By Matt Schwab

Las Positas College soccer is all in the family this season — the LaFleur family, that is.

Brothers Griffin and Grant LaFleur are sophomore starters on the Hawks men's team, and their younger sister, Tiana, is a freshman starter on the women's squad.

Grant, the oldest of the three siblings, starred on powerful teams at Freedom High, and Tiana and Griffin shined at Heritage.

Las Positas coach Andy Cumbo is thrilled with his LaFleur triple threat.

"I've had siblings and I've had twins, but I've never had three," says Cumbo, who coaches the men's and women's teams. "All three are doing well; they're regular starters. They play different positions, but all three are off to a good start (this season)."

Soccer is in the LaFleur family DNA, it turns out.

The siblings' dad, Gary LaFleur, coached the Heritage girls soccer team for about 25 years before recently retiring, and is a coach/technical director with Delta Youth Soccer League. The three siblings are also Academy coaches for Delta and commute to school from their dad's house. They're basically joined at the soccer hip and loving the connection.

"Honestly, I think it's a once-in-a-lifetime like crazy thing because we all weren't able to be at the same high school together," said Griffin, an all-conference defender at Las Positas in 2021 who was moved up to striker this season.

All three siblings won Bay Valley Athletic League soccer titles at their schools. Moreover, all three had the distinction of making the varsity squad as freshmen.

Grant LaFleur, a center midfielder who can attack and defend effectively, competed against Griffin in high school, but the brothers are tearing it up together in college play. The Hawks opened the season with a 4-1-1 record over six games, averaging over three goals a contest.

"The team's doing really good. I like how we're competitive and we all have such heart and we all want it as much as the person next to you," Grant said.

Cumbo describes all three LaFleurs as "very good, very technical. They all three have a really high soccer IQ, so the similarities aren't really like in looks or appearance. They might be, but it's just the way in which they play. There's some similarities there," he says.

The coach describes all three siblings are "pretty soft-spoken" off the field, but more vocal and intense on the field. Grant and Griffin have a take-no-prisoners intensity.

"Both of us are very competitive. We want to win," Grant says. "We're just gonna do whatever works to win, whatever it is on the field with the whole team. Griffin's just resilient in general, even in life. Any type of adversity that comes his way he just brushes it off his shoulder like nothing and keeps moving."

Griffin added of the mindset, "Ever since we were kicking a ball in the middle of a hallway, knocking pictures off the wall, we've always been that way."

Grant played in a powerful Freedom program composed of a bunch of players from the same club team. The high-flying Falcons advanced to the CIF North Coast Section Division I playoffs semifinals twice.

As high school soccer rivals, Griffin and Grant battled on the field, as expected, but their family bond was apparent outside of competition.

In a telling scene, during Grant's walk-out for his "Senior Game" at Freedom against Griffin and Heritage, a photo showed the brothers in different school jerseys along with their parents and Tiana. "It was pretty funny," Grant recalled of the scene.

Grant said he attended Freedom because his mom, Tanya, worked at Iron House Elementary School in Oakley at the time, so it was easier for her to take him there than to Heritage, farther away. Moreover, many of Grant's club teammates were going to Freedom. Griffin later chose Heritage because many of his friends were there, and Tiana opted to go there too, Grant said.

An overcomer, Griffin says he prioritizes education at Las Positas, but would play soccer at the next level if the "stars align. … School's very important to me. After I broke my leg and missed out on my senior year of high school, I reshuffled my priorities because you you never know when an injury could come up, but if I'm blessed with an opportunity to do so, then I'll take that opportunity," Griffin said.

Grant played a season at Cal State East Bay in 2017-18, but things didn't go so well there. His next two seasons were "messed up" by the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, he says, which caused a three-gap of time in his playing career. The delay did create one fringe benefit; it allowed his younger sister time to graduate and join the two brothers at Las Positas in 2022. So, fate has played a part in the family soccer equation.

For her part, Tiana says she has a mixture of her brothers' personalities in the sport.

"Griffin on the field he's more like a leader and he's strong-minded, but they both really are goal-oriented and always want to win and strive for that," she says. "So, I would say I'm the same way."

She relishes being at the same college as Griffin and Grant, whom she looked up to throughout her childhood.

Likewise, Griffin also holds Tiana in high regard.

"I would say I look up to her," Griffin said. "She inspires me in so many ways. We have a really cool relationship that I'm thankful for."