Portland legend Christine Sinclair on Clive Charles' impact, winning 2002 title | From the Arclives

My relationship with Clive was kind of crazy. It just goes to show how small this world is. It started, I have two uncles that played here for the Timbers. I'm actually, I see that newspaper clip being that the Timbers down on a Gant goal, my uncle. So Clive was a family friend. Yeah, some of them I knew since I was a little kid. My parents actually used to rent an apartment from him in Clarina in Burnaby. It's kind of crazy how small the world is. That's sort of how the relationship started. And then obviously soccer took me places and I was being recruited. And he, at the University of Portland, was one of the people that recruited me. I was very fortunate while I was being recruited. I probably had like a hundred offers. I could have gone almost anywhere, but I had narrowed it down to University of Portland, UNC, and then Nebraska. Weirdly, all the Canadians went to Nebraska at the time. And all the coaches of my final three came up to Vancouver to meet with me, meet with my family. And I remember with Clive, we ended up at my grandparents' house having a home-cooked meal. And barely talked about university or anything like that. Then I, yeah, came down and watched a game. It was my first ever game out at Merlot. And the next day I remember telling my parents, like, I want to go to UP. And they're like, call them. And so, yeah, I called them on my dorky, like, soccer ball flip phone and think I interrupted dinner. And, yeah, told them I'd be honored to be a pilot. I mean, obviously he knew his soccer. He knew what he was doing on the pitch, obviously, and just like a genius. But the thing I remember is how he was able to connect with all his players. And I'll never forget one of the things he said. He's like, you know, he's like, you, you're going to be a star. Like, I don't have to worry about you. He's like, I pride myself on what I can do for that 22nd player on the roster and how I can develop them. And he truly meant it. And it didn't matter if you were playing 90 minutes every game or never saw the pitch. He treated you equally. He respected everyone. And, yeah, I mean, as a player he elevated my game to, you know, places I didn't think was possible. And taught me things that had never been taught before. But most importantly, like I just felt safe and like just in a place where I knew I could flourish. The practice before the championship game, we're getting ready to play Santa Clara. And we show up to this field and he's just like, all right, take your boots off. We're like, what? He's like, take them off. And we had a competition who could like launch them the furthest. And I don't even think I played the national championship in my boots. But he just had a unique way to like relieve the stress and pressure off his players. And just, yeah, let them enjoy the moment and enjoy being around each other. And, yeah, he knew we were ready and just wanted to like let us be kids for a little bit before we got down to work. I mean, it was a roller coaster of a year. Obviously, we knew he was sick and like had terminal cancer. So us as players, I remember just the seniors on the team. I was only a sophomore. Like your Lorne Orlando's, your, you know, Aaron Misaki's. They were just like, we're winning this for him. Like, no, there's no way around it. And, yeah, I mean, it was a up and down season, mostly up. But when it came to playoffs, it was just, it was for Clive. Everything was for Clive. There was no way we were losing that championship. And got through the semifinals. And the final is just the mayhem, losing our starting goalkeeper early because of an injury. And just like we had a third string goalkeeper in a red shirt, like freshmen. It was like, this can't be how it goes down. The game went to extra time. We scored to win it. And just the celebrations. And I mean, I often get asked, what's your favorite moment in your soccer career? And like, I think people expect it to be, oh, a gold medal. Like, but no, it's like, it's seeing Clive hold the national championship trophy and like hug it. And never forget the vision of him, like hugging the trophy with Clarina right there. Yeah, he finally got that national championship. I mean, he deserved dozens of them, but he finally got that one.