San Jose Earthquakes and Twinning Project partner with Monterey County Probation on soccer-based youth program

Monterey County announced a partnership with the Twinning Project and the San Jose Earthquakes to bring a 10‑session soccer‑based life‑skills curriculum to youth in the county juvenile hall.

Michael Palmer, division director of the juvenile hall for Monterey County Probation, said the program began after changes to state youth corrections required counties to provide local secure youth treatment and programming. The program pairs on‑field soccer coaching with classroom lessons on leadership, communication and personal development. "Our goal was to find ways to teach youth positive mentorship, positive coaching, healthy outlets," Palmer said.

Hilton Freund, global chief executive of the Twinning Project, described the model’s origins in the United Kingdom and its expansion to the United States. Freund said the Twinning Project twins a local correctional facility with a professional sports team to engage young people who might be resistant to conventional education and training.

Shay Salinas, club ambassador and head of youth soccer partnerships with the San Jose Earthquakes, said the club provided a coach and curriculum; sessions run about two hours (roughly one hour on the field and one hour in the classroom), and the first session included 14 participants. "When people play with the soccer ball...it brings communities together," Salinas said, and noted the program aims to teach teamwork, leadership and conflict resolution so participants "can still make productive prosocial contributions to the community when they reenter."

Partners reported early outcomes including engagement on drills, formation of trust with coaches, and use of classroom tools to manage conflicts in housing units. Monterey County staff said a graduation is planned for April 6 and that partners plan to continue monitoring outcomes.

Next steps: program partners will hold the scheduled graduation on April 6 and continue to evaluate participant outcomes and potential expansion.