When Chris Wondolowski first played organized soccer as a six year-old in Danville, his mom Janis could never have imagined the journey she was embarking on. In the two decades since that first K-League team, Janis Hoyt or her four children have traveled to more than half the states in the Union as well as around Central and South America, Africa and Europe to play and watch “the world’s game.” During the 1996 Bill Clinton reelection campaign the term “Soccer Mom” became very prominent and Janis Hoyt’s picture could be placed right next to the Soccer Mom description on Wikipedia.

Janis and husband Chris Hoyt live in Concord, where she serves as chairperson of the Concord Human Relations Commission. She has a “day job” as a manager of human resources for Clorox and Chris is senior recruiter for a software company, Taleo. They have a multitude of other activities. Janis is on the school board of St. Francis of Assisi School in Concord and president of the Delta Gamma Alumnae, a sorority she joined at Cal Berkeley where she graduated with a sociology and political science degree. Chris has coached football at De La Salle High School for 11 years and is also an active CYO track and basketball coach at St. Francis.

That successful education, career, community activities and other interests have seemingly been the training to make Janis Hoyt such a spectacular Soccer Mom. She has been a team mom or manager for all four of her children’s youth soccer teams and Team Mom for De La Salle baseball, football and soccer over the years.

Two weeks ago she was sitting in her favorite soccer chair at George Krueger Playfields while 10-year-old daughter Katie was playing goalie for her team, Diablo FC 98. The team was playing against girls two years older in the Concord Cup XVI tournament. Parents were shouting encouragement from the sidelines to the girls in black, blue and white uniforms. Parent’s facial expressions changed from glee to horror with nearly every kick of the ball. Over the weekend the girls won one game and tied another before losing to the eventual champions. Concord Cup was to be a learning experience for the young team as planned by their Brazilian coach Kent Tambazidis. For the relaxed looking Janis Hoyt it was a chance to spend a weekend with her only daughter doing the family’s favorite activity.

“Soccer has been a driving force in our family because of the kids’ love of the game. We have built a life of spending time as a family on the soccer fields and traveling to tournaments, and we have met some of our very closest friends for life through the soccer experience,” Janis Hoyt explains. “The more I have grown to understand the game the more I enjoy it and want to watch it as often as possible. I can truly understand why it is the most popular sport in the world. It is a game that all can play at any age, with little equipment and with just a ball and a goal. Soccer, like many sports, gives kids focus and something they can aspire to and improve upon - it can be a great part of your life.”

There are many moms and dads right in Concord who would express very similar sentiments. However not many can back it up with the experiences of Janis Hoyt.

Her oldest son Christopher began playing for his dad John Wondolowski in Mustang Soccer before joining the Diablo Valley Soccer Club in Concord. Janis was team mom in both Mustang and DVSC. Chris has tremendous athletic ability which saw him a member of the Pony League World Series baseball champions and a two-time CIF State Meet finalist for De La Salle High in the mile run. He was such an accomplished runner that UCLA offered him a scholarship and Cal Berkeley wanted him to run there too.

It was on the soccer field that Chris shown his brightest. He turned down those Pac 10 schools to attend Chico State, the only school which offered him a soccer scholarship. He had been named all-league three years at De La Salle and “Sports Focus” prep sports TV show named him Northern California soccer player of the year. He played all four years at Chico, captaining the Wildcats as a senior. It was the year before that was most memorable when he was named an NCAA All-American and Chico State made it to the NCAA Division II Championship in Virginia Beach, VA. There were nearly a dozen DVSC alumni on that team, giving it a decidedly Concord area flavor.

He was drafted in February of his senior year by the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer. He earned a spot on the local pro team, which soon moved to Houston and became the Houston Dynamo. They have twice won the MLS Cup with Chris in the squad. He’s now in his fifth year as a senior rostered member of the team and has one assist and two goals in the young season. In January, he married his college sweetheart Lindsey, an All–American volleyball player.

Following right after Christopher was brother Stephen Wondolowski. He also played at Mustang and then DVSC, winning a pair of State Cup youth championships. Then on to De La Salle where he was a two-time all-league performer and matched his brother in helping the Spartans to a North Coast Section championship as a senior. Following high school, Stephen was recruited by UC Santa Cruz where he played for four years. Again keeping up with big brother, Stephen and the Banana Slugs made it to the NCAA Division III championship in Greensboro, NC and Wondo received All-America honors as a senior.

Houston asked Stephen to tryout and he joined his brother on the Dynamo, where they both shared in a 2007 MLS Cup victory and also the MLS Reserve team league championship. MLS disbanded the reserve league after the 2008 season so Stephen is currently trying out with other MLS/PDL teams and coaching (what else?) youth soccer. Using his economics degree he is also starting to work on the job search should making a pro team not work out, but he is going to try and live his dream a little longer.

The youngest Wondolowski son, Matthew, also won a State Cup championship as a goalie. However he gravitated towards other sports. “Matty was built for football,” his mom says with a smile. The youngest Wondo boy was an excellent baseball and football player and played both sports at DLS. He has just finished his sophomore year at San Jose State as an active member of his fraternity (Pi Alpha PHI---the PIKES). He’s on the San Jose State intramural champion dodge ball and rugby teams.

Where did all these sports genes come from? Janis played one year of club team soccer at Cal. “When I was in high school there were not a lot of girls sports team (no girls soccer yet),” she explains. She has since joined adult soccer leagues and completed the Honolulu Marathon. She was a competitive swimmer as a youngster in Sacramento and ran track for two years in high school but then made the varsity cheerleading squad and dropped sports. The boy’s dad (and Janis’ former husband), John Wondolowski, played soccer at Cal and coached the boys’ teams at Mustang.

Now the Soccer Mom gets to see the other side of the sport with daughter Katie, who began playing in DVSC before it merged with the other competitive club in Concord, Mt. Diablo Soccer league and became Diablo FC. Janis was manager of the team for two years. This past season the team of eight and nine year-old girls swept almost every championship available including NorCal Premier State Cup. Katie’s best buddy, Fiona Dolan, comes from another soccer-crazed Concord family so each girl has seen lots of soccer played by older siblings.

Last week, the Hoyts went to Houston to see Christopher play. “We travel all over the US to watch the boys (and maybe soon Katie) play soccer. We support them by rooting them on in the sport that they love and have the passion for,” Janis Hoyt said. She then rattled off a dozen states the family has traveled to for soccer. That doesn’t count all the ones Christopher and Stephen have gone to with college and professional teams. The two oldest boys have also played in Brazil, France, Spain, Costa Rica, Tanzania and Mexico. The family can also see many of Christopher’s MLS games on national television or via the internet.

“The soccer teams the boys played on became so much more than any other youth sport because of the length of time one could play with the same group of kids during the formative years. All of their teams stayed together and grew up, which kept them (and the families) committed to each over the years,” the ultimate soccer mom adds. “It really takes both the commitment of the child to love the sport and then the commitment of the entire family to support it. If only one side is committed it can sometimes get very tough. I remember the shared responsibility of all the parents (on the teams) stepping in to help one another, especially for those working moms - when sometimes it is hard to get everyone to practice and games, you really need to be organized. When all of the kids were growing up playing sports - just about every day was taken up with some type of practice or game, but we still always made time for school, work and church.”

She concludes, “I pretty much grew up here in the Diablo Valley area from 8th grade on and have seen so much change, especially with the soccer programs that have grown into the best in California---Mustang and DVSC (now Diablo FC).”

About her important role with the Concord Human Relations Commission, chairperson Hoyt says, “We primarily focus on helping foster an environment of harmony, free of discrimination. We live in such a diverse community; it is important that we make every effort to try and understand our differences and appreciate them.” She adds, “The commission educates and acts as a forum to express the beauty and appreciation of diversity and how we can understand and support one another and live in harmony. Putting families first is a motto of the City of Concord and we believe we are part of fostering that mission. The HRC is also responsible for recognizing the wonderful people in our community that make it such a great place to live. Annually we give recognition to a very special group of individuals who have given back to the community and make a difference in all of our lives.”

Reprinted in part from The Concordian

By Jay Bedecarre

Janis Hoyt and her oldest son Christopher Wondolowski at Chico State. Chris led the Wildcats to the 2003 NCAA Division 2 championship game. Chico State, with over a dozen club alumni on the roster, fell just short of claiming the National title. Wondolowski was an All-American that season as well.	Janis Hoyt and son Christopher Wondolowski in the latest adventure of their soccer journey, which began 20 years ago.
Stephen (left) and Chris Wondolowski and their proud sister Katie Hoyt all wear Houston Dynamo gear. Katie is a member of Diablo FC 98, winners of a couple cups of their own!	Stephen Wondolowski (left) and Chris Wondolowski claimed the MLS Cup in 2007 as members of the Houston Dynamo. Chris has two MLS winners medals with the Dynamo.