Hall of Fame

Douglas Schutte

Doug was an athlete his entire life since taking up wrestling at the age of 5. Although he dabbled in other sports including, baseball, cross country running, football, tennis, track, ultimate Frisbee and volleyball, he dedicated his athletic efforts to wrestling, competing in the AAU Olympic Program as an adolescent growing up in Western Pennsylvania. He competed scholastically from the 5th grade through college. While in high school he was twice National Prep School champion in my weight class and named Outstanding Wrestler of the 1971 National Championships. In college he placed 4th at 126 lbs. in the EIWA Championships in 1975, qualifying for the 1975 NCAA Championships. Following college and my second knee surgery to remove torn cartilages from both my knees, he became serious about competing in the sport of ultimate Frisbee. He founded the city-wide club team in Richmond in the spring of 1978 and qualified with the team for several Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships in the following years until I began coaching youth soccer in 1986. His third athletic career as a Sports Official followed.

Doug began officiating soccer in 1987 and enjoyed many highlights as not only an official but also as an instructor, assessor, and assignor. Doug served as USSF, NCAA, and VHSL officiating with highlights working professional games, high school state semi-final and final games, amateur men’s national cup, youth national championships. Doug’s passion for officiating also carried him to become an official in wrestling and volleyball as well.

Mary Ann Wilhelm

Mary Wilhelm was one of the first CVSRA Administrators as the organization was growing exponentially. At the time her primary role as Assignor for all the non-scholastic leagues and tournaments in the area plus public middle schools was becoming more challenging by the season. She also was drafted as a soccer parent through the involvement of her children Ray, III, and Jessica as players. Fortunately for Mary her husband Ray and both her children became USSF certified referees to help mom fill holes every week. After Mary had taken over this responsibility, it was the first time that CVSRA began using assistant assignors to cover all the expanding demands for referees in the Central Virginia soccer community. I spent many hours with Mary sorting game cards after tournaments in those days so that referees could get paid. She and Ray retired to the River in Hatfield and enjoy much quieter and less stressful days away from soccer pitches there. Mary was welcomed back to Richmond with her daughter Jessica to be honored for the important part she played in the early development of CVSRA.

William Scott “Scott” Knopke

Scott was one of a half dozen State I USSF referees in Central Virginia including the likes of Anderson, Coddington, McCallister and Vergara, who have all been inducted before him. He and his wife were raising their son Jeff in Settlers Landing, when Jeff began playing soccer and later joined his dad as a referee. They worked together on the pitch while Jeff was in high school. Scott was on the CVSRA Board for many years and was instrumental in its early development through his leadership. On the pitch he was a mentor to many newly certified soccer parents, who had answered the call to become referees and many more youth referees. Scott retired from a career in state government and now spends much of his free time on the golf course.

Robert Francis “Bob” Delaney

Bob was the President of CVSRA and Vice-President of RISOA. His children were too young to be far along in their involvement with soccer, when Bob’s career took him from Richmond to Rock Hill, South Carolina, which was a soccer back-water compared to the sport here in Central Virginia. Not to be daunted by having to start over, Bob took it upon himself to use what he had learned here and the skills that he had developed as a USSF and VHSL referee to develop and grow soccer in his community and beyond. He began with the Rock Hill Referee Association and beyond to the entire State of South Carolina. After thirty (30) years as a soccer referee, Bob is currently the State Director of Assessments and routinely sends some of the best referees that he has helped develop over the years to work our Jefferson Cups. Bob returned to Richmond to receive this honor.

Robert Francis “Bob” Delaney

Bill is a former President and Secretary of RISOA, He was also involved in the development of the first RISOA website. He was drawn into the brotherhood of Soccer referees along with his son Matt, who has continued his involvement in officiating throughout his still young life having started as a referee here in Richmond and is currently working with the MLS in its VR reviews. Bill’s contributions to soccer officiating were not only through his leadership roles, but in his understanding of youth soccer as an educational environment to which he brought his particularly jovial disposition to the pitch. Dr. William Franz as a 1976 graduate of Muhlenburg College is an honored alumnus for his academic career to the benefit of Randolph-Macon College, where he began as a Professor of Physics. As a faculty member beginning in 1983, he taught novel courses in solar energy engineering, the physics of sports and the efficacy of denying settled science all while refereeing adult recreational soccer matches in the newly formed Hanover Adult Soccer Association playing on the fields in front of the Barrett Learning Center. Professor Franz was twice recognized as the recipient of the Thomas Branch Award for Teaching Excellence and in 2000 was named the Samuel Nelson Gray Distinguished Professor awardee, RMC’s highest faculty honor. From these beginnings he became an Administrator rising to the level of Provost and Vice-president for Academic Affairs before he retired. In speaking about our brother referee the RMC President captured much about we recognized about Bill in saying, "Among the qualities that have impressed me most about Bill is his openness to new ideas, underscored so wonderfully by his creative approach to both leadership and collaboration with his colleagues and others. Bill's profound service to Randolph-Macon has been so impactful in great part because he approaches both challenges and opportunities from a unique, and uniquely useful, perspective." He has done the same for CVSRA and in particular its scholastic division, formerly RISOA.

Charles Robert “Bob” Martin, Jr

Bob is a past-president of CVSRA and VHSL Commissioner for RISOA. My beginning as RISOA Assignor began under Bob’s leadership. Later his son David, who was a player, joined our ranks as a referee and worked many matches in the Richmond area on his dad’s line and later with his father supporting him as one of his Assistant Referees. In addition to being a longtime USSF Instructor and Assessor Bob has had a forty (40)-year career as a VHSL and USSF referee rising to a State Grade before becoming Emeritus. He continues to help wherever and whenever he can on the pitch. Countless Central Virginia referees have gone through his certification and recert classes over the years. Bob was born in Hagerstown, MD, and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management at the University of Baltimore. He worked a career in government contract work for the Commonwealth of Virginia retiring as a Contract Hearing Officer with the Virginia Motor Vehicle Dealer Board. He also served as Church Administrator for Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.

Richard Lee “Dick” Hall

Dick is a former member of the CVSRA Board, State Referee Instructor, Assessor, USSF referee, VHSL certified referee and one of the first CVSRA Assignors. The Providence Middle School fields where PVYSL practiced and played was where Dick began as a soccer Dad. Dick’s son Kyle, who graduated Manchester High School and VCU was a rec soccer player growing up in Surreywood as a teenager. A member of the original HOF Class of 2007 Guy Cooter Was likewise drawn to service as the first RISOA VHSL Commissioner & Assignor. His son Steven, also a Surreywood resident with his parents played on the Lancers team when Kyle was there. Born in Danville, Dick is a graduate of the College of William & Mary with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics. Following a twenty-eight (28) year career as a Manager with C & P Telephone and its successor Bell Atlantic, he retired temporarily. He rejoined the work-force in 1993 beginning a second career in real estate sales and continues in his 29th year as an Associate Broker with Noble House Realtors. He never truly retired after Bell Atlantic as between careers he assisted others as a Tax Accountant preparing 1040 tax returns.

Scott Douglas Anderson

Scott is a former Officer in the early days of CVSRA and one of its earliest assignors. He worked sparingly as a scholastic official with Richmond Interscholastic Soccer Officials Association (RISOA), because of his practice schedule as the Head Coach of one of the Richmond Strikers most successful Premier travel teams, who were State Finalists five of nine years with two Championships under his leadership in the U-13 & U-14 divisions and a third as U-18’s.

Scott missed that opportunity following his untimely death in 1997 at the age of 49, while skiing in Killington, Vermont, with his fiancée and her son. His Assistant Coach Leigh Cowlishaw, then a standout player at the University of Richmond, initially took over the reins of that team. Scott had taken that U-13 Championship team to Europe to compete in the Dana Cup in Denmark and gain valuable experience training with an English professional club outside London. The highlight of that trip was battling the defending world champion U-13 Brazilian team in a friendly to a 1-1 draw and visiting Wembley Stadium for each of his boys and one girl to raise the English Championship Cup. All of his players would go on to become confident and productive adults. One would become a standout at Clemson University and go on to play for Real Salt Lake in the MLS and later for the Richmond Kickers for a season upon his return to Richmond. Another would captain his Princeton University team. But the most amazing and unique aspect of the training of this team was that each of the players were USSF certified referees at age 13 and worked youth matches, when they were not on the pitch playing.

Scott was a Navy veteran as a helicopter pilot and served in the Naval Reserves as a Lieutenant where he received a medal of Meritorious Service in 1987. He settled in Richmond with his first wife Michelle to raise their two boys Ian and Patrick, who were also certified referees in their youth. Scott was a USSF and VHSL certified referee for over twenty years cut short only by his heart disease. Scott devoted most of his life to youth soccer in the Richmond area and was instrumental in the development of Richmond Metropolitan Youth Soccer League (RMYSL) and is a past-President of this originating organization responsible for seeding youth soccer programs in Richmond. Before becoming a member of the CVSRA Board and Assignor he was significantly involved in the creation of the Richmond Strikers Soccer Club program, he was instrumental in the Club’s developing the Jefferson Cup Tournament which has continued to grow as one of the most prestigious youth tournaments in America.

Letitita Jo “Tish” Schrock

Letita Jo Schrock came to Richmond from Clifton Forge to attend VCU in Business Administration and Management, a degree she obtained in 1986, which she would put to good use in her career with FedEx Express as Operations Manager and Director of Operations at the Richmond Kickers. Although born in the Blue Ridge she was raised in Zweibrucken, Germany, where she got her first exposure to football, a passion which would continue in her return to America and in college where she played during the early days of women’s soccer in America.

Tish was an early member of the Chesterfield Women's Soccer Association (CWSA), which is where I met her on the field for the first time while refereeing their matches over at A.M. Davis Elementary School, the expansion fields of Pocoshock Valley Youth Soccer League (PVYSL). She was a tough midfielder, but a very amiable person off the pitch, which she would use throughout her mentorship of young kids developing their soccer skills, first as a coach at the scholastic level while working at Crenshaw Elementary School. This was at a time when RISOA was in desperate need of high school soccer referees, especially women, and Tish agreed to give it a try for the 1999 Spring season. This is when Tish gained the whistle perspective for the first time and why she has been such a friend to referees. Tish was instrumental in the growth of the Richmond Kickers Youth Soccer program as a part of the early team that built out the youth programming for the Richmond Kickers Professional team in 2001. Though we lost her to the Kickers, she remains an ardent supporter of CVSRA. Mostly referees see Tish on the Ukrop-Stratton Park fields managing the Kickers Youth League and Tournaments. She is a former referee in the CVSRA Scholastic division and has the right stuff when it comes to making youth soccer fun, safe and fair in the Richmond area for the players and the referees.

Thomas Lester “Tom” Long, Jr.

Tom is a former member of the CVSRA Board and was the first Director of House League Referees, the grass roots referee base for the sprouting youth soccer programs in the Richmond area decades before USSF thought of the Grassroots Referee designation. He started as a House League Referee himself and mentored his son and daughters Tommy, Joan and Jennifer in putting on House League Referee badges, when they were playing in the Pocoshock Valley Youth Soccer League (PVYSL). Tom would often be seen with the whistle on the Providence Middle School fields and Tommy and Joan with flags on his touches. Tommy would go on to become a standout defender on his Manchester High School and Richmond Strikers Premier travel team. Tom was a long-time scholastic referee but was most committed to the youth leagues where he could be seen every Saturday until he hung up his cleats.

Tom was born in Washington, DC, in 1954 but was raised in St. Mary’s County, MD, where he married his wife Ruby Ann. They moved to Chesterfield County in 1976 where they raised their children all of whom remain in the area raising their own families. Tommy and his wife the former Tina Tsironis are sending their daughter off to college from her position as goalkeeper on the Midlothian High School team to Randolph Macon College. Tom graduated Chopticon High School and went on to learn his computer skills with an Associates degree at Ohio Technical College. While working in this field in the Richmond and developing youth referees for the mushrooming leagues in the area, he also volunteered with the Richmond Police Department. His untimely death in 2013 at the age of 59 was a loss to us all.

Felix Sarfo-Kantanka, Sr.

Felix hailing from Ghana, where he was born in 1944, was involved in football long before it became popular as the sport of soccer in the United States. He came to Richmond from New York, where he began a career with the Commonwealth of Virginia along with his wife Nana and began their family with son Felix, Jr., and daughter Victoria. Outside of work he committed much of his volunteer activities to the development of soccer in Richmond, in particular with the Richmond Strikers Club in its infancy, and carried his passion for the game onto the pitch as a stand-out VHSL and USSF referee. His hallmark is his broad smile and easy going demeanor. He and his wife raised their children in the game of soccer, where they both excelled, and continue to be successful in their adult lives. Felix in retirement continues to be an international ambassador for the sport of football supporting youth programs through his continuing involvement with Sports Outreach International in his home country.

Elizabeth “Betsy” Townsend

Betsy was inducted posthumously. She began her involvement as a youth soccer parent, whose passion for the game and administrative capabilities soon drew her into leadership roles in the development of youth soccer with PVYSL. With her husband Dan and son Danny all of whom were USSF and VHSL certified referees Betsy was able to make officiating soccer matches a family affair.

William “Bill” Rider

Bill is a career educator both on and off the soccer pitch. After graduating from the University of Richmond in 1984 with his Bachelor’s of Science degree, where he had been captain of the Spider’s soccer team, he earned his Master’s degree in Education at VCU. He was a Referee and youth coach first between 1985 and 1988 before he pursued his greater passion as a scholastic coach first at Monacan High School and then the Collegiate School where he amassed a career record of 279-84-25 in twenty-one (21) seasons as Head Coach of the Girls’ Varsity team. He had attained his USSF Class B Coaching license and an Advanced National Coaching diploma from the NSCA on his way to the Collegiate Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010. His teams held the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA) state title between 2008 and 2010 and had won consecutive LIS titles from 1996-2011. When he retired from coaching, he was the Vice-president of the VISAA. The Collegiate girls’ soccer team was the first private school girls’ team to compete with the Richmond area public school programs during the VHSL season and dominate their competition. During his tenure Bill was one of the most respected coaches in Virginia. As a teacher of Middle School Mathematics, he rose to the position of Department Chairman at Collegiate. He was an Advisor to the 7th grade boys and also coached Middle School basketball.

Richard Martin

Richard came to Richmond from Madison Heights where he graduated Amherst County High School in 1964 before earning his Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Economics from Lynchburg College in 1970. He began his career with the Virginia Department of Social Services and spent countless hours working with the Virginia General Assembly supporting legislation for his Department until his retirement on September 1, 2010. He worked primarily with support services for At-Risk youth and adults with disabilities and helped to grow the efforts of the Christian education programs of the non-profit HopeTree Family Services based in Salem, VA. Away from his desk he found his passion for soccer carrying his expertise as a referee into the classroom as a USSF certified Instructor rising to become the Area Director of Instruction. He authored the training program “Kinesis & the Soccer Referee” in 2001. He was President of RISOA after serving a term as Secretary in 1992. On the pitch as a referee he logged his 2,000th career match in a high school match during 1999 working the Girls’ AAA Championship to culminate that season.

Kenneth Howard “Kenny” Winston

Ken may be best known in Central Virginia as Winston’s Accounting Services, but he is equally recognized for his service to the soccer community as a scholastic official. He was the longest serving Board member of RISOA as Treasurer from its inception until the Association’s transition into CVSRA. He took over the reigns as VHSL Commissioner representing RISOA from Guy Cooter and served in that capacity for six years from 1995-2001. Ken was a certified USSF referee, but his passion was for the scholastic game and his daughters Christel and Shannon were two of the first female scholastic referees as RISOA members.

George Vergara

George has made his mark in Richmond as a home builder trading as G. M. Vergara Builders, and has continued in the industry as a licensed Real Estate Broker and Appraiser. George was a soccer player through college at VCU and while there as a youth soccer coach for the developing F.C. Richmond Soccer Club attaining his USSF “A” Coaching License. He first gained recognition as a standout scholastic soccer official in Central Virginia before gaining even greater accolades as a National NCAA official and became the first National USSF official in the area in 1996 bringing him numerous MLS assignments. But he was not done yet and in 1999 George achieved his Grade 2 FIFA Assistant Referee badge becoming the first and only Virginia referee to achieve this level of recognized expertise as an arbiter on the pitch. This enabled him to work matches in numerous international venues including the COPA CARIBE, Central American Club Championships and World Cup Qualifiers. He holds a National Referee Instructor (2005) badge and National Referee Coach (2015) badge in addition to holding a National Referee Assessor badge for ten years through 2015. George is the current State USSF Referee Administrator for the Metro DC Virginia State Referee Program (MDCVASRP). For his forty years of service to the soccer community he was inducted into the Virginia-DC Soccer Hall of Fame in 2019.

Russell "Russ" Flammia

Russ lived and breathed Thomas Jefferson High School as a graduate and career teacher. He was an ideal scholastic official epitomizing the role and demeanor that is at the heart of the VHSL Code of Conduct.

Gilbert "Gil" McCallister

Gil came to Richmond from Norfolk, where he was born in 1943 joining the United States Marine Corps after high school and rests since may 2012 in Virginia Veterans Cemetery honoring his service as a Marine Sergeant in Vietnam. Gil was an exemplary VHSL and USSF official, who took the tools he honed as a successful referee into the classroom as a USSF State Instructor rising to the position as State Director of Instruction. Both on and off the pitch he trained and mentored countless referees in Central Virginia and beyond. In 2001 he took over responsibility as Chairman of the State Referee Committee, in which capacity he served until his retirement from exemplary service to the development of soccer in Virginia.

Dr. William H. “Bill” Duvall

Bill retired from a career educator and administrator at VCU to North Carolina after an equally impressive career as a USSF and VHSL soccer referee and instructor. He is still remembered at VCU with the annual presentation of the William H. Duvall student leadership award. Bill began as a student of the game and was able to enhance his knowledge as an arbiter of the game and finally pass his expertise on to the development of successful referees of soccer in the Central Virginia community.

Lawrence Milton “Larry” Edwards

Larry, a Virginia native since 1948, graduated from VCU with a degree in Electrical & Electronics Technology in 1968. He retired from a career with Dominion Energy, formerly Dominion Virginia Power, after 32 years of service and began a second career as a professional tax preparer and office manager. In October of 2009 he started his own company The Tax Centre, Inc., with two partners. Outside of work Larry was a respected VHSL and USSF soccer official on the pitch. In a leadership capacity he was a past President of RISOA and the organization’s first Vice-president. Within USSF he hung up his boots and became an Assessor rising to Grade 5 status, when he retired from the game for good.

David Ryan “Dave” Lesher

Dave came to Richmond from Knoxville, TN, by way of the University of Tennessee and Georgia Tech, where he obtained degrees. His career in Richmond was with the Virginia State Corporation Commission and Reynolds Metals, before an opportunity with Alliant Energy in Madison Energy took him away from the Richmond area. By that time, he had established himself outside of his office as a leader of the soccer referee community on the pitch and as President of RISOA.

Thomas Henry “Tom” Oxenham, III

Tom retired from his career as a lawyer in 2017 and was an organizing member of RISOA as its first Secretary and legal counsel in authoring the Association’s first by-laws. He graduated the University of Virginia School of Law in 1975. He returned to his home in Richmond to practice law and outside the courtroom was a respected arbiter on the soccer pitch. When he moved his practice to Charlottesville he retired from soccer, but actively pursued his passion for rugby competing in an adult amateur league representing his club.

Earl Mitchell Yamada

Earl came to Virginia from Honolulu, where he was born in 1942. After graduating San Mateo High School, he served in the U.S. Army. He retired from soccer as a longtime USSF Assessor, which carried over to his training and development of scholastic officials within RISOA.

Tullius Cicero “Tully” Tupper

Tully came to Virginia from Kansas to pursue a career with Scott & Stringfellow as a financial consultant and retired as CEO of Intelitrac. During his career as a respected soccer official in Central Virginia he served as Secretary of RISOA in its early years.

Guy Ricker Cooter

Guy came out of Kingsport, TN, where he was born in 1935, to settle in Danville, where he graduated George Washington High School in 1953. Following his graduation from the University of Virginia he served in the United States Marine Corps. Guy returned to Danville from Camp Lejune, married a teacher and started a family before moving to Richmond to work for the State. Guy became involved in the development of youth soccer as a referee from his home in Surreywood and became the first VHSL Commissioner and Assignor for RISOA in 1988. At the beginning he was a recruiter scouring recreational youth league pitches for soccer parents turned into house league referees for their association youth players aged 5-19 to become VHSL certified referees. PVYSL matches played at Providence Middle School were practically in his back yard, and he could be seen there on Saturdays recruiting officials for private and public scholastic matches growing in numbers annually. After establishing RISOA as one of the best respected VHSL sport’s official groups in the Commonwealth, he handed the reigns over to two individuals in 1995 to perform the responsibilities of Commissioner and Assignor that he had handled alone for seven years. Leaving his State position as well he retired to Danville to while his hours away on Lake Gaston with the fishing rod given to him by RISOA in gratitude for his years of service to the soccer community.

Russell “Rusty” Henry Fiske, Jr.

Rusty was inducted posthumously after leaving his support of the soccer community and the camaraderie of his referee peers all too soon. He was both an accomplished USSF and VHSL certified referee. His leadership was represented in his service as Secretary of the RISOA Board.

Dr. James Neil Turnage

Neil came to Virginia from Mississippi where he was born in 1957 to obtain a Bachelor’s of Integrated Studies degree at Virginia State University. His first career began at Steward School where he was Director of Plant and Maintenance as well as soccer and basketball coach. He later became Athletic Director and Head of Upper School before embarking to MCV’s School of Dentistry graduating in 1994. While working at Steward he also became recognized as one of the best soccer officials in the Richmond area. He hung up his official cleats, when he became a dentist practicing at Virginia Family Dentistry. Neil was also inducted into the Steward Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018 as a beloved member of the Spartan community following in the footsteps of his son Corey Turnage inducted in 2015 in the inaugural class at Steward, whose talent on the pitch as a player scholastically and professionally may have exceeded his father’s as a referee.

Ian Michael Coddington

Ian was a career educator at the Steward School after graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree at VCU. Born in New Jersey in 1940 he made his life in Virginia. At Steward he was hired as the Physical Education instructor and became the school’s Varsity Soccer Coach during the boys’ team’s glory years in the 1980’s. He rose to become Head of the Upper School retiring and is the founder of the Steward Honor Council. In addition to his responsibilities at the school he was a career leader of Troop 444 for the Boy Scouts of America. Ian was a respected soccer coach for many years and equally recognized in the soccer community as both a USSF and VHSL certified soccer referee. His leadership was recognized by his peers, when he took the reins as the first President of RISOA in 1988. In 2016 Ian was also named to the Steward Athletic Hall of Fame.