Background
Bokern grew up in South Saint Louis.
Bokern grew up in South Saint Louis.
He attended Saint Mary's High School where he played on the 1970 Undefeated Missouri State championship soccer team He then attended Saint Louis University, playing on the men’s soccer team from 1970 to 1973.
He then went on to coach at the high school, collegiate and amateur levels. He was named the team’s Offensive Most Valuable Player. He was inducted into the Saint Louis University Hall of Fame in 1996. During his college years, he also played for Saint Louis Kutis South Carolina (U.S.) In that game, he scored two goals as Kutis defeated Cleveland Inter-Italian 4-1.
In 1974, the Saint Louis Stars of the North American Soccer League drafted Bokern.
He spent three seasons in the NASL. He then played at the semi-professional and amateur levels for over twenty years with Kutis. Bokern has coached at the high school, collegiate and professional levels.
That season, he had taken the Oakville High School soccer team to the State Championship. In 1983, he coached Forest Park Community College when it was runner up in the National Junior College national championship.
In 1994, Bokern was hired as head coach of the Saint Louis Knights of the USISL. In addition to coaching youth soccer, Bokern is the owner/broker of Bokern Realty in Saint Louis.
He won a high school state title, three National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I, a National Amateur Cup, a National Challenge Cup, and two USSF Over-30 Cup championship as a player as well as two high school state titles, one National Challenge Cup championship, two United States. U-20 Cup titles and two United States. O-30 Cup titles as a coach. During those years, the Billikens won the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I national championship three times (1970, 1972 and 1973). With whom he won the 1971 National Amateur Cup. In 1985, Bokern and his team mates won the National Challenge Cup title. He was the 1977 Missouri High School of the Year. He was also the 1983 NJCAA of the Year. In 1985, he coached, as well as played on, Kutis F.C. when it won the National Challenge Cup. In 1996, he was named Missouri High School of the Year for a second time, this time as head coach of his alma mater, Saint Mary's High School, Bokern earned an USSF "A" ing License in 1996 and an USSF "Y" ing License in 2008.
