Pajaro Valley United player Aiden Gonzalez, 9, goes for the goal during a match on May 24. His team went on to beat North Coast FC 6-4. (Todd Guild/The Pajaronian) When Watsonville Mayor Maria Orozco was a student at Freedom Elementary School, she remembers running around the playing field, pock-marked as it was by holes […]
Pajaro Valley United player Aiden Gonzalez, 9, goes for the goal during a match on May 24. His team went on to beat North Coast FC 6-4. (Todd Guild/The Pajaronian)
When Watsonville Mayor Maria Orozco was a student at Freedom Elementary School, she remembers running around the playing field, pock-marked as it was by holes and other signs of age and wear.
“I remember dreading it, because when we were done, my knees used to hurt,” she told a crowd gathered at the school on May 24 to dedicate the school’s newly restored soccer field.
Named for Ken Morena—a longtime Driscoll’s employee whose service to the community was lauded during the afternoon gathering—the new facility has three fields, and can accommodate games with both 11 and 9 players.
Gina Castañeda, who leads the Aztecas Youth Soccer Academy, said her players found it difficult during practices to use the former field.
“It was uneven, full of gopher holes and the grass was just weeds,” she said.
The Ken Morena Soccer Complex boasts new fencing, a parking lot, new irrigation and soil and new grass.
Under an agreement with Pajaro Valley Unified School District, the Pajaro Valley United soccer club will keep the field maintained, Castañeda said.
Driscoll’s CEO Miles Reiter, who worked with Morena for five decades, described his friend as gracious, caring, thoughtful and authentic.
“…and a lot of times those qualities don’t come all together,” Reiter said.
“He took particular satisfaction in giving young people an opportunity,” he said. “That’s why I think this field of dreams out here is particularly appropriate for someone who made such a big difference in the lives of so many young people.”
Morena joined Driscoll’s in 1977 as assistant to the President, and was promoted to president two years later. He semi-retired in 1999.
During his time with the company, he encouraged employees to contribute to their community. He spearheaded the company’s first adopt-a-school program with Pajaro Middle School, for which employees would tutor students, perform minor maintenance projects and give class presentations.
He also encouraged Driscoll’s to create internships for Cabrillo and Hartnell college students.
After the 1995 floods he led efforts to keep employees working, as well as clean up and rebuild farms.
In a brief speech, Morena said he was humbled by the honor.
“I’ve always loved sports, played them when I was young and I watch them now,” he said. “I’ve always felt that the more time young people spend on a field such as this, the less time they’ll have to get in trouble, and I think that holds true today.”
North Coast FC player Adam Swistowski, 10, makes a play (Todd Guild/The Pajaronian)
Castañeda, who is a county probation officer, founded the Aztecas Youth Soccer Academy in 2008 for juvenile probationers who affiliate with both Norteño and Sureño gangs. The goal of that program was to steer those teens away from gangs and incarceration by connecting them with positive role models while using the beautiful game as an entry point.
She has also run seven annual soccer camps, serving more than 175 youths per year from South Santa Cruz County to North Monterey County.
She said that sports gives young people a pro-social activity.
“Every child you see on the field out there has a support person, has a coach, has a system of support, someone they can come to when they need help,” she said. “It’s an investment in kids’lives, especially in this community where there are no county or city parks. There is not a lot of programming for kids, and this elementary and middle school is surrounded by gang activity.”
The $469,000 project was funded by Driscoll’s and the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County, in addition to several private donors.
Trump administration removing 988 hotline service tailored to LGBTQ+ youth in July
The 988 National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline will stop providing tailored support options to LGBTQ+ youth and young adults on July 17, according to a statement on a federal agency’s website. The decision preempts the Trump administration’s 2026 budget proposal to cut funding for 988’s LGBTQ+ youth and young adult services, and is raising alarm […]
The 988 National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline will stop providing tailored support options to LGBTQ+ youth and young adults on July 17, according to a statement on a federal agency’s website.
The decision preempts the Trump administration’s 2026 budget proposal to cut funding for 988’s LGBTQ+ youth and young adult services, and is raising alarm bells among LGBTQ+ advocates.
Federal data shows the LGBTQ+ youth program has served nearly 1.3 million callers since it started in September 2022. The services were accessible under the “Press 3” option on the phone or by replying “PRIDE” via text.
__
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.
Mon 9AM | Are politics, parents and pressure pushing kids out of youth sports?
Dionne Koller visits the Exchange. She’s the author of a new book, “More Than Play: How Law, Policy, And Politics Shape American Youth Sport.” About the BookTens of millions of children in the United States participate in youth sport, a pastime widely believed to be part of a good childhood. Yet most children who enter […]
Dionne Koller visits the Exchange. She’s the author of a new book, “More Than Play: How Law, Policy, And Politics Shape American Youth Sport.”
About the Book Tens of millions of children in the United States participate in youth sport, a pastime widely believed to be part of a good childhood. Yet most children who enter youth sport are driven to quit by the time they enter adolescence, and many more are sidelined by its high financial burdens.
Until now, there has been little legal scholarly attention paid to youth sport or its reform. Dionne Koller sets the stage for a different approach by illuminating the law and policy assumptions supporting a model that puts children’s bodies to work in an activity that generates significant surplus value. In doing so, she identifies the wide array of beneficiaries who have a stake in a system that is much more than just play—and the political choices that protect these parties’ interests at children’s expense.
About the Author Dionne Koller is a law professor and Director of the Center-for-Sport and the Law at the University of Baltimore. In 2021 she was appointed to co-chair the Commission on the State of US Olympic and Paralympics. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and received the 2024 award for significant contributions to the field of sports law by the Association of American Law Schools.
Play like a Champion conference provides sports opportunities for all kids
SOUTH BEND, IN (WSBT) — The Play Like a Champion conference at the University of Notre Dame not only helps provide those resources, but it also connects coaches from all over. It’s a focus on providing equal sporting opportunities for all kids while also educating coaches on their role in a child’s life as mentors. […]
SOUTH BEND, IN (WSBT) — The Play Like a Champion conference at the University of Notre Dame not only helps provide those resources, but it also connects coaches from all over.
It’s a focus on providing equal sporting opportunities for all kids while also educating coaches on their role in a child’s life as mentors.
It’s a three-day conference that unites coaches from across the country to advocate for youth sports.
“As coach mentors, we’re coaching sports for kids, making sure it’s fun. And we are mentoring them. So, that what they learn in sports they can use for their lives and we can help them lead good lives and not just be good athletes,” said Clark Power, Play like a champion today founder,”
Organizers say it’s a community of coaches helping one another while bridging resources to reach all kids.
“We have an abundance of resources in South Bend but we don’t know how to share them as as well as we need to in the very near future,” said Clark Power.
But the common goal throughout the conference is that all children have the opportunity to be active and be part of a team.
“The thing about athletics, it’s not just for winning a championship for something. Sports is good and fun and its own right because kids just need to have fun and laugh and move their arms and things like that, And so that’s what we really want to do is make sure kids, irregardless of their ability to pay have the opportunity to play,” said Cauzae McCall, Michiana Academic and Recreation Association member.
Coaches were also educated on the importance of sports play in a child’s life.
“The way children develop as people, especially socially the way they develop as good children as good friends and then as good community members,” said Power.
It also brings awareness to what happens when kids don’t have a space for recreation and a space to play.
“That impacts their learning in school relationships, being bullied online all these things the lack of mentorship they don’t have a really strong support system at home or church or anything like that. And so, trying to bring the awareness of how much of an impact we can make collectively,” said McCall.
With the importance of sports in children’s lives, organizers just want to be able to provide recreational sports for every child in the community.
Photo Gallery: St. Aloysius summer sports camps – The Vicksburg Post
Photo Gallery: St. Aloysius summer sports camps Published 2:53 pm Friday, June 20, 2025 1 of 15 Lawson Skipper runs with the football during the St. Aloysius youth football camp Monday at Farrell Stadium. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post) Kimberly Nippes hits the volleyball during the St. Aloysius youth volleyball camp Monday in the school’s gym. […]
Lawson Skipper runs with the football during the St. Aloysius youth football camp Monday at Farrell Stadium. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)
Kimberly Nippes hits the volleyball during the St. Aloysius youth volleyball camp Monday in the school’s gym. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)
Caroline Dornbusch follows through after hitting the volleyball during the St. Aloysius youth volleyball camp Monday in the school’s gym. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)
Joe Robert, top, takes a break alongside several St. Aloysius football players at the school’s youth football camp. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)
Kai Goodman, left, looks to throw a pass during the St. Aloysius youth football camp Monday at Farrell Stadium. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)
Kai Goodman throws a pass during the St. Aloysius youth football camp Monday at Farrell Stadium. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)
Iris Fletcher hits the volleyball during the St. Aloysius youth volleyball camp Monday in the school’s gym. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)
Scarlett Coutch hits the volleyball during the St. Aloysius youth volleyball camp Monday in the school’s gym. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)
Daniel Waring runs with the football after intercepting a pass during the St. Aloysius youth football camp Monday at Farrell Stadium. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)
A group of young football players all try to catch a pass during St. Aloysius’ youth football camp Monday at Farrell Stadium. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)
St. Aloysius football player JR Reeder throws a pass during the team’s youth camp Monday at Farrell Stadium. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)
Kennedy Maples hits the volleyball during the St. Aloysius youth volleyball camp Monday in the school’s gym. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)
Piper Keyes hits the volleyball during the St. Aloysius youth volleyball camp Monday in the school’s gym. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)
Benjamin Ponder, ullen Bounds and Owen Martin stand together for a photo at the St. Aloysius youth football camp. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)
St. Aloysius volleyball players and campers pose together for a photo during the school’s youth volleyball camp on Monday. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)
June is camp season at St. Aloysius, as the school hosts five fun summer youth sports camps.
The season started this week with the football camp at Farrell Stadium and the volleyball camp in the St. Al gym. Nearly 40 children in grades 1-6 attended the two camps and got instruction from St. Al players and coaches.
The sessions will move off campus next week for the softball and baseball camps.
The softball camp is scheduled for June 23-27 at the Betty Hearn Foley complex on Bazinsky Road. The camp is for players entering grades 1-6 in the fall and will run from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on June 23 and 27, and from 1 to 4 p.m. on June 24-26.
The cost of the camp is $100 and includes a daily snack. Walk-up registration is welcome. For more information, email St. Al coach Mike Foley at mike.foley@vicksburgcatholic.org.
The baseball camp is June 23-25 at Bazinsky Field, from 5 to 7 p.m. each day. It is for players in grades 1-6, and the cost is $100..
The cheer and Flashette kiddie camp is Aug. 9, from 9 a.m. to noon in the St. Al gym. It is for girls in Pre-K through sixth grade, and the cost is $75.
Online registration for all of the camps is available through GoFan.co.
About Ernest Bowker
Ernest Bowker is The Vicksburg Post’s sports editor. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post’s sports staff since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper’s 140-year history. The New Jersey native is a graduate of LSU. In his career, he has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Associated Press for his coverage of local sports in Vicksburg.
FAIRMONT– Due to an extreme heat warning forecasted for this afternoon, and out of an abundance of caution for the health and safety of the participants, spectators, and volunteers, the decision to cancel today’s Fairmont Youth Triathlon has been made. However, hard work is still being celebrated with a pool part from 4 to 6 […]
FAIRMONT– Due to an extreme heat warning forecasted for this afternoon, and out of an abundance of caution for the health and safety of the participants, spectators, and volunteers, the decision to cancel today’s Fairmont Youth Triathlon has been made.
However, hard work is still being celebrated with a pool part from 4 to 6 p.m. at the
Fairmont Aquatic Park. There race bags and t-shirts will be available for pickup and will be mailed to participants who cannot make it.
O’Scoops Food Truck will still be on site with sweet treats and snacks and Marty C. Pig will be there as well.
The Fairmont Youth Triathlon Team thanks everyone for their understanding and is looking forward to seeing many at the pool.
WELCOME — An American Red Cross blood drive will be today, June 20, at the Fairmont American Legion, and on June …
The Sentinel is excited to announce a new readers’ choice contest, Best of the Best in Greater Martin County, in …
FAIRMONT— Due to an extreme heat warning forecasted for this afternoon, and out of an abundance of caution for …
WELCOME — The Welcome City Council met on Tuesday evening. The council approved the water rate increase as read …
