(Area youths enjoy a soccer drill Monday at Pajaro Park during the fourth annual Aztecas Summer Soccer Camp. Photo by Tarmo Hannula/Pajaronian)
PAJARO — Dozens of children gathered at Pajaro Park Monday morning, where they went through several drills designed to teach them the fundamentals of soccer.
The kids — 75 in all – were participating in Aztecas Summer Soccer Camp, a program created to give low-income kids a constructive summertime activity.
Now in its fourth year, the program draws scores of children hoping for a spot, but usually has a waiting list.
There are two weeklong sessions, each with room enough for 75 kids.
The camp is run by Aztecas Soccer Club, which was created 10 years ago with a similar idea: keeping young people engaged in activities such as sports and offering academic support keeps them out of trouble and in school.
That program provides youth trainers, who help coach their younger peers for the summer camp.
Before they start, the Aztecas players go through a weeklong training session.
Some get paid for their efforts, while others receive community service hours required for graduation.
“It’s a mini summer job,” organizer Gina Castañeda said.
Castañeda said both programs targets “underprivileged” youth, whose parents often work long hours and are frequently not home.
Many of these young people have rough home lives, she said, and are frequently at risk for joining criminal street gangs.
“We try to teach them skills to process whatever happens to them,” she said. “We try to show them a different type of lifestyle.”
Participants get a daily breakfast, lunch and a snack.
Aztecas player Angel Hernandez, 17, said counselors referred him to the Aztecas program after his grades suffered and he found himself facing a troubled life.
With Aztecas, he said he found a supportive atmosphere in the program that was missing in the rest of his life.
Hernandez said he now enjoys helping young people who are facing similar troubles.
“It makes me feel like a better person in general,” he said.
Castañeda started the Aztecas soccer team after a group of seven young men under her charge said they wanted to play.
Graduates of the program have gone on to play at the collegiate level, while others have graduated from four-year universities.
“These are kids who were troubled, and they turned their lives around,” Castañeda said.
Jose Gonzalez, 24, said he was referred to the program when he was a 16-year-old student at Renaissance High School. Castañeda said Gonzalez was “walking that fine line,” and associating with criminal street gangs.
Gonzalez is now lead coach for the summer program, and spends the rest of the year working with special education students for Pajaro Valley Unified School District.
“I think it changed me a lot, and helped me calm down,” he said. “I was a very angry person.”
Coach Jesse Figueroa, 23, has played on the Aztecas team for four years. He said his experience with the summer program has inspired him to become a probation officer.
“Once I got involved I noticed the difference we make in the kids’ lives,” he said.
Yamilet Madueno, 11, said she came to the camp for her first year with her cousin and brother.
“So far it’s really fun,” she said. “I think I would like to do this next year.”
Denzel Leon, 8, said he tried unsuccessfully to get into the camp last year. He said he has been playing soccer since he was 4.
“I especially like the training, because it helps me get better,” he said.
Castañeda runs Aztecas as a volunteer, an endeavor that requires sizable fundraising efforts.
It receives financial support from such companies as Reiter Berry Farms, California Giant Berry Farms and Freedom Lions Club. Castañeda also counts on community donations.
That support allows Castañeda to offer the program for $10.
The summer camp, she said, is her way of paying thanks for that support.
“The community gives to Aztecas, and I want Aztecas to give back to the community,” Castañeda said.
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