After shattering program scoring record, Vail Mountain School’s lacrosse standout sets sights on NCAA career

The summer after his freshman year, Charlie Vidal spent a lot of time practicing at the Battle Mountain lacrosse wall. So much in fact, that Husky coaches got a little suspicious.

“I started getting calls,” Vail Mountain coach Stephen Michel said. “They thought he might be spying on them.”

Vidal biked from his Edwards house to the high school before the rivals’ practices began and left long after they were over.

“It really became like a sanctuary for me,” he said.

“They realized ‘OK, he’s just out here working his butt off,'” Michel added. “Whether it’s your player or somebody else’s, you’ve got to respect that.”

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Vidal’s work ethic — particularly outside of practice — cemented his legacy as one of the school’s all-time greats. The stats prove it.

The 2025 graduate closed out his senior campaign with a 10-goal game against Glenwood Springs and a 9-goal effort against Lutheran. He finished his career with 175 goals and 65 assists, surpassing Luke Verratti’s previous program best set in 2017.

“It’s a cool thing to have,” Vidal said before adding, “I think it should be a goal that other players are striving to beat. As cool as it is to have it, I’m more proud that our players were able to progress in the way that they did.”

Leading by example

Vidal announced his presence on the Vail Mountain field during Michel’s first year as head coach in 2022. That senior-heavy Gore Ranger squad wound up finishing 12-4. Even though he was the fourth-string midfielder, the freshman made a significant impact, scoring 14 goals.

“You could see potential in him right from the get-go,” Michel said. “It never seemed too big for him. He wasn’t making what I would call the freshmen mistakes.”

Senior lefty attackman Connor Provencher took Vidal under his wing.

“He was integral to my transition to varsity lacrosse for sure,” said Vidal, whose promotion never precluded him from supporting his own classmates.

“Just because he was playing varsity, he didn’t forget his boys on JV,” Michel said, adding that Vidal constantly encouraged his comrades — who often prioritized skiing or other sports — to focus on lacrosse when spring came around. “He helped set the culture.”

Michel became privy to the Vidal work ethic the following off-season.

“I was getting phone call’s all summer,” he said. “‘Coach, can we go shoot? Can we go shoot?’ It’s really that work he put in during the off-season that really made him the player he is today.” 

Vidal — who also played soccer and led the Gore Rangers in scoring and rebounding during the basketball season — managed the twice-a-week commute to Denver for club lacrosse practices all year. Playing alongside another lethal scoring option in Mason Gellar, he notched 41 goals and 18 assists during his sophomore year as Vail Mountain went 11-5. Vidal was physically unstoppable during his junior season, carrying the Gore Rangers to a 10-6 record with his 55 goals. Those numbers are made all the more impressive considering the two-way demands of his position.

“The thing about him being able to do it from a midfielder standpoint was that he was excellent in transition,” Michel explained. “If he got the ball on his stick, he was going. … He’s got a very good feel for the game.”

Vidal overcame constant double-teams throughout the past season. No. 1-ranked Aspen was determined to not let him touch the ball during their March 17 meeting, but the Ranger managed a hat trick anyway.

“He also had the patience to let things come to him,” Michel commented.

Vidal’s other defining trait? A refusal to blame teammates for careless mistakes.

 “I never once heard him call out a kid,” Michel said. “He’s always, ‘I’ve got to make a better pass.'”

Vidal credited his parents for teaching him the type of leadership embodied by one of his favorite quotes, courtesy of Eleanor Roosevelt: “Good leaders inspire people to have confidence in their leader. Great leaders inspire people to have confidence in themselves.” 

“If I’m a good leader, I’m convincing others I’m a good lacrosse player and I know what I’m doing,” Vidal explained. “But if I’m a great leader, I’m convincing my teammates that they know what they’re doing and (are) capable of being a better player. That environment is what allows everyone to play their best.”

Next fall, Vidal will take his talents to Wesleyan University. The NCAA DIII school was the No. 5-ranked team in the country last year and finished runner-up in the NESCAC tournament. Vidal, whose mom played college lacrosse at Brown University, also received looks from Division I school Long Island University.

“I wanted to look for a good lacrosse school that was still academically driven,” he said. “I just believed that was the best environment.”

Just like he did at Vail Mountain School, Vidal plans to make an impact as soon as he can. He believes getting bigger, faster and stronger, as well as improving his vision, will be key to adjusting to the heightened pace of play at the next level.

“The speed of the college game is so much quicker,” he said. “I’m going to do everything I can this summer to prepare myself for that.”

Michel admitted Vidal’s mind-boggling playmaking ability undoubtedly made his job easier. But the coach said shear athleticism and raw stats aren’t going to be the hardest elements to replace.

“The numbers are what they are and they’re impressive, but he’s been a leader since he stepped on campus,” Michel said. “I know we’ve had other kids go onto play college ball, but I think he’s really set the example of it is possible if you put in the work. It’s bled over to the younger guys wherein they realize, ‘OK, I can’t just do this during the lacrosse season. I have to play more often than that. I have to do a lot of the work on my own.'”

On that note, Vidal hopes his legacy inspires future Rangers to follow in his footsteps … even to the rival’s facility.

“I hope they hear those stories of my brother and I getting yelled at by Battle Mountain for going to the wall too much and I hope they do the same thing,” he said with a laugh. “I hope players strive to be as good as they can be.”