Welcome, welcome, and welcome to Richmond Kickers Weekly. I'm your host for this week.

It's a more than Kinkers, the kicker. That's the way we like it.

Hello everybody and welcome to Richmond Kickers Weekly. I'm your host for this week, Taylor Rockwell, joining me, I have a special guest, no Daryl Grove, but a more esteemed guest, a more high-profile guest, I'm going to say. It's Matt Spear, the president of the Richmond Kickers. Hello, Matt. That was better than mine. That was genuinely better than mine. I have struggled to do the hello and welcome whenever Drell is not here. I feel like you may end up replacing me. So thanks for that. I'm trying my best. Well, Matt's here to talk a little bit about the season so far, a little bit about what it's been like to be the president of the kickers. But first, I wanted to start with Charlie Slagel. That was some fairly shocking news when that came through. I'm assuming that was shocking for you as well. Absolutely. So a little bit of background, Charlie Sagel. That was some fairly shocking news when that came through. I'm assuming that was

shocking for you as well. Absolutely. So a little bit of background. Charlie Slagel has been our

vice president of community engagement and game day experiences. Vital piece of what we're trying to do

here with Richmond Kickers and turn this thing into a new chapter. So yes, very sudden death last week, 67 years young, but an incredibly impactful life that can tell you a little bit about.

But special, special man to me and really kind of sunk his teeth into and really leaned into this job here in Richmond.

I mean, for me, not knowing Charlie before the season started, like, the thing that

stood out to me, I think there was one game where I saw him, like, organizing something before

halftime, then he was doing the emceeing of, like, the youth game on the field at halftime.

Then I saw him up, like, taking tickets for something.

Then when people were leaving the stadium, he was there saying goodbye.

Like, he was all over the place.

And so I know even just in that short amount of time with the kickers are relatively short, he had that big of an impact. My mother-in-law knew who Charlie was somehow. I don't know how that is. So he did seem like that person who kind of knew everyone all the time. Yeah, Charlie, you know, there's only one Charlie Slegel. I mean, he's incredibly authentic. He's an original. and people just love the guy.

I mean, he had a warmth and a smile and a twinkle in his eye that's irreplaceable. So he never forgot a name. He never met a stranger. So he was great for this role. And when I decided to join this adventure, he was the first guy I talked to.

The first guy I wanted on our team to really be here and turn this thing up a notch. And how far back does that relationship go, all the way back to Davidson? Is that correct? So actually before Davidson, I knew Charlie for about 35 years. So when I was 12 or 13, growing up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, my older brother played for Charlie at Davidson. And so I got to know Charlie that way, and then Charlie recruited me, played for Charlie for four years, stayed on with the college, and was his assistant coach for a couple seasons, went off and did a sports marketing mini-career.

And then my last two years, in my 20s and late 90s, I went back to coach with him a little bit and then

inherited his job. So he was head coach at Davidson for 20 years, and I was head coach for 21 years,

rather, and I was head coach for 18 years. And then he's been with me side by side for the last

six months here in Richmond. And I want to get to your kind of background as well in the second,

but first. I knew

like the last time I read at least there was maybe going to be a memorial service, has that been

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