My first encounters with soccer (football) date back to 2011 when I was 3 years of age turning 4. I vaguely remember waking up on Father’s Day and giving my dad a gift which included a hand-written note (by my mom) that read: “Daddy, please be my coach” with a football that I had drawn. Our YouTube channel has that video. That’s where it all started…

Dad quickly accepted my request and he started an outdoor team called “Sweet Cleats”. Other girls my age were randomly added to the outdoor team by the Keller Soccer Association (KSA) where he was (and still is) a football referee. I had always had a spark for the sport watching my brothers Johan and Jonathan play and my dad watching football on TV every weekend.

At the time, I was involved with several other activities which included gymnastics, swimming, dance, singing, and piano. As a result, I never had time to play on my free time but only when we had mandatory practices and games.

After pursuing many sports for several years, I finally decided to reduce the activities I did and focused on football…and competitive gymnastics. What sport was I most interested in?

At the time, I had no idea what sport to choose. Gymnastics required 2-3 hour daily practices. I took both sports to heart and loved them equally. Truth be told, I was having more success at gymnastics being an individual sport.

Once I actually understood what it was like to play at a higher level and what I could do with the talent I was developing, I started playing club football at a more competitive level around 10 years of age for a local club called Odyssey coached by Cecil Noyce. We won the league my first year on the team. As it got more competitive, practices were more frequent and often interfered with gymnastics. Although practices were convenient since they took place at my school, I had to find a team whose practices better aligned with my other activities. My best memory of the Odyssey team was winning the Plano Labor Day tournament in 2019.

I then joined Solar West coached by Tony Cavalle. He had a different game-coaching style which was challenging for him having one (sometimes two) daughters on the team. That created a conflict of interest for me as I played the same position as his daughter. I stayed on the team, but was asked to play a different position so that both us could play all the time. I am grateful for that opportunity as I developed my current #6 abilities there. It was in fact, as a defender that I had the chance to defend Kennedy Fuller once. Two years passed and I knew I wanted to keep football close to me, just not Coach Tony. At the same time, the team disbanded as he left Solar and took part of the team to Surf where he moved. It was the perfect time to find another club.

In 2021, I moved on to Fever FC with Coach Kenneth Penn. I quickly split time between his 05’s and 07’s teams. It was a hell of a journey. Coming back from injuries, I’ve had my fair share of bench time but when I tell you that sitting on the bench injured makes you hungrier to be on the pitch, you’ll never know it until you experience it. Something that in the past, I had never experienced as I was fortunate to be very healthy. Playing with this team and being around the teammates that I had made me, not only a much happier person but made me want to be with my team playing 24/7. The ambient of being with them and knocking the ball around while laughter fills the air and hearing Coach yell at me “Good Jo” is the best feeling I have ever experienced. He’s given me a hard time at times, but I am forever grateful. It has made me a stronger player mentally and smarter on and off the pitch.  

Coach Penn will always be the highlight of my football career. I have goals, and dreams that need to come true. Lately, I’ve had my share of injuries, but every time, as I rest and rehab to get better, I think that once I step back onto that pitch, it’s go time. It’s time to show the world who I am, to lift up the Gomez name and add another professional footballer to the family.

In June 2024 during ECRL playoffs, I suffered a 24-25 season-ending injury which sidelined me my entire junior year. After an entire year off-the pitch and finding that most of my teammates graduated high school, I had to find another club (DKSC) for my last club year.

I returned to the pitch in August 2025 stronger than before and ready to tackle anything. Here’s a video of my first league game back on the pitch. Two things to highlight on this August 15th, 2025 video: 1. I got to see Coach Penn again…. 2. I scored this golazo…