Basketballs, baseballs, footballs -- you name it, and the Stanton household was filled with it. But it was soccer that Spencer and younger brother Zach Stanton stayed with, and they are now teammates on the Chico State soccer team.
"We are not an indoor family," said Ann Stanton, their mother. "We would be in trouble if it were not for sports."
Spencer is a 22-year-old junior in his third year on the team as a stopper for the Wildcats. Zach is a 20-year-old freshman who plays defender and midfielder.
They both graduated from Deer Valley High School in Antioch where they played soccer for four years.
Spencer wasn't heavily recruited in high school, but Chico State coaches had their eyes on him.
After Spencer graduated from high school, he went to Europe for a couple months where he played soccer for different professional teams in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
When he came back he enrolled at Los Medanos College. After one year at Los Medanos, men's head soccer coach Mike O'Malley called and invited Spencer to play for the 'Cats.
After high school, Zach also went to Los Medanos before coming to Chico State.
While Zach was in high school, he loved to watch his brother play for the 'Cats.
One of his favorite moments was at the national championship in Florida last year.
"It made me want to be out there," Zach said. "All I said is, 'hopefully next year.'"
Spencer wasn't too disappointed with the result of the game because of the progress the team had made over the course of the previous season.
"We came from a 6-13 record the year before to being runner-up in the nation," Spencer said. "It was enough to just be there."
Spencer and Zach are not the only athletes in the Stanton family. Their late father Steven played football at Humboldt State. He passed away when Spencer was 15 and Zach was 13.
"We learned you always have to live life to the fullest," Spencer said, "because you never know when it will be over."
Steve Keshi, a former member of the Nigerian National team, was one of Spencer and Zach's first coaches in Antioch.
Keshi started teaching them soccer when they were 14.
Spencer and Zach are the type of brothers who compete in everything.
"We even fight on who can get the most tattoos," Spencer said, as he lifted up his shirt to reveal his tattoo on his rib cage.
Despite this sibling rivalry, Spencer and Zach are both very laid back, which allows them to be able to live with each other.
Along with an apartment, Spencer and Zach also share their friends.
"Zach's friends are my buddies and my buddies are his friends," Spencer said.
Spencer cherishes the fact that O'Malley contacted him because at that time in his life he didn't know what he wanted to do.
"The best thing that happened to me was when coach called me at a time in my life when I wasn't doing anything," Spencer said. "Now I'm on my way to graduating."
Zach agrees; he said he's glad he came to Chico for the fact that college soccer is nothing like high school.
"The championship game in high school is like every game at Chico State," Zach said. "It's a whole different atmosphere in college."
Jeff Larson can be reached at
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