When Englishman Charles Moore arrived at all-boys Benedictine Military School in Savannah in 2013, he had the goal of winning a state championship in his fist five seasons. He already had won a state championship in South Carolina, so five years seemed like a decent time-frame.
To his delight, Benedictine defeated Coosa 4-1 in the Class AA state title game in Macon last season and put Moore ahead of schedule. He had reached the pinnacle in his fourth season. He attributes the success to a game plan laid out when he arrived on campus.
Moore began his coaching career at St. Andrews, a Savannah school that played in the South Carolina private league. He reached the title game there in 2009 and lost, but won it all in 2010. He brought the same type of program to Benedictine.
"When I first came here I was kind of building a five-year program," Moore said. "I coach club (soccer) as well, and what I do is really encourage kids, from year 1 to year 5, to be year-round club players."
The mindset has allowed Benedictine to become a power in Class AA, and according to Moore, the growth of dedicated soccer players has been a joy to see.
"When I came here, the (junior varsity) and varsity squads combined were about 35 or 36 players and only had two club players," he said. "I think this year, the (junior varsity) and varsity squads combined are 37 with 34 club players. So we play pretty much year-round. If you're on varsity, you're pretty much an anomaly if you don't play club soccer, although we do have a few. But the majority of them are playing club. I am working with them in the spring and then working with other coaches, because I can't work with them in the fall, but they're playing at the top-level of club soccer in Savannah."
Translation: We have created a wealth of talent that will be expanded year-after-year. These kids are soccer machines.
"It's a small well of talent, compared to Atlanta," he quipped in a heavy British accent. "Because, obviously, Savannah is a very small place, and there are only 400 kids in our school. We have a great football program, a great track program and a great baseball and basketball program, and we have us, so it's divided up a good bit."
Next season, the Cadets should move from Class AA to Class AAA, allowing for tougher competition during the season and into the playoffs.
"It's very exciting," he said. "We are going into AAA next year, and we are looking forward to it. When I first came here, we were playing teams like Pace, GAC and Lovett and those types of teams, and we were competitive with those teams."
For some programs, moving to a higher classification could be tough, but Moore looks at it from several perspectives, including competition level, logistics, and most importantly, the quality of his current team.
"We actually have a better team now than we had then," he said, confidently. "So I am looking forward to that from a point of view of having a lot of competition in the playoffs. Locally, we have some very good local teams here in Windsor Forest, Savannah Arts and Islands, which we play outside of region play. We are competitive with them, so our region will be more competitive and there will be less traveling for us, which is always a plus. We look forward to that."
This year, Benedictine is ranked No. 2 in Class AA with an 8-4-0 record. The Cadets opened their season with three consecutive losses before going 8-1 in its next nine games. Benedictine is well-traveled. The Cadets have traveled to Atlanta (3 hours and 45 minutes), Swainsboro (1 hours and 40 minutes), Vidalia (1 hour and 40 minutes), Metter (1 hour), Pembroke (45 minutes) and Lyons (1 hour and 40 minutes) while staying in Savannah for just three games. Next season could be vastly different from a logistical standpoint, and if Moore has his way, his team will impact the AAA playoffs as much as reclassification will impact Benedictine's travel schedule.
"Those (AAA) teams are very, very competitive," Moore said. "We are normally close with teams like Islands, and I think our record against them is pretty good outside of the region the three or four times we've played. We've had a couple of draws, a couple of wins. Windsor, a couple of wins a draw and a loss. (Savannah) Arts ... it's a couple of wins and a couple of draws. So the games will always be competitive with those teams, and that's good for us. That's what we're looking for."
The Cadets have nine freshmen on a 22-man roster. But returning seniors Drew Lisica, Mason Stoever and Tyler Brands have the talent to lead the younger players. Junior Chris Myers will help, and returning sophomores Noah Wolfe, Eric Monson, Joshua Hameed and Gavin Steward know what it means to win a state title. Tristan De Loach, Jackson Hudgins, Blake Stoever and Nick Dillion are four freshman starters.
"Drew, Mason and Tyler are obviously very, very important to us," Moore said. "Tristan De Loach is a very, very exciting freshman who lots of people are looking at. Nick Dillion, who's a defender, has again stepped up and done very, very well. So those two in particular have shown out as the four freshman who've started. Obviously Jackson Hudgins has had a really good season, as has Blake Stoever. We haven't mentioned David Hale, who's a freshman, in and out off the bench for us. We are excited, and obviously a lot of the people who were freshman last year are returning. Noah Wolfe was in that squad ... Eric Munson. They're returning with a year's more experience, too."
With senior leadership, a budding group of freshman and a pack of experienced middle-classmen, Benedictine boys soccer is poised to make a run at back-to-back state titles before its move to Class AAA. Things are looking good in Savannah.
"We are very young but we are growing," Moore said. "We are under no illusions that whatever we are going to need to do that we are going to work very hard to do it."
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