Gina Castañeda’s goal was to get gang rivals off the street and into another place where they could compete: the soccer field.
It’s been over 18 years since Castañeda founded The Aztecas Youth Soccer Academy—a Watsonville-based soccer and education program that supports local at-risk kids—but the spring of 2008, when Castañeda started the program, is still vivid in her memory.
She was a few years into her tenure at Santa Cruz County Probation, working with kids—many of whom were coming from rival gangs, Norteño and Sureño—when she found herself at the center of an opportunity to change something she knew wasn’t working.
She had been devoting all her extra time to helping get the kids on her caseload onto local soccer teams, trying to give them the opportunity to get off the street—but it wasn’t working the way she had hoped, and the kids kept quitting.
“The reality for them was they didn’t feel like they belonged,” said Castañeda. “They felt like outsiders.”
Then, her husband, Patricio Castañeda, had an idea—why not create a new team and put all the kids together?
“And I kind of laughed,” said Castañeda, “I was like, ‘dude, these are rival gang members, like you don’t put them on the same team.’ And he was like, ‘If anybody can do it, you can do it.’”
She realized her husband was right; she could do it.
As a soccer player and coach herself, she had the necessary skills, but even more so, she knew “what it is to be a child in a home that’s taught to speak like a gangster, talk like a gangster, walk like a gangster, dress like a gangster.”
She had grown up in a home knowing exactly why people joined gangs—because “they wanted love.”
She also knew that soccer could be both an outlet and a path toward purpose, as it was for her.
“Soccer saved my life,” said Castañeda. “It was something that I wanted to do, and I needed to do some things in order to continue to play; I needed to attend class, I needed to keep my grades up, I needed to stop getting into fights.”
So her goal became to create a team that removes any need or room for gang association or activity and replaces it with soccer, explained Castañeda, and Aztecas was born.
Castañeda named the team in tribute to her stepfather, Ernesto Medina, and to the Watsonville adult men’s team he coached, the Aztecas.
After approximately three years of starting the team, the Probation Department saw its impact and began supporting it, said Castañeda.
“My first thought was, this is gonna be great,” said Fernando Giraldo, the former Chief Probation Officer. So Giraldo also got to work, helping to build a budget within the department for Castañeda to run the program.
Today, through the Santa Cruz County Probation Department and the county, funded by grants and donations, Castañeda helped kids craft a new identity, one where they can carry the Aztecas name and wear the purple jersey with pride.
The color purple—unintentionally a blend of the two rival gangs’ colors, red and blue—was chosen in appreciation for the Freedom Lions Club, a network of volunteers that had donated enough money to help buy nice jerseys, shorts, and socks for the kids, said Castañeda.
Looking back on past years, the Aztecas seem to be overflowing with moments of success. Castañeda’s favorite memory was when two kids from rival gangs scored their first goal together.
“Just like anybody does when they score a goal, they embrace each other,” said Castañeda, “I just remember that moment, where they like they stopped, and they were like, ‘Oh, shit, I just hugged my rival.’”
“I didn’t even understand what I was doing at the time,” said Castañeda, “I was really building the bridge for these kids, and giving them an opportunity that nobody else had given them.”
Today, anyone can carry the Aztecas name, even if they don’t play soccer, since the program has expanded its scope to include any kid who needs help and provides services for youth 13 to 18, and can continue to provide support for program-involved kids through four-year college.
But seemingly not much else has changed. At 51-years-old, Castañeda remains dedicated to the team as the program supervisor and currently works in the county probation department as a deputy probation officer–supervisor.
“Soccer is her life, and just helping in removing barriers for our most burdened population is something that is embedded in her DNA,” said Jose Flores, the Assistant Chief of Probation.
The Aztecas’ new clubhouse at 200 Prospect St.—its grand opening July 28—will continue to offer tutoring, life skills, academic guidance, and other career support to help kids succeed throughout their education, including through junior colleges and higher education, said Flores.
“Soccer was just a hook to bring these kids in, to provide them another avenue, a different way of life,” Castañeda said.
The Castañeda and the Aztecas’ innovations and impact aren’t just felt locally; they’re also recognized nationally. In 2011, she was featured in an ESPN documentary, “The Save”, which aired as part of a series during the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
In 2014, Castañeda received the UCSC Tony Hill Memorial Award, which honors locals seeking solutions to economic and social issues. In early 2026, the United States Soccer Federation’s Kim Crabbe Game Changers Award, which honors members from the soccer community who have made a lasting impact in a creative way.
“Everywhere you go, Gina is recognized; like literally, everyone knows who she is,” said 29-year-old Cesar Padilla, who joined the club at 18 and has since spent approximately 11 years as an active part of Aztecas—as both a youth and a mentor. “Watsonville knows that they can trust her.”
Even after graduating from the program, many of Castañeda’s Aztecas have continued to be part of the team—often becoming mentors to the next generation of players—and of her life.
“I consider her my second mom,” said Padilla. “Every single time that I needed someone—like whether it was just a talk or like if I got in trouble or anything—she was always there, and she never judged me for anything.”
A sentiment that also resonates with another Aztecas alumnus, 23-year-old Adrian Madueño, who easily remembers when Castañeda helped secure a scholarship for him and a few other Aztecas.
The scholarship was enough money to buy a simple computer, according to Madueño, but the gesture was more than just a nice gift; it was a “stress-reliever.”
“With some of our parents being farm workers, it’s kind of hard for them to source $500, even $1,000, to buy a computer for college,” Madueño added. “She pulled it off somehow, and it’s amazing.”
A gesture that’s habitual for Castañeda, according to Madueño; she’s always looking for ways to support the Aztecas youth and help them achieve their goals, whatever they might be, along the way, forging a bond with each of the kids that they’ll never forget.
“She’s still a mentor and a coach for me,” said Madueño, “but now she’s more like a friend as well.”
By Gwyneth Holcomb
