No one in South Carolina has won more soccer games than Phil Savitz. 

The former Lexington County coach leads all coaches in state history in games won and was recently inducted into the NFHS National High School Hall of Fame. 

During a ceremony in Chicago last week, Savitz and 10 other inductees were honored for their careers in high school sports. Savitz was one of three coaches in this year’s class, along with other inductees who were either players, administrators, officials, or fine arts instructors. 

The NFHS National High School Hall of Fame is one of the most exclusive high school hall of fames in the country. Only the best of the best are accepted, and nominations come directly from each state’s high school league. 

Savitz became the eighth coach in state history to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. 

The long-time coach spent his entire 45-year career in Lexington County. He started at Irmo and stayed for 33 years before moving to River Bluff for the final 12. He announced his retirement before the 2024 boys soccer season and led the Gators to an 18-3 record and bringing his career total wins to 824. 

His accomplishments also extended into the postseason. He guided his teams to 15 state titles, with 14 coming at Irmo. 

The Yellow Jackets won their first championship under Savitz in 1982.  The team went on to win four consecutive championships from 1987-1990 

In 1993, Irmo won the state championship after his son scored a penalty kick in the championship game. Irmo won another four in a row from 1995-98. 

The next three championships came in 200, 2003 and 2004. 

He led his final Irmo team in 2013 and guided the Yellow Jackets to the state championship after a 4-3 penalty shootout win over Lexington. 

At Irmo, he was a 17-time Region Coach of the Year and a three-time State Coach of the Year. 

Savitz jumped to River Bluff when the school opened and became its first soccer coach in history.  

His success at Irmo quickly followed as he led the Gators to the state championship in 2016. That year, he was also named NFHS National Soccer Coach of the Year

Throughout the championship runs and the rest of his 45-year career, he coached 14 State Players of the Year. Savitz was selected as one of the top 100 greatest high school coaches of all time by MaxPreps.

In 2007, he was inducted into the South Carolina High School Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Fame. In 2012, he was selected for the South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame. 

The decision to retire was not easy. In an interview with the Chronicle in 2024, Savitz said the choice was difficult and shocked those closest to him. Still, they supported him and understood it was his decision. 

While he no longer commands the team on the field, Savitz’s influence is still there, and he can often be found cheering on his former schools.