Eric Vaughter Assistant Coach 3rd season at Vanderbilt Warren Wilson College, 1979

Eric Vaughter specializes in the back part of the soccer field but he is at the leading edge of he sport.

He joined the Vanderbilt staff in 2000 as goalkeepers coach for both the men's and women's programs.

Vaughter was named interim head coach of Vanderbilt's men's soccer program after former head coach Randy Johnson resigned after 29 years with the team.

In the summer of 2000, he was appointed goalkeeper trainer on the US Soccer National Coaching Staff. That honor was only the latest in what is already an illustrious - and far-reaching - career.

He was on the staff at Duke University when the women's team won the national championship in 1986. Prior to that he worked at Appalachian State University, Sangamon (Ill.) State University, High Point College, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. He also was an assistant coach and goalkeeper trainer on back-to-back championship teams with the Greensboro Dynamo FC.

As a player, he was an All-American at Warren Wilson (N.C.) College. He then played professionally with the New York Apollo of the American Soccer League and won a championship.

Off the field, Vaughter is the product line manager for adidas International HardWare, specializing in shin guard and goalkeeper equipment design. He also worked with adidas America ESP camps and the ASL Collegiate summer program, and in 1998 started a weekly radio soccer talk show (Soccer Today) on WCKY in Cincinnati. Vaughter also works with the North Carolina Olympic Development Program as a goalkeeper coach and evaluator. This past summer, he served as a goalkeeper coach with the Region III ODP teams.

Vaughter is married to the former Marsha Edwards. The couple has two son, Zachary and Devin.