2-Sport Star

The call that fulfilled one of Simone Charley’s life dreams came unexpectedly, catching her off guard on an otherwise mundane winter morning. Her soccer coach at Vanderbilt University was on the other end of the line. He had news. 

The U.S. Soccer Under-23 National Team was hosting a 10-day camp in March, and Charley, a 2013 Spain Park High School alumna, had been invited to attend. A sense of shock overwhelmed her. 

“I didn’t say anything,” Charley recalled. “I couldn’t believe it, especially since I hadn’t played this season.”

Charley had redshirted the Commodores’ fall 2016 campaign, but that was due largely to her first patriotic endeavor. Last summer, the two-sport standout qualified to compete for the United States at a U-23 international track and field meet in El Salvador. She finished second in the triple jump, an event in which she still holds a pair of state high school records. 

Charley starred for the Jaguar track and soccer teams from 2009-13. At Vanderbilt, the rising redshirt senior has continued to score and soar during her time as a collegian. She graduated in May with degrees in psychology and sociology and was named the Athletic Department’s 2016-17 Miss Commodore, a distinction that recognizes one senior who exemplifies the essence of a Vanderbilt student-athlete.  

But Charley’s high school coaches saw this coming. As a Jag, prolific achievements both on the field and in the classroom foreshadowed future success. 

“She was just an exceptional talent,” said Spain Park track and field coach Michael Zelwak. “She was one of the most well-rounded student-athletes I’ve ever had the opportunity work to with.”

Charley won eight state titles in the horizontal jumps and has since become a five-time NCAA first team All-American. She also owns Vanderbilt’s all-time school record in the triple jump, a discipline her older siblings, Nicole and Miles, originally introduced her to. By following their lead, Simone Charley earned a spot at last summer’s U.S. Olympic Trials, where she placed 13th, and made the national team bound for El Salvador. It was her first time representing her country. 

“It was a surreal experience ... to wear the red, white and blue,” Charley said. “At one point, I never thought it would have been possible.”

Zelwak thought otherwise. 

He knew Charley was special from her first days on the team, and he wasn’t alone in his confidence. Spain Park girls soccer coach Robert Starr felt the same conviction when he pulled her up to the varsity squad as an eighth-grader.

Charley started her freshman through senior years, helping lead the Lady Jags to two state championships. In 2012, she was named the Gatorade Alabama Player of the Year after racking up 31 goals and 16 assists. 

“You could tell with each passing year she added new elements to her game,” Starr said. “It was off the charts.”

Charley kept improving. In Nashville, she emerged as Vanderbilt’s leading scorer and has been tabbed an All-Southeastern Conference player each year of her career. Her proficiency on the pitch resulted in the invitation this past spring to the U.S. camp, held at Nike headquarters in Portland, Oregon. 

“It opened my eyes to the next level,” Charley said, adding that it revealed facets of her game in need of refinement.

This fall, she will exhaust her soccer eligibility as she pursues a master’s degree. She will then have the option to compete in outdoor track and field next spring, though an opportunity to play professional soccer may take priority. 

But that’s down the road.

For now, she’s focused on the present, on becoming “the best” she can be. That’s always been more than enough. 

“She’s the perfect example for our program,” Starr said.