Aztecas Youth Soccer Camp

Aztecas Youth Soccer Academy offers soccer training and mentoring for at-risk youth. The program combines consistent soccer training with mentoring for youth on probation for gang or violent offenses.

Aztecas Youth Soccer Academy was started in 2008 by life-long Pajaro Valley resident Gina Castañeda. Gina Castañeda is described as a community organizer, probation officer, and soccer player. The program’s stated mission is to reclaim the lives of at-risk youth that struggle with gangs, violence, poverty, and drugs in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. It has been described as a major success story in the Santa Cruz County Probation Department’s efforts to provide alternative pro-social programming for youth in lieu of incarceration. Santa Cruz County’s Probation Department has been the foremost supporter of the program and serves as a Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative (JDAI) model site for the United States. Aztecas Youth Soccer Academy was featured in an ESPN documentary titled “The Save.”

Last updated July 7, 2026.