Christian Chavez was struggling with anxiety while attending Pajaro Valley High School and frequently refused to go.
“I was just staying home,” he said.
Christian, 15, was eventually placed at Sequoia High School, a smaller campus tailored for students struggling academically and emotionally.
He also joined Aztecas Youth Soccer Club, a Watsonville nonprofit operated by the Santa Cruz County Probation Department that was created nearly two decades ago to give young people positive outlets centered around soccer.
That was the catalyst that changed his life.
At Aztecas, Christian found the routine and camaraderie he had been missing.
“I just started coming here every day,” he said. “It helped me go back to school. It’s helped me a lot with my daily routine. They give me food, they take us places, they give us a lot of activities to do here, like cooking classes.”
On Tuesday, Christian joined dozens of community members, supporters and public officials to celebrate the opening of Aztecas’ new clubhouse on Prospect Street—a place program leaders say will allow them to expand the support they provide to local youth.
The renovated clubhouse is the first dedicated facility of its kind for a California probation-operated youth soccer program, according to Santa Cruz County Chief Probation Officer Sandra Mendez.
“It stands as a model for what proactive, compassionate intervention can look like,” Mendez said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Founded by Probation Department employee Gina Castañeda, Aztecas began with a simple mission: use soccer to reach young people involved in the juvenile justice system.
“We started with mainly all wards of the court, all kids that were on probation,” she said.
In those early years, that meant bringing together rival gang members on the same team.
“I did gang intervention, negotiations and a lot of education with them to get them to see each other as people and not as rivals,” Castañeda said. “And then a lot of support from their parents.”
The program steadily expanded.
“One team turned into two indoor teams, then all of a sudden we had an outdoor team,” she said.
But as participation grew, Castañeda realized soccer alone wasn’t enough.
“Even though they were part of our program, they were not graduating from high school,” she said.
The organization added education and mentoring, building what Castañeda describes as a wraparound support system.
“We knew that if we could get kids to graduate and get either into the workforce or into higher education, they would be more successful in life,” she said.
Today, about 98% of the program’s participants graduate from high school and go on to college or careers, she said.
The free program is supported by the Community Foundation Santa Cruz County, Driscoll’s, California Giant Berry Farms, local Rotary and Lions clubs, the 1440 Foundation and individual donors.
The 1440 Foundation contributed $8,000 toward the clubhouse’s $17,000 renovation.
The new headquarters includes a kitchen, lounge, internet access and study space. But Castañeda said the building represents much more than a place to gather.
Youth can receive help writing résumés, preparing for job interviews and searching for employment. Those in need can also receive clothing, shoes and backpacks.
“It really is a safe place where kids can come, be seen and heard,” she said. “They can be believed in, and we’re going to meet their needs with wraparound services.”
For Ceiba College Preparatory Academy sophomore Chris Robles, 15, Aztecas has simply become a place where he belongs.
A member of the club for about four years, he said he first joined because he loves soccer.
“I just do it for the love of the sport, honestly,” he said.
But with the opening of the new clubhouse, he now has another place to spend time with teammates off the field—a place designed to help young people build not only stronger soccer skills, but stronger futures as well.
For Castañeda, the philosophy is simple.
“This is truly about rehabilitation and meeting kids where they’re at,” she said. “Once you work with them and show them respect, and they know somebody cares about them, they’re going to be invested in you as much as you’re invested in them.”
That investment goes both ways, she added.
“I’m inspired by them,” she said. “They’re the kids that keep me going because I know there is a need. A lot of those kids are forgotten and thrown away.”
