CHULA VISTA (KGTV) — Nearly 100 teenage girls are taking the field at Southwestern College this week for camp 'Let's Go South Bay,' a free soccer camp focused on empowerment, alongside athletic skills.
The camp serves girls ages 13 to 15 in the South Bay area and runs through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
"It really is about creating a space, an environment for these young girls to grow and learn and leave this camp on Friday feeling empowered and ready to go," Carolina Soto, a camp board member and soccer coach at Southwestern College, said.
The camp is free, made possible through soccer superstar Alex Morgan's Foundation.
Eliminating the financial barrier is a goal shared by both Morgan's Foundation and the camp. Soto recalled one mother's gratefulness who broke down in tears when her daughter joined camp this season.
"Everybody deserves that access, especially here in the South Bay. They're going through so many different changes and developmental growth. We see a lot of burnout during this age, where girls are quitting the sports they used to play," Soto said. "This is why we do what we do."
For 13-year-old Maya Ortiz, attending camp for the first time was an easy decision.
"I want to be a professional soccer player for sure, and for me, I want to not only be the best, but through that I want to show people love, support," Ortiz said.
Ortiz said the camp's mental health classes are also making an impression on her, and the nonprofit Wishwell is behind the mental health lessons.
"Our role here is to really infuse a deep sense of belonging, focusing on mental health," Verenice Hernandez Herrera, founder and CEO of Wishwell Counseling and Empowerment Coaching Center, said.
In addition to on-field training, the girls spent time in a classroom setting working through drills focused on self-esteem and where to direct their energy.
"We got to see the actual growth," Hernandez Herrera said. "How did we do that? By helping them identify their own strength."
The effectiveness of the counseling at camp is something Coach Michelle Posada also found value in. She has been coaching at the camp for four years and believes breaking down barriers is central to the program's mission.
"It's something that I wish I had when I was younger," Posada said. "Taking up that space as a Latina and being a woman or a girl is really, really important here."
Volunteer coach Kaelyna Hussey, who was once a camper herself, also returned this season because of the program's lasting impact.
"I got to better myself as a player and better my mental health in the classroom," Hussey said.
