Meet the Founders: Jennifer & Cesar Coronel — Always Moving Forward
Meet the Founders: Jennifer & Cesar Coronel — Always Moving Forward
From opening Northeast Houston's first youth indoor sports center to building a new elite soccer pathway, the journey has always been about creating opportunities for our community.
Some people see risk. We see opportunity.
In 2014, we made a decision that would change our lives forever.
We both left our full-time jobs to pursue a dream: creating a place where young children in Northeast Houston could learn, play, and develop through sports.
We didn't know exactly where the journey would take us. We knew there would be challenges, sacrifices, and plenty of uncertainty.
But we believed in something bigger than ourselves.
We believed our community deserved more.
Twelve years later, that same belief continues to guide us as we proudly introduce our newest project: Endavant FC.
And we couldn't be more excited about what comes next.
2014: Where Everything Began — JC Sports Houston
Our journey started with the creation of JC Sports Houston, the first Toddler-youth-focused indoor sports center of its kind in Northeast Houston.
Our vision was simple: create an environment where toddlers and young children could discover sports, build confidence, develop coordination, and fall in love with being active.
Soccer, baseball, basketball, and multisport development became the foundation of our programs.
But JC Sports was never just about teaching children how to kick a ball or make a basket.
It was about creating positive first experiences, building relationships with families, and helping children discover what they were capable of achieving.
Looking back, we didn't realize that this small beginning would eventually grow into something much bigger.
JC Sports was the beginning of everything.
2016: Thinking Differently — JC Sports Soccer Lab
Two years later, we took another risk.
We launched JC Sports Soccer Lab, an innovative soccer training concept combining technology, technical development, and performance.
We invested in training systems including TOCA technology and Elite Skills Arena (ESA), creating opportunities for players to improve through repetition, feedback, and technology-supported training.
At the time, technology-based soccer development was still an emerging concept in our local market.
We believed it could change how players trained.
Our Soccer Lab eventually became a training destination for athletes preparing for demanding competitive environments, including professional players from the Houston Dynamo and Houston Dash organizations.
Players such as Nichelle Prince, Jane Campbell, Kristy Lewis, Sophie Schmidt, and Kimberly Rodriguez trained at our facility during off-season periods or in preparation for international opportunities.
For us, this was an incredible milestone.
A small, independently operated sports organization in Northeast Houston was helping support athletes competing at some of the highest levels of the game.
It reinforced a lesson we still believe today:
You don't have to be the biggest organization to make a meaningful impact.
2018: Listening to Our Families — Fall Creek Soccer Club
As our JC Sports programs grew, something unexpected happened.
Our young players were getting older.
They were developing their skills, building friendships, and falling in love with soccer.
And their families began asking us an important question:
"What's next for our kids?"
Many of them didn't want to leave the environment they had grown to trust.
They wanted to continue developing with us.
So, once again, we stepped outside our comfort zone.
In 2018, we created Fall Creek Soccer Club, our first competitive soccer organization.
We entered the world of competitive club soccer because our families and players needed a next step in their development.
It wasn't part of some grand business plan.
It was a response to the needs of our community.
And that decision opened another door.
2020: Going International — Villarreal CF
In 2020, we established an international relationship with Villarreal CF in Spain, one of the most respected player-development organizations in European soccer.
This partnership transformed our vision of what youth soccer development in Northeast Houston could become.
What inspired us most about Villarreal wasn't simply its success at the professional level.
It was the philosophy behind that success.
Here was a club from a relatively small Spanish city, with a population of approximately 50,000 people, developing outstanding players and competing against European giants such as Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.
Villarreal demonstrated that a club's impact isn't determined solely by the size of its city, its financial resources, or its number of players.
It is shaped by its philosophy, its standards, its commitment to education, and its belief in developing people.
That philosophy was a perfect match for ours.
Through Villarreal Houston Academy, we elevated the level of coaching, training, competition, and international exposure available to young players in Northeast Houston.
Our players began experiencing new competitive environments, international opportunities, and a broader understanding of what it takes to pursue higher levels of soccer.
And just as importantly, we continued building a community where player development comes before winning at all costs.
2026: The Next Chapter — Endavant FC
Today, we find ourselves at another important moment in our journey.
And once again, the reason is familiar.
Our players are growing, and they are asking us what's next.
Some of the talented young athletes who have developed within our programs are now ready for higher levels of competition.
They want to challenge themselves against the best players in the country.
They want opportunities to pursue collegiate soccer, professional pathways, and international experiences.
And many of them want to continue that journey with the coaches, teammates, and organization that helped them develop.
We believe they deserve that opportunity.
That is why we created Endavant FC, our new elite performance soccer project in Northeast Houston.
With our application submitted for the 2027–2028 MLS NEXT Academy Division, we are pursuing the next level of competition while continuing to invest in the player-development philosophy that brought us here.
We know acceptance is not guaranteed.
We know building something new requires work, commitment, resources, and patience.
But if there is one thing our journey has taught us, it is that meaningful progress rarely happens without taking risks.
And we have never been afraid of taking those risks when we believe they can create something valuable for our community.
Our Philosophy Has Never Changed
Over the years, people have asked us what we want our organizations to become.
The biggest soccer club in Houston?
The organization with the most teams?
The club that wins the most trophies?
Those have never been our primary goals.
For us, success is not about being the biggest. It is about making a difference.
We believe in education before results.
Development before short-term victories.
Meaningful exposure instead of empty promises.
Partnerships that create opportunities.
Coaches who teach, mentor, and inspire.
And environments where young athletes can work hard, challenge themselves, build friendships, and genuinely enjoy playing sports.
Of course, we want our players to compete and succeed.
But we never want to forget why they started playing in the first place.
The joy of the game must always be part of the journey.
Why Northeast Houston?
Because this is our community.
This is where we started our business, built relationships, raised our expectations, and discovered what was possible.
We have met thousands of families who believe in their children and want to give them every opportunity to succeed.
We have watched young athletes grow from their first soccer class into competitive players with ambitious dreams.
We have seen the sacrifices families make to travel across Houston in search of development opportunities.
And we believe talented players shouldn't have to leave their community simply to access a higher level of competition.
Our vision is to continue building those opportunities right here in Northeast Houston.
Not because it is easy.
But because our community deserves it.
Endavant Means Forward
The word Endavant comes from Valencian, the language spoken in the region of Spain where Villarreal is located.
It means forward.
And we couldn't imagine a better word to represent who we are.
From JC Sports in 2014, to Soccer Lab in 2016, Fall Creek Soccer Club in 2018, Villarreal Houston Academy in 2020, and now Endavant FC in 2026, our journey has always been about moving forward.
Forward in education.
Forward in development.
Forward in opportunity.
Forward in the experiences we create for our players.
And forward in the impact we hope to make in our community.
A Message From Jennifer & Cesar
We are incredibly excited about this next chapter.
We are also grateful.
Grateful to the families who trusted us when JC Sports was just a new idea.
Grateful to the players who inspired us to keep growing.
Grateful to our coaches, staff, partners, and supporters who have helped us build something meaningful.
And grateful for the opportunity to continue doing what we love.
We don't know exactly where this next chapter will take us.
But we know why we are doing it.
We believe in our players.
We believe in our community.
And we believe there is still so much more we can accomplish together.
We have never been afraid to start something new when it meant creating opportunities for others.
That was true in 2014.
And it is still true today.
Endavant FC. Always Moving Forward.
Jennifer Coronel & Cesar CoronelCo-Founders, Endavant FC
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