As he approaches his 20th high school reunion, former CHS great Peter Charron still has fun in everything he does. (Photos courtesy Charron)
“Flash,” back in his CHS football prime, with teammate Jomo Simpkins.
On a trip to Disneyland with some of his fellow Wolf cheerleaders.
The male half of the CHS co-ed cheer squad.
Old school track star Charron, ready to bust some records (and maybe his elbow).
“Being smart is more important than how good you can throw a ball.”
“The real power in life is knowledge. The more you have, the better life will be.”
That’s a lesson which has helped guide Peter Charron’s life over the past two decades, as he has transitioned from a stellar high school athlete to a successful businessman and creator.
A 1997 grad from Coupeville High School, where he starred on the football, track and co-ed cheer squads, Charron has gone on to work as everything from a sporting goods store manager to a video game designer to a 3D film converter on films like Top Gun and Man of Steel.
After helping create innovative worlds for others, he’s now in business for himself as a graphic designer/concept artist, while still finding some time to dabble in the world of 3D modeling.
Approaching a decade of marriage (while raising “two silly dogs”), Charron lives in California these days, but Coupeville is never far from his thoughts.
“Lots of memories. I always enjoyed how parenting a lot of the teachers and the administration was,” he said. “Mr. (Rock) White was a cool Principal.”
Charron joined the football and track team his final two years, using his speed (he wore a superhero t-shirt under his gridiron jersey in honor of his nickname “Flash”) and grit to leave a lasting impact.
One of the better throwers CHS has seen, he looks back on his prep sports career fondly.
“One of my favorite sports memories was after a football game, the coach from the opposite team came up to me and told me ‘you played an outstanding game, good job.’,” Charron said. “I was a little floored by that.”
Battling through an injured elbow, he couldn’t resist trying to pull out a win in the javelin at a home meet, leaving everyone around him impressed.
“I was not supposed to compete, but when I heard the numbers coming in, I felt I could win, and got my coaches OK,” Charron said. “I remember coming over to the area and setting up for my approach.
“While standing there getting prepared to throw, I heard kids from the other schools hushing each other and quietly saying things like “oh, it’s this guy” and “be quiet and watch him throw”.
“It was cool to hear; Hell, I know it made me try harder that day.”
In true Charron style, he won the event, then agreed to another toss to make sure a photographer got a good picture, even though his elbow was throbbing.
When he wasn’t trying to rip his arm off as a thrower, Charron was a hard-charging attack man on the football return team (“lots of hitting!,” he said with a big chuckle) who also helped bring home numerous cheer trophies.
In the mid-’90s CHS had a co-ed cheer team with a strong contingent of male athletes, allowing the Wolves to be a full competition squad capable of pulling off much bigger stunts.
Charron also worked with a combined program that was set up with Coupeville and Oak Harbor which went to nationals his senior year.
Looking back, he credits Coupeville football coaches Ron Bagby and Willie Smith for their help and teammates Jomo Simpkins and Pete Petrov for having a huge impact on him.
“On and off the field, those guys were great!”
As time goes by, he admits he hasn’t worried much about what his legacy might be at his alma mater.
“Wow, um, I mean if any of them do still remember me, that’s awesome!” Charron said with a laugh. “I hope that I would be remembered as someone who gave it all no matter what sport or event, and always tried to treat everyone equal and fairly.
“And finally, that I was a good friend.”
His time at CHS, and his time in the arena, helped make him the successful man he is now, and Charron hopes others take advantage of the same opportunities.
“Playing sports did impact my life,” he said. “They gave me the necessary skills to play in community leagues as I got older to try and stay in shape.
“They also gave me drive to work harder, and push myself to be the best I could be in work and life,” Charron added. “I have shocked a lot of people with how far I can throw a football because of throwing the javelin in track.”
If he and his wife have children, he would “love to see them follow my footsteps in playing sports.”
“I believe it helps strengthen a person’s ability to socialize, learning to work as a team, to trust in and be trusted to have each others backs,” Charron said. “Also one of the biggest things, is it helps you learn to deal with loss or disappointment. It’s after a loss that you show your true character.
“Bottom line is, no matter what my future children want to do, I will give them 100% encouragement, never telling them they cannot do something … unless that thing is illegal, then I will tell them not to do that.”
As a new generation takes the field for CHS, Charron has some simple, but very sound advice for them.
“Stay away from drugs. I had many friends lose out on playing sports because of that,” he said. “Get good grades and my advice would be to treat everyone fairly.
“Make the time to get to know everyone at school; it’s not that big, you can do it.”
