SAN JOSE, Calif. – As part of their 50th anniversary season, the San Jose Earthquakes have announced a new initiative, Grow the Game: Next 50, aimed at growing soccer at the grassroots level as the club embarks on their next 50 years. The purpose of the Quakes’ efforts is to make the sport more accessible across Northern California through coaching education, partnerships with youth soccer organizations and local municipalities, clinics, camps, and capital projects.
The initiative will commence with 10 events around the City of San José, starting with a Soccer Celebration Kickoff in East San Jose at Foxdale Village Apartments with District 5 Councilmember Peter Ortiz on Friday, April 5.The club’s grassroots team will be on hand to provide a soccer skills challenge, face-painting, a Quakes player locker display, and giveaways for over 50 kids. Overall, the Quakes plan to engage with more than 50 other cities around the region to grow the sport in 2024 and the next half-century.
Leading up to the project as it kicks into gear, the club has already been active in a variety of events in 2024. On February 10, the Quakes supported the grand opening of La Bombonera, a new indoor futsal court in San Leandro with over 200 community members in attendance. Prior to the team’s home opener on March 1, Quakes midfielder Edwyn Mendoza ran a soccer skills challenge at Katherine Smith Elementary School in his native East San Jose neighborhood during the City of San José’s latest Viva Parks Night. That same week, Quakes players including MLS All-Star Cristian Espinoza and staff visited McKinley Elementary School to team up with national nonprofit America SCORES and donate 150 soccer balls.
“The Earthquakes and the Quakes Foundation are so excited to help grow the game here in San Jose and Northern California over the next 50 years,” said Robert Davis, Earthquakes VP of Community Relations. “Our presence and collaboration with local stakeholders, including local government, nonprofits, and youth organizations will allow us to help make the beautiful game more accessible to everyone in the community we love.”
Under the Grow the Game initiative, the Quakes have built the following programming:
District Events in San Jose
The Earthquakes will partner with the City of San Jose on events in every district in the City through the Viva Parks program, a series of free events hosted by San José Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood services that activate our local neighborhood parks and promote community engagement with safe and fun activities, focusing on health, wellness, and physical activity. The Quakes will bring soccer to these events throughout the year, as well as free clinics around San Jose.
Coaching Education
The Earthquakes launched the Community Coaching Course in 2023, partnering with the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) to build a diverse pipeline of local youth soccer coaches from underserved, underrepresented communities. Members of the cohort of coaches build their technical coaching skills and their sports-based youth development toolbox while receiving help from the Quakes in their licensing journeys. The coaches not only learn valuable technical and tactical education, but also spend time learning PCA concepts during the program. The 2024 edition of the program has been expanded to a class of 30 coaches and will continue to grow in the coming years. To learn more, click here.
Partnerships with Youth Soccer
The Earthquakes will continue their partnership with Cal North and MLS GO, the league’s recreational youth soccer program. PayPal Park features a Cal North Hall of Fame plaque in between sections 110 and 111 to celebrate the individuals who have made outstanding contributions to youth soccer as players, coaches, referees, and administrators. In addition, the Quakes will be organizing several 4v4 soccer tournaments in conjunction with Cal North at PayPal Park’s mini-pitch, Thrive Court, presented by Kaiser Permanente, as well as other free soccer events for kids. In the past year, the club has supported Sheriffs FC and other youth soccer clubs in San Leandro, including putting on a community futsal tournament at the Sunset Futsal Courts.
Northern California Engagement
Beginning last year, the Earthquakes focused their efforts on a number of Northern California communities with large-scale soccer events. In Salinas, the Quakes hosted a friendly between Earthquakes II and Monterey Bay FC 2 called the Salinas Classic and engaged with over 20 small businesses in the city alone. Since 2019, the Quakes have partnered with Chevron and Alianza de Fútbol to put on the Chevron Soccer Academy, a free two-day camp that serves over 100-150 kids and includes potential trials with pro scouts. In Morgan Hill, the Earthquakes broke the GUINNESS WORLD RECORD™ for largest soccer lesson on June 3, 2023, coaching 965 people during a single session. Additionally, the Quakes’ Street Team powered by Ford and soccer coaches had a ubiquitous presence in NorCal, bringing soccer activities to over 100 events in 2023 and will attend more than 200 events in 2024 in 50 different zip codes around Northern California.
Capital Projects
The Earthquakes are investing money with Chevron to create a community turf field in Monterey County. Up the coast, the Salinas Regional Soccer Complex is scheduled to enjoy several infrastructure additions, new benches, and new shade structures for fans for approximately 5,000 local youth soccer players. Across the Bay in San Leandro, the La Bombonera indoor soccer facility opened earlier this month to provide the local residents with much-needed access to a new field, as well as the unveiling of the sixth Quakes-themed mural in NorCal – part of the club’s 50 Murals public arts project in NorCal slated for completion before the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Finally, the Quakes, the County of Santa Clara, and the City of San Jose are working together in a joint agreement to develop four public, lighted, world-class turf soccer fields on the County’s Fairgrounds property.
Camps
The Quakes will continue to conduct youth soccer camps this summer, including free camp options to help expand the accessibility of the sport for those without access to organized training. Investing in the next generation of Northern California soccer, the camps will allow young athletes to practice the fundamentals and develop their skills.
