Pete Charles is in his fourth season as Clemson’s Assistant Coach for Jumps in 2026-27. Charles joined the Tigers after coaching at the University of Maryland and previously spent five seasons at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He brings experience developing collegiate and international athletes across the horizontal and vertical jumps, while also contributing to sprint and hurdle development.
Charles helped lead Clemson’s jumps group to a standout 2025-26 season. Shantae Foreman won the ACC Indoor and Outdoor triple-jump championships before becoming the NCAA Outdoor champion with a school-record mark of 14.24 meters. Foreman also finished second in the NCAA outdoor long jump with a school-record 6.69 meters. At the NCAA Indoor Championships, she finished second in the triple jump, helping the Clemson women place 10th nationally.
The 2025-26 season also included NCAA All-America recognition for Divine Aniamaka, who earned Second Team honors in the men’s triple jump. At the ACC Outdoor Championships, Foreman won the triple jump and finished second in the long jump, while Aniamaka scored in the men’s triple jump. Clemson’s women won both the ACC Indoor and Outdoor team championships during the season.
Before arriving at Clemson, Charles spent five seasons at Fairleigh Dickinson, where he helped the Knights win the 2020 Northeast Conference women’s indoor championship—the program’s first since 1999—and was named to the NEC Women’s Track and Field Coaching Staff of the Year. He worked primarily with sprinters and jumpers, including NEC Most Outstanding Performer Madeline Price, who won three gold medals, and Taeco O’Garro, who set a program record in the triple jump.
Charles began his collegiate coaching career at Monroe College from 2015-17. He oversaw recruiting, training and strength programs for sprinters, jumpers and hurdlers and worked with academic support. He was named NJCAA Division I Atlantic Women’s Coach of the Year after coaching an NJCAA national champion in the 100 and 200 meters. In 2016, his athletes produced 16 outdoor All-Americans and 10 indoor All-Americans, while Monroe earned a school-best third-place finish at the NJCAA Championships.
Charles has extensive international coaching experience. He served as an assistant coach with the British Virgin Islands Olympic Association in 2016 and has led national teams at the World Championships, Carifta Games and O.E.C.S. Games. He was head coach of Antigua and Barbuda at the 2016 World Championships and coached the team at the 2015 Carifta Games and 2014 O.E.C.S. Games.
Earlier in his career, Charles served as head track and field coach at Lehman College from 2013-15 after one season as an assistant coach. He guided Lehman to the 2013 CUNYAC Outdoor Championship and coached multiple NCAA champions and 28 conference champions. A former Lehman student-athlete, Charles earned a bachelor’s degree in economics with a minor in political science.