 2005, and in 2009 he was named the NSCAA California coach of the year.

The Golden Knights’ team in 2009 lost in the CIF-SS semifinals, but made the CIF State Southern California Division II Regional playoffs, and gave Apples his fourth championship. They defeated powerful Cathedral Catholic of San Diego, scoring four first-half goals and held on to win 4-2 for the school’s only state regional title.

“We lost in the the CIF semifinals and thought that was it,” Appels said of the 2009 team. “For that team to have another chance and win it all was a very special one. They played a great final.”

Appels, who was inducted into St. Francis’ Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007, says he is asked often about how much longer he wants to coach.

“I’m going with the no plan thing,” Appels said with a chuckle. “I feel like I have some gas in the tank left. They ask me about retiring so much that I actually started thinking about it, and I know how quickly things can change in life. But if I’m healthy and still enjoying it, I don’t have a plan to stop.”