Remembering Charlie Slagle

By Tony Meyers

I first got to know Charlie when I was a 13 year-old camper. He was a counselor and everyone looked up to him.

I wanted to be just like Charlie. He was outgoing, athletic and energetic (however, he did not like overnights).

Charlie was a “lifer” at Camp. His mother was the longtime secretary for Mr. Ed and Mr. George.

He grew up in the Binghamton area and went to Davidson to play Football.  He wanted to play tight end (his favorite player was Raymond Berry) but the coaches wanted him to play guard. Well, Charlie wasn’t having any of that so he switched to Soccer and became a goalie for the team.

Coaching was in Charlie’s blood. When Davidson became co-ed during his senior year, he coached the women’s Basketball team.  After graduation in 1980, he took on the role as head Soccer coach for his alma mater. This is where he started to thrive.

21 seasons
7-time Southern Conference Coach of the Year
2-time Regional Coach of the Year
In the magical ’92 season when Davidson reached the national semi-finals, he was honored as National Coach of the Year  

On behalf of Davidson College, he made a pitch to the NCAA to host the mens’ soccer College Cup at Davidson. All of a sudden this became a big event and it is has grown over the years to be played in Soccer style venues. For this accomplishment he was presented the Bill Jeffrey Award for long-term service to collegiate Soccer. I was fortunate to coach with Charlie his last year at Davidson and the information gathered there was something that I will never forget.

After his tenure at Davidson, Charlie moved onto Capital Area Soccer League (CASL) as CEO and did a stint as Executive Director for the Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club in Denver. From there, he became the CEO of the Tampa Bay United Soccer Club. His clubs hosted fourteen Division 1 College Cups (men and women) as well as hosting the USMNT training site before heading off to the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cup.

His last stop allowed him to reconnect with players from his 1992 national semi-final team where he was Vice President of Community Engagement and Gameday Experience – this job fit Charlie to a T.  Never the modest individual, he promoted the game of Soccer wherever he went. He was elected President of the United Soccer Coaches Association in 2017, serving over 30,000 members.

A competitor, outgoing and caring individual, he will be missed by all whose lives were touched by him.