Kalamazoo-area athletes make an impact around sports world

By Adam Bouton
Western Herald

It takes a lot to play soccer professionally.  For Lindsay Tarpley, who helped lead the United States Women’s National team to a gold medal in Beijing, those dreams all began in Kalamazoo.

“My parents did a great job of raising me to be the best that I can be,” Tarpley said.  “They definitely let me dream and they helped me instill a belief in myself.  They said the sky’s the limit.”

Tarpley, who was raised in Kalamazoo and went to Portage Central High School, is just one of the many native Kalamazoo athletes that are making their mark in the athletic world outside of Michigan.

Other prominent athletes from the Kalamazoo region include New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, Green Bay Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings, Seattle Seahawks running back T.J. Duckett, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Adam Hall and pro-fisherman Kevin VanDam.

For Tarpley, she obviously wasn’t positive on exactly where she would end up as she grew up in Kalamazoo, but she pushed herself on wanting to be the best.

“I do think that I’ve always had a competitive drive and the desire to be the best that I can be and I think those qualities have helped shape me into the person that I am today,” she said.

Even though Tarpley has moved on to greener pastures and ultimately doesn’t make it back to Kalamazoo as much as she would like to, she still has an immense amount of pride in the city she grew up in.

“Wherever I am in the world, Kalamazoo is always home to me,” Tarpley said, with pride in her voice.  “I lived there for a really long time and I have a lot of special memories there.  No matter where I am, Kalamazoo is always going to hold a special place in my heart.”

Many of Kalamazoo’s professional athletes are known for their involvement in the community, even after they move on, like many of them do.  Jeter, who graduated from Kalamazoo Central High School long before wearing the Yankee pinstripes, comes back to the place where he grew up often to host clinics and fundraisers for area youth.

Tarpley is another athlete who tries to get back as much as possible.  She’s the captain of the Chicago Red Stars, which is one team of the newly formed Women’s Professional Soccer league.  Because she is just a few hours from her home now, it should give her more of a reason to come back.

“I’m hoping to get back there [Kalamazoo] this summer,” Tarpley said.  “It is important for me to try and get back to Portage and the Kalamazoo-area because I feel like I am who I am because of the area.  I would love to share my knowledge and my experiences with the youth.”

Tarpley, who resides in Los Angeles, Calif. when not playing soccer won a national championship with the University of North Carolina and is one of the veteran members of the women’s national squad.

As one of the elder members of the national team, she was a key member in the gold medal run and received a key from the city of Kalamazoo following the trip to Beijing.
Tarpley, like so many other prominent area athletes, never forgets where she came from.

“It’s always special to go back and see people who were there from the beginning,” she said.  “Like I said, my heart is always in Kalamazoo.”

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Posted by HeraldAdmin on Apr 20 2009. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Cody Kimball
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