Monterey County, San Jose Earthquakes and Twinning Project bring 10-week soccer life-skills course to juvenile hall

Monterey County Probation has started a 10-week soccer-based life-skills program inside the county juvenile hall in partnership with the U.K.-founded Twinning Project and the San Jose Earthquakes, officials said during a county news briefing.

Michael Palmer, division director of the juvenile hall, said the program grew from a county effort to provide secure local treatment and rehabilitative programming after the state shifted youths from the Division of Juvenile Justice back to counties. "Our goal was to find ways to teach youth positive mentorship, positive coaching, healthy outlets," Palmer said. He said the county identified the 20 Project and reached out to the Twinning Project, which connected with the San Jose Earthquakes to provide on-field trainers and curriculum.

The Twinning Project pairs professional sports teams with correctional facilities to deliver mentoring, employability and life-skills curricula, Hilton Finn, global chief executive of the Twinning Project, said. "We wanted to twin a local correctional facility with its local professional sports team," Finn said, describing programs the organization has run in the U.K. and in several U.S. states.

Shay Selenas, club ambassador and head of youth soccer partnerships for the San Jose Earthquakes, said the curriculum uses the soccer field as a teaching tool: "The earthquakes believe strongly that the soccer a soccer ball can change someone's life." She described a mix of field drills and classroom lessons designed to teach perseverance, teamwork, communication and leadership; the first cohort trains every Monday for about two hours (one hour field, one hour classroom) and is scheduled to graduate April 6.

Palmer and other presenters said early feedback has been positive. He described participants receiving jerseys and embracing a team identity, and said instructors have observed youths applying classroom tools to resolve conflicts on their housing unit. "They're learning without knowing that they're learning sometimes," Palmer said, adding that the program helps foster trust and gives participants role models they can emulate.

Program organizers framed the effort as both a recreational and rehabilitative intervention aimed at building skills that support reentry into the community. Finn recounted that past participants have described moving from "inmates" to "teammates" by program completion, and presenters said local partnerships with coaches and clubs are central to the project's success.

County officials did not announce funding or long-term staffing commitments during the briefing; they described the program as a partnership among Monterey County Probation, the Twinning Project and the San Jose Earthquakes. The briefing ended with organizers thanking participants and noting the first cohort's upcoming graduation.