From KSBW.

SALINAS, Calif., —​ April 6, 2026 —The Monterey County Probation Department hosted a graduation for the first cohort of its life skills and soccer pilot program at Juvenile Hall.

The program, launched in January in partnership with the San Jose Earthquakes and the Twinning Project, aims to teach life skills through soccer.

Participants, ages 15 to 25, said the program has had a tremendous impact on their lives, and they plan to carry what they learned into the real world.

…For 10 weeks, students met with their coach every Monday, learning teamwork, discipline, and communication through soccer.

Coach Josue Salgado said, “Seeing how these boys just committed to something and seeing their growth week in and week out was truly inspiring to see.”

Michael Palmer, probation division manager, highlighted the program’s success in fostering unity among diverse participants.

“I think the biggest thing to note is that all of these youth are in different gangs. They’re in different socio-economic situations, but at the end of the day, we never had any fights. We never had any violence in the program, and they split themselves off into teams, and all play together, and all work together,” he said.

…

Robert, one of 14 youths graduating from the program, said…the partnership with the San Jose Earthquakes has taught him a lot.

“Someone might be having a bad day. They might not be wanting to play soccer, but the way you go about that, the tone of voice, the words you use, you got to be aware of that,” he said.

…

At graduation, students wore team jerseys and received certificates and new T-shirts.

Isaiah, another participant, said, “Despite even what you go through the ugly, you can still make something out of it, by the grace of God, and so I think that’s what I want to do, is just kind of take everything that I’ve learned, share it with kids who are going through the same lived experiences that I went through and just tell them, you have a choice.”

Because this was a pilot program, organizers wanted to make sure the youth were engaged and found value in it.

As of now, they don’t have plans for a second round but are hoping to do it again.

Read the full article here or watch the video here.