Pro-Com Athletics and Activities League
Giving Troubled Kids
a Sporting Chance
Written By Jordan Rosenfeld
S
anta Clara County Probation Officer Jennifer
Daughenbaugh knows firsthand the positive benefits
of playing team sports as a volleyball player and sports
lover—sports bring camaraderie, discipline, learning to
get along with others, and to bounce back from hard knocks.
She also knows that the kids she has worked with in her 23-year
career—many of whom have been sent into the juvenile justice
system after being expelled from schools for truancy, behavioral
issues, and gang-related participation— rarely have the luxury of
reaping these benefits of sports.
In 2005 she tossed out the idea that sports would be a great
way to keep these kids active and focused in school. She told
TODAY , “We put these kids in continuation school where
the school day is shorter, where there are no extra-curriculars,
and expect them to stay motivated?” .
She and several other colleagues informally arranged to
have kids from Santa Clara County continuation schools play
basketball against each other under the name Pro-Com Athletics
and Activities League. Probation staff volunteered as referees,
schools provided PE equipment, and a friend in San Jose’s
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recreation department loaned her its youth gym every Friday
during game season.
The early games were such a success that they soon added
some volleyball and softball, though she said, “basketball is
the anchor.”
What began as just an idea quickly picked up speed when
everyone saw how much the kids thrived. “Our kids don’t set
goals for a whole semester; they are short term. If they come
to school every day that week and behave and act respectful,
they get to play on Fridays,” she said.
A story in the San Jose Mercury News brought an upswing
of attention and donations, more volunteer coaches and
referees; and physical donations of food and water for
tournaments; and a second gym, Wheeler Gym in Gilroy.
“Probation doesn’t always get positive press, and neither do
these kids, so it was a really great story,” she reminisced.
There are now seven teams that play four games on
Fridays, ten weeks out of the year.
Her own department soon realized the power of the
program and threw in money for uniforms and equipment,
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2018
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