The Charlie Wedemeyer High School All-Star Game brings together the best senior football players in the Santa Clara Valley. This year, that roster included Los Altos’ own Juan Lopez Gonzalez, nominated by Head Coach Mark Adams.
“It was a super easy decision to nominate Juan,” Adams said. “He’s an incredible contributor to our team, the best player, and a leader on and off the field.”
Despite the Eagles struggling in the league last fall, the Los Altos team is filled with talented players. Juan was chosen alongside players from some of the best teams in the Northern Santa Clara Valley, ranking him among the best 50 football players in the area.
“Juan being a part of this game shows that we’re not as bad as everyone thinks we are,” senior Andrew Mejia said. “There’s a good amount of skill on the team, and we do put in the effort and have the players to be a good football team.”
Juan’s journey to getting picked for the All-Star Game was a long road of hard work: Juan’s decision to join came simply from encouragement by a friend to join pre-season conditioning with the Eagles. After a freshman season on JV, in his sophomore year, Juan joined varsity as an all-around guard, center, and defensive tackle. This last football season, Juan was picked as varsity’s MVP and the All-League Player for his performance during the Eagles’ wins.
“Every year, I try my best to learn from the people in front of me, and I always play with a chip on my shoulder to never let anyone outwork me,” Juan said. “I’ve developed discipline and learned how to work hard.”
In his senior season, Juan was voted co-captain of the varsity football team, helping lead them to a 3-2 winning record at home. He contributed significantly to the offensive and defensive teams, totaling 66 tackles, a fumble recovery, and playing the majority of the time in all 10 games.
“Juan is our silent leader, and he always has a plan,” Adams said. “Everyone on the field looks up to him, and he’s the perfect example as he just kind of does everything perfectly.”
Playing the Game
The game took place on Saturday February 1, and featured two teams — North and South Santa Clara — competing with each other with a roster of 50 hand-picked players nominated by their coaches. A smaller selection committee takes these nominations and looks through each player’s films and statistics, discusses them with other coaches, and picks the team.
In previous years, other Los Altos football players have been nominated for the All-Star Game, including some of last year’s seniors. Throughout his high school career, Juan has seen his teammates be nominated, hoping he would one day fill their shoes.
“To be nominated was one of my goals coming into my senior year,” Juan said. “It was something I looked forward to and hoped that I would get the opportunity to do, so I was really excited when I found I was picked.”
“Juan’s a super hard worker, and he likes to pass on what he knows to younger players,” Adams said. “He will always play no matter what, even if the games get out of hand or we’re up by a lot, he still wants to be in the game and give you a 24/7 100 percent effort.”
The first All-Star game was hosted in 1974 and was immediately established as a blockbuster event, and since then many current NFL players have made the roster. It honors Charlie Wedeymer, whom the game was named after, Los Gatos’ football coach and inspiration to the football community for his love for football and 32-year battle with ALS.
The game took place at Los Gatos High School on Saturday, February 1, and the South team won 22–6. With the two teams practicing four times a week leading up to the game, they promoted a competitive atmosphere. Juan was a frequent choice for the North’s defensive team, getting a lot of playing time at this historic game, an opportunity that will open the door for his future.
“Getting admitted to the All-Star Game opens a lot of gateways for my athletic career, to be seen and recognized by possible college coaches,” Juan said. “I’m not just representing Los Altos but also Latinos in football and anyone who doesn’t know how much they can do.”
