Wayland Baptist's new men's soccer coach brings a wealth of experience to the fledgling Pioneer program. Jamath Shoffner followed up a stellar collegiate playing career with an outstanding professional one. The Greensboro, N.C. native also has a successful coaching stint at the college level on his resume.

A three-time All-Conference USA performer at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, Shoffner was on the 1996 49er team which reached the NCAA DI Final Four.  He wrapped up his collegiate career in 2000 among the top five in Conference USA all-time assists. He was voted the UNC-Charlotte Player of the Year in 1999 and was a two-year team captain and four-year starter.  

Shoffner went on to play professionally in Europe for three years, highlighted by an appearance in the Champions League with the Shelbourne Football Club in the Irish Premier League in 2002. He returned to North Carolina in 2004 to take over as assistant men's soccer coach at Montreat College. The next year, Shoffner became Montreat's head coach, earning Appalachian Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors in his second season after leading the Cavaliers to a 15-4-1 record and their first-ever national tournament appearance.

After another successful season at Montreat in 2007, Shoffner returned to Europe to resume his professional career, first in Germany and later in Luxembourg, where he became the first American to play professionally.

Shoffner originally signed with the Avenir Beggen Football Club in the Luxembourg Premier League, but spent the past three seasons playing with the UN Kaerjeng Football Club, and was a starter in the 2009 UEFA Cup.

Coach Shoffner and his wife, Josie, now live in Plainview with their two sons, Zeil (2) and Zade (4 mos.).

Originally from Trinidad & Tobago, Shermon Gardner moved to the United States to study and play soccer.

The Appalachian Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year in 2003, Gardner was a three-time AAC first team All-Conference and Academic All-Conference honoree, as well as a two-time All-Region selection at Montreat College in North Carolina.

Gardner also played one year at the University of South Carolina Upstate, then a top-5 NCAA Division II team, where he led the conference in assists. He returned to Montreat for his final season where he played for current Pioneer head coach Jamath Shoffner. The Cavaliers went 15-4-1 that year and reached the postseason for the first time in school history. Gardner was awarded the 2006 AAC Golden Boot Award and earned NAIA Scholar Athlete honors.

He graduated from Montreat in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems and minors in business and music.

Currently, Gardner is pursuing his MBA at Wayland with a concentration in Management Information Systems.