In 2023, the Alameda County Probation Department invited DSAL to provide fitness training to minors detained in the County’s secure Juvenile Hall detention facility.
The Juvenile Justice Center (JJC) is a temporary holding facility for minors awaiting court and is operated in accordance with California standards, which require academic programming, medical and behavioral health care, health and wellness programming, organized recreation, and other services facilitated by nonprofit community-based organizations.
As an organization focused on enhancing the lives of area residents to improve public safety, we were eager to play this role and grateful that one of our newest coaches, Miguel Binion, was willing to accept the assignment.
DSAL: When did you join the DSAL team?
Miguel: February 16, 2023, was my first day on the job.
DSAL: Where did you grow up, and how did you become a coach?
Miguel: I am a military baby. My family is from Cleveland, Ohio. My dad wanted to get his family out of Cleveland, so he joined the navy and got shipped to San Diego. That is how our California journey began. From San Diego, we got moved up north to Moffett Field, and I have been in the Bay Area ever since.
DSAL: How did you get to be a coach?
Miguel: I used to be short and kind of chubby, and I had these thick glasses. People made fun of me. To combat that, my mom signed me up for football. It changed my life. Eventually, I had a growth spurt and lost weight. Then, after I aged out of Pop Warner football, which is age specific, the coaches allowed me to be on the sideline to be a helping hand.I’ve worked with at-risk youth, coached football and soccer, and I’ve coached a bunch of sports I haven’t played, but I can see the mechanics and how something is supposed to be done, and I am able to communicate that at a high efficiency. I guess coaching has come very naturally to me.
DSAL: What brought you to DSAL?
Miguel: I will be brutally honest; my father had just passed away. I really wasn’t doing anything—I guess I was mourning. A friend of mine was DSAL’s Athletic Director at the time. He knew I needed an opportunity to get on my feet. When a position opened up at DSAL, he told me to apply. I applied, knocked out the interview, and here I am.
DSAL: Describe your work at the JJC.
Miguel: My job is to go into the units and facilitate large muscle exercise with youth who want to participate. We do things like high intensity interval training, for example 100 pushups in 5 minutes, 100 sit ups in 5 minutes, 100 squats in 5 minutes. We’ll run for 20 minutes. We’ll do flights of stairs—whatever I can do to keep the young men busy, sweating, and not thinking about the time they are serving.
DSAL: How old are the kids?
Miguel: It varies from 13 to 24. There are units with younger kids and units with older kids, and Unit 5 is for serious crimes.
DSAL: How do you approach the work?
Miguel: I don’t just facilitate large muscle exercise. It took me about 8 months to develop my approach and build relationships with the young men. It’s a little bit of listening, some exercise tips, and then just making small talk. Being an authority figure who is not telling them what to do can go a long way. I go in everyday with a blank slate.Don’t get me wrong, it was intimidating at first. I have to keep in mind that there is no such thing as a bad kid. I just tell myself; they are youth. I’m 43 years old. One of these kids can easily be mine. Would I give up on him or her? No, I wouldn’t. So, I am not about to give up on these kids. I just try to be the best part of their day.
DSAL: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Miguel: When I first got this job, I thought that I would go into the units teaching the kids about adulthood, how to be a man, etc. but it’s really been them teaching me. The young men are not their charges. Circumstances and situations make a lot of our choices difficult. I am not excusing what any of the young men have done. But it has made it a lot easier for me to understand where someone with no options is coming from. They have grown on me a lot.
Passionate about fitness and positive change? Join our team of Fitness Coaches for young justice-involved individuals at the Juvenile Justice Center and change your community for the better!
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