Brad Wylde
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Executive Director

As Executive Director, Wylde oversees the player development, guidance and coaching responsibilities for all children under the CSA soccer program. Wylde joined the former South Charlotte Soccer Association as Executive Director in 2005 and has grown the organization from a thirty team club to over 190 teams competing in all levels of play. In 2008 and 2009, Wylde coached the club’s first US Youth Soccer Regional Championship team and took the team to back-to-back Regional Championships and two appearances in the USYS National Championships. Wylde is an associate National Staff instructor under the National Coaches Association of America, teaching state, regional and advanced regional courses in the Southeast Region. He is also a former NC Olympic Development state team coach. Wylde has been influential in the growth of youth soccer in and around the Charlotte area, having created a club that now has a presence in several counties around Charlotte. Charlotte Soccer Academy is one of only two organizations in NC and SC to offer all levels of play available under the US Youth Soccer structure. In addition to the successes on the field, Wylde oversees the day to day operations and business sector of the Club. He has connected some of the cities’ most reputable corporations to CSA through CSA's Sponsorship program. Wylde was a standout player at Catawba College and an NSCAA All American; he was a 5 year professional player with the Charlotte Eagles, SC Shamrocks, and Carolina Dynamo. Following his playing career, Wylde served as Assistant college coach at Catawba while obtaining his MBA.
Wylde is fully qualified under the NSCAA, UEFA B license and in 2012 completed his UEFA A license through the Union of European Football Associations which is one of the highest coaching awards in the world.
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Mark Thornton
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Director of Operations

Thornton is a native of Newcastle Upon Tyne, England, having relocated to the US in 2000. As a young player, he played with Sunderland AFC and Ipswich Town. In 2000, he received a scholarship to play soccer at Appalachian State University (ASU). Thornton was a four-year starter, a two-year captain and All-Southern Conference and All-South selection during his career at ASU. After graduation from ASU, Thornton was hired in 2004 as Technical Director of Coaching for Concorde Fire Soccer Club in Atlanta, GA. During his 4 years with the club, he also became Director of Coaching for Academy (U9–U12 boys and girls) and also Director of Girls U13–U18. In 2008, Thornton was hired by South Charlotte Soccer Association as a Director of Coaching. He is also an assistant coach for the North Carolina ODP program. Thornton currently holds his USSF "A" License.
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Steve Gummer
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Director ECNL National Academy Boys Program

A native of England, Steve played English semi-pro soccer for more than ten years, and spent fifteen months with Switzerland’s FC Vernier. He has also coached within youth academies attached to several professional clubs in England and Switzerland, including the English FA School of Excellence.
Steve originally came to the US as a staff coach with International Soccer USA and progressed to National Camp Coaching Director. Prior to being named USSDA Boys Director at CSA, he was the Executive Director of Coaching at Smyrna Soccer Club in Atlanta, Georgia.
Prior to the position at Smyrna SC, he spent fourteen years at Cobb FC before taking a key role in the forming of Southern Soccer Academy, a club formed by the merging of four Atlanta-based clubs and was very inspirational in the SSA partnership program with Chelsea FC from the English Premier league. He served as the Director of Coaching at Cobb FC, then Director of Soccer at the newly formed SSA, followed by holding the Technical Director position.
Steve has served as a GA ODP Head Coach, a US Club id2 scout, and a USL Super Y National Camp Staff Coach. Steve Holds a Current UEFA “B” and a USSF “A” License, and is a Coerver Coaching Licensee, and a Youth Diploma Instructor.
Over the years, Steve's teams have enjoyed great successes on the State, Regional and National stages. Players benefit not only from his coaching, but also from his long term relationships with colleges and coaches across the US which help student-athletes continue their careers in college.
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Brian Moore
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Director ECNL National Academy Girls Program

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Phil Hindson
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Director ECNL National Boys Program College Recruiting

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Steve Magee
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Director ECNL Regional and Elite Program

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Ben Cook
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Director Pre-ECNL Program
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Richard Butler
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Director CSA Youth Academy Program

Butler is a native of London, England, and relocated to the United States in 1987, having received a scholarship to play soccer at the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) where he was a four year starter and two year captain of the team. Butler graduated from UAB in 1992 and moved to Williamsburg, Virginia. He was the Director of Coaching for the Williamsburg Soccer Club from 1992 until the summer of 2006. During his time there he took the club from four travel teams to a full service club offering programs for four year olds to Under 23 players and older with their Premier Development League team, the Williamsburg Legacy. From 2001-2006 Butler also served as the head coach of the Legacy reaching the playoffs in five of the six years he was in charge.
Butler holds a National Soccer Coaches Association of America Premier Diploma (NSCAA) and in 2007 was named a National Staff coach for the NSCAA.
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Dan Dudley
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Director Tournaments

Dudley is a former collegiate standout at Catawba College and a three year professional player with the Carolina Dynamo. A former 3 year Men’s Assistant Coach with High Point University and former 4 year Women’s Assistant Coach with Catawba College, Dudley comes to CSA from FC Carolina Alliance where he served as Director of Coaching for six years. Also a member of the NC Olympic Development State Team Coaching Staff, Dudley is fully qualified through NSCAA, holds a USSF A License and has a (MSS) Master’s in Sports Science from the United States Academy, Alabama. Dudley is also the Director of Coaching for CSA-Uptown.
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