About 150 Gilroy children attended a free soccer clinic at South Valley Middle School on Sept. 21 that was hosted by Major League Soccer’s San Jose Earthquakes and Catholic Charities.
The two organizations teamed up for the clinic—which was praised by City of Gilroy officials who attended the event—in an effort to promote soccer as a healthy, productive activity for young people in an area that is lacking in such opportunities. It was also part of the Earthquakes’ ongoing celebration of the team’s 50th anniversary.
Catholic Charities Director John Perales said the Earthquakes staff approached the nonprofit months ago about hosting a soccer clinic in South County. The successful event came to fruition this past weekend at South Valley Middle School in east Gilroy.
“South County is in need of more programming and in need of more resources, and soccer is big in this area,” Perales said. “Our youth in this area have very little to go out and do in the evenings.”
Ongoing efforts to engage more children in soccer and sports could help reverse trends in South County—such as poverty, teen pregnancy and youth obesity—that occur at higher rates here than in other parts of Santa Clara County.
“Let’s switch that. Let’s be the champion of youth sports, of catapulting youth to the major leagues and college,” Perales said.
At the end of the free clinic, in which local young soccer prospects had a chance to learn from the pros, participating youth received free soccer balls and had a chance to have them autographed.
Robert Davis, Earthquakes Vice President of Community Relations, said the Sept. 21 clinic is part of the team’s “Grow the Game” initiative that is underway in celebration of the team’s 50th anniversary.
“We’re happy to go to the greater reaches of the Bay Area and northern California to bring soccer in a way the community wants it,” Davis said. “What we did in connecting with the City of Gilroy is we found this is an amazing soccer community and one of the most tight knit that I’ve seen in the work that we’ve done.”
Some of the city’s elected officials also attended the Sept. 21 clinic to thank the Earthquakes and show support for more opportunities for youth soccer and similar activities locally.
“This demonstrates the commitment that the Quakes have to the community,” Gilroy City Council member Rebeca Armendariz said.. “We love them. They’re our local soccer team (and) this just tells us more about why.”
Mayor Marie Blankley noted that bringing more soccer brings more exercise, which is important in a community where resources for nutrition and health screenings are not as abundant as many other cities.
The clinic at South Valley Middle School also featured representatives and information from a number of community organizations including Valley Health Plan, CARAS, South County Youth Task Force, Gilroy Foundation, the Latino Family Fund, Gilroy Police and the Gilroy Fire Department.
Additional activities at the Sept. 21 event included free health screenings, soccer drills, face painting, balloon artists, food trucks and other vendors.
