Charles Goode got his first taste of rugby at King’s-Edgehill School in Windsor, N.S. when he was 15 years old. The Halifax native made it a huge part of his life from then on.
While in high school his family spent summers in Washington D.C. He played with the Potomac Athletic Club men’s squad as they did not offer the sport at the junior level. The experience helped; in his senior year at KES, his team won the provincial championship.
In 1996 his family shifted their summer home to Oakville, Ontario and Goode started playing for the Oakville Crusaders, the biggest rugby club in North America. That fall he came to Bishop’s to start working on his history degree. Rugby continued to be a major part of Goode’s life despite not suiting up for the varsity team in his first year.
He returned to the Oakville Crusaders each summer and credits that time along with an increased dedication in the gym to help him take the next step and be a difference maker on the varsity team at Bishop’s. In 1998 he helped the Gaiters win the QSSF Championship over McGill in overtime. In 2000 he was a player-coach as Bill Robson stepped over to help the women’s side out.
After graduating in 2001 with a B.A. Honours in History, Goode returned to Bishop’s to work on his B.Ed. He initially started coaching the men’s rugby team but eventually returned to play No. 8 and flanker. The Gaiters again won the conference championship in 2003.
Goode’s on-field accolades include RSEQ all-star nods in 2000 and 2003 and he was part of a forward pack named the team’s best forward in 2003. While working as a volunteer coach in 2004 he received the team’s Coaches’ Award.
Each spring from 2000-2004 Goode coached at BCS, working with a number of exceptional teams.
He graduated in the spring of 2004 with a B.Ed. and started teaching full-time at Seminaire de Sherbrooke. He is still at the institution. Goode was instrumental in starting a French high school rugby league in the area and led his school’s team.
After being part of the rugby program for so many years, Goode officially took over from legendary coach and Bishop’s University men’s rugby program founder Bill Robson in 2013.
Goode also remains heavily involved with the Sherbrooke Abenakis Rugby Club. He was the head coach of the U-18 team from 2004-2013 and since 2013 he is the men’s coach, a position he continues to thrive in. Under his tutelage the A-side has won three consecutive championships including the 2016 crown in Division 1 of the Rugby Quebec League Provincial de Rugby. It was their first season in the division. The B-side has also hoisted the title trophy four straight years.
Outside of Bishop’s, Goode coached Team Quebec U-18 in 2012 and 2013 and was the Sherbrooke regional academy coach for Rugby Quebec from 2012-14. In January 2017 he completed a coaching stage with Top-14 team UBB in Bordeaux, France.
Good is a Level II NCCP and World Rugby Coach and also holds a Level II World Rugby Referee card.
He currently resides in Sherbrooke, Quebec.
