R.E.I.N.A.S. Women’s Health Fair to spotlight young athletes in Salinas Valley.

The inaugural R.E.I.N.A.S. Women’s Health Fair will take place on Saturday, Sept. 12 from 11 am-1pm at the Salinas Regional Soccer Complex, showcasing both community health resources and the voices of young women from across the Salinas Valley.

The fair is the culmination of a 10-week summer program for high school girls that blended soccer training with leadership and wellness education. Each week, the girls spent an hour in the classroom and an hour on the field, learning skills that go beyond the game.

“It’s not only focused on-the-field improvement, but really off-the-field as well—everything from public speaking to leadership to how to take care of your body, injury prevention, etc.” says Jonathan De Anda, general manager of the Salinas Regional Soccer Complex.

The program is a partnership between the Salinas Regional Soccer Complex and Reborn Fit, Inc., a local business run by two brothers, Hugo and Miguel Gonzales, both with college degrees in physical therapy. Hugo also serves as the Hartnell College women’s soccer head coach.

The participants were nominated by high school coaches and athletic directors from throughout the Salinas Valley, including Soledad and Greenfield. Each girl will present capstone projects at the fair, sharing what they’ve learned about women’s health.

Palma School freshmen, Arianna Acebedo, 14, says she was nominated by her school soccer head coach Amy Dill.

“My capstone project is about emotional health regulation during [any] game and how some players get in their heads, and how you can control that by talking to your teammates, realizing that we all make mistakes, and just being able to overcome that decision making in the field with all the pressure,” Acebedo says.

Acebedo has been playing flag football, soccer and wrestling since middle school and adds how she enjoyed meeting other high school girls throughout Salinas Valley and learning about injury prevention in sports.

“People should come out because we are talking about a lot of topics that may be important to their athletes. Like as a coach or as a parent, it is important to know the eating habits, what goes on in a player's head,” Acebedo says.

Local partners such as Salinas Valley Health will be on hand with information and resources, and a free 45-minute Pilates session will be led by an instructor.

De Anda hopes this first R.E.I.N.A.S. fair will become an annual tradition.