Aztecas Youth Soccer Academy

Our Mission

The Azteca’s Youth Soccer Academy reclaims the lives of at-risk youth that struggle with gangs, violence, poverty, and drugs in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties.

Our Vision

Building character, one goal at a time.

Our History

The Aztecas Youth Soccer Academy was started in 2008 by life-long Pajaro Valley resident Gina Castañeda. As a community organizer, probation officer, and soccer player, Gina was convinced that a combination of consistent soccer training and mentoring would provide a bridge to success for at-risk youth on probation for gang/violent offenses. Gina’s tough upbringing - and the origins of the Aztecas - are described in an ESPN documentary “The Save.” 

Santa Cruz County’s Probation Department has been the perfect incubator for the Aztecas program, and continues to be its foremost supporter. Santa Cruz Probation has been a leader in juvenile detention reform since the late 1990s, and serves as a Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative (JDAI) model site for the United States.  The Aztecas Youth Soccer Academy has been a major success story in the Department’s ongoing efforts to 1) provide alternative pro-social programming for youth in lieu of incarceration, and 2) find effective ways to correct the disproportionate number of Latino youth in custody.

The Need

The need for local intervention services to stop gang-related violence and its far-reaching negative impact on the community has existed for many years. Watsonville suspects identified in homicide related crimes are typically young, local Latino males with gang affiliations.