Brandi Chastain was born July 21, 1968 to Lark and Roger Chastain in San Jose, California. She grew up playing soccer with her younger brother, Chad, and other boys. After high school, Brandi attended University of California, Berkeley from 1986 to 1988, then Santa Clara University 1989 to 1991. She Graduated from Santa Clara with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in television communication. At Santa Clara, Brandi began playing as a forward. Then, after an accident in practice, she had to begin to play with her left foot, as she screwed up her right ankle. It was there she met Jerry Smith, her coach at the time. After being discovered by the coach of the USWNT, she began playing in tourneys with the team, including the 1991 Women's World cup. After college, she began dating Jerry Smith, and he taught her how important defense was, so she began playing defense instead of forward. In 1998, the two married, and Brandi gained a step-son, Cameron. Since then, Brandi has been a long-time starter for the USWNT, winning 2 World Cups, Olympic gold and silver medals, and captained the San Jose Cyberrays for the 3 years the WUSA ran.