LaPonte’s Journey: CVSC to National Soccer League
Jen LaPonte
Photo courtesy of Santa Clara University
A funny thing happened when Jen LaPonte received a call recently from a member of the Castro Valley Sports Hall of Fame selection committee. She wondered if they wanted to talk to her mom or her dad.
No doubt, dad Lance is worthy of consideration based on having been a standout three-sport athlete at Castro Valley High before graduating to become a college All-American. And mom Debbie, too, after having been one of the best runners in the country for her age group as a Castro Valley youth. Heck, even older sister Jessica was a Junior Olympian as a cross country runner.
But Jen LaPonte, who has taken the path from the Castro Valley Soccer Club to the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) despite encountering many hurdles, can trump them all. And that’s why she got the call.
Not without the family’s help, mind you.
“I’m super-fortunate with what my parents gave me,” assures a true Castro Valley native who was even born in town. “I played for clubs in Mountain View, Danville … They drove me everywhere. I even started out home-schooled so I could have a better schedule. There is nothing I could have done without them. They have given me everything.”
That included time to dabble in gymnastics and compete in track and cross country in high school—all when the family wasn’t wakeboarding or snowboarding somewhere.
But LaPonte preferred soccer, she says, because “I just loved the physicality of it. And it’s a tactical game, too. It makes you use your talents not just physically but mentally as well, which I enjoyed.”
Most of the time, such as when the 2008 Castro Valley High graduate, a defender most of her career, helped lead a strong team coached by Paul McCallion to annual league and section prominence.
For the next four years, playing for the legendary Jerry Smith, she helped the Santa Clara University Broncos secure a spot among the national elite. She even scored a goal in the 32nd minute of her first college game against San Jose State.
In the past 12 years, she has played for five NWSL teams and, most recently, transitioned as a 33-year-old Houston resident into the indoor game, where she represented the United States in Mexico last year.
But along the way, there were obstacles; “I don’t have an ACL or either meniscus in my right knee,” she notes without batting an eye.
That’s the product of 13—count ‘em, 13—different surgeries on that knee. Those came after hip surgery ended her running career as a teenager, a broken nose interrupted her freshman season at Santa Clara, and before the regular injections she now takes in her back.
But LaPonte is still kicking … if not with the flip-style front handspring that allowed her to inbound the ball halfway down the field in her prime. “In my childhood, I relied on athleticism,” she says. “I’m still agile, but I need to show I am more of a tactical player. I have to show different facets in my game.”
Could she still possibly recommend soccer to kids? Absolutely.
“I completely encourage it,” she insists. “I coach now. I just make sure people are taught to tackle properly, play the right way. Some of the things that happened to me – like getting tackled from behind – just make sure my players don’t play like that. Pass along everything I learned.
“When I was playing in Castro Valley, we had an abundance of parent coaches who were unlike any other area. The group of parents we had who taught us the game was vastly superior to other areas. My dad was my coach. To this day, he was one of the best coaches I ever had.”
This is the 15th in a series of 16 articles profiling the 2024 inductees into the Castro Valley Sports Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame ceremonies and banquet will be held Sunday, April 21, at Redwood Canyon Golf Course. For tickets, go to castrovalleysportsfoundation.org and click on “Events, Hall of Fame Banquet.”