Meet Charles
Charles has always been enthusiastic about the pursuit of excellence, both personally and coaching others. This pursuit started early in life as an athlete. Charles had a constant drive to improve that led to him having a high level of success in baseball. Inspired by his high school coach he learned the value of committing himself to a goal and improving slowly over time. The power of trusting the process led Charles to become a Division 1 baseball player at Youngstown State University where he was a 1st Team Freshman All-American, as well as a member of the first team to reach the NCAA tournament in school history. Charles still sits in the top ten of several offensive categories in school history.
Since completing his playing career he has continued to work with athletes, coaches, and leaders through training and coaching. Since 2007 Charles has trained and coached hundreds of athletes, helping many to achieve their dream of playing in college. It’s through training and coaching that Charles has discovered his true passion which is to teach and help others discover the greatness within themselves. Charles hopes to continue to develop as a leader and inspire the next generation of athlete and coach to become excellent in every aspect of their development.
Charles started The Edge of Greatness Project in 2020 and launched his podcast November of that year. Charles is an avid writer and published two books—Be Great: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Dirt and Master of The Sea: A Little Story About Possibilities. Since then Charles has become a highly sought after podcast guest, speaker, and consultant.
Charles lives with his wife and three kids in Wooster, OH.
Our Story
and I was sitting on my living room floor inches away from my family’s old tube television. I was locked in on the game that was unfolding on the screen before me. It had been a back and forth game and I could feel the tension rising inside of me. With three seconds left in the game Craig Ehlo scored to put the Cavs up by one over the Bulls and looking like they'd be moving onto the next round. Unfortunately for the Cavs the Bulls had Michael Jordan.
After the time out the Bulls were set to inbound the ball from just beyond half court. Jordan was double teamed, but worked to get himself in a position to receive the inbound pass. Upon catching the ball, Jordan took two hard dribbles to his left put his foot in the ground and elevated for a jump shot from just behind the free throw line. He floated in the air for what felt like five seconds as Craig Ehlo floated past him. After a double pump, Jordan released a shot that rattled home as time expired. Jordan ran to the sideline jumping in the air pumping his fist over and over. The shot gave the Bulls a 101-100 victory over the Cavs, and sent the Bulls into the next round of the playoffs.
Two things happened that day. One, an almost six year old boy’s dreams were crushed as his favorite team lost in heart breaking fashion. So many emotions surged through me as I watched through tear filled eyes, my beloved Cavs walk off the court. Two, I found myself completely intrigued with greatness and what it took to become great. Jordan in that single moment sparked an interest in me that I still have today. What makes the greats great? Why do some people achieve success where others fail? What sets the successful apart from the average?
As an athlete and sports fan, I leaned heavily on studying what great athletes did different than everyone else. Athletes like Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Tyson, Wayne Gretzkey, Michael Johnson, and Jerry Rice became my idols of what is possible if you work hard enough. I was motivated to become the best possible athlete I could and to one day achieve the greatness that these iconic athletes did. Over thirty years later I am still searching for a deeper and better understanding of what makes the greats great. It's a passion and a search that I don't think will ever end.
I have discovered similarities between all the greats I listed above, but I have also found similarities between the athletes I loved and coaches, leaders, musicians, inventors, and entrepreneurs. Greatness in sport isn’t any different than greatness in anything we pursue. The level of commitment to your craft, attention to detail, ability to ignore the critics, and an uncommon level of grit typically shows up in all of these people. It’s not that they were born different, they just worked different, and given the tools all these men utilized everyone can become great.
I wake up every morning chasing greatness, and I believe I’m on the right path. I've found a calling I’m passionate about. I have committed myself to learning and bettering myself regularly and know that if I continue to do what I'm doing I will one day achieve success. A really cool thing about my path to greatness is it’s tied to other people's greatness and success. My passion to coach and lead others means that when I finally do reach my greatness, I will have assisted others in achieving their own personal greatness along the way. Knowing this gives me tons of energy and strength.
My hope is that through my podcast, writings, or conversations with me seen that the journey to excellence isn’t smooth or easy. The true testament to the excellence of the people referenced in this story is the work they put in. The daily work over years of their life that eventually allowed them to achieve success. The other thing to remember as you chase your dreams and goals is that there are a lot of things that go into your future success. Don’t expect to achieve all your goals tomorrow. Greatness is a war of attrition and you must stay true to your process through all of the adversity that shows up along the way. Never give up!
