Valley Christian welcomes in 49ers, football lovers with Down syndrome at Football Camp for the Stars

SAN JOSE - For 20 years, former Valley Christian football coach Mike Machado has brought dozens of football lovers with Down syndrome to San Jose for a two-day football camp.

It's a labor of love, "an authentic football experience," as he describes it, that traces its roots back to his time teaching at Saratoga High decades ago.

"When you come across people who are different, don’t ignore them," Machado said. "Get to know them. It will enhance your life."

That ethos has permeated Valley Christian's Football Camp for the Stars, which Machado started in 2007, for decades. And the energy was palpable as the Warriors hosted their 20th annual camp last weekend on the football field at their Skyway campus, bringing together VC football players and other athletes at the school, 62 players with Down syndrome and Valley cheerleaders to continue a tradition that has become a featured event on the summer calendar at VC.

And that's not all. Five 49ers players – offensive linemen Isaac Alarcon, Austen Pleasants, Nick Zakelj, Carver Willis and Enrique Cruz – showed up on Friday to help run the players through drills and answer questions during a Q&A session.

The queries ran the gamut from lighthearted quips about Alarcon's number – 67 – and how long they had played with San Francisco to a thoughtful question from a camper named Trevor about what the Niners would be doing if they weren't playing football.

"That’s a very good question, bro," Alarcon said. "I don’t know. Helping with my family, enjoying my time. I studied mechanical engineering, so I'd be doing something like that."

The campers didn’t want to be anywhere else. Neither did Machado.

"Steve Mariucci is the one that told me when I started, he said, ‘Coach, there’s nothing like this anywhere in the country,'" Machado recounted. "I said, ‘Steve, the country is a pretty big place. That’s hard to believe.' Sure enough, he was right."

Machado first got to know young people with Down syndrome when he taught and coached at Saratoga, when he coached a young Kyle Shanahan and led the Falcons to the Central Coast Section Division IV championship in 1996.

While at Saratoga, he worked with students with developmental disabilities and had some of them join his football and baseball teams as managers.

When he went to Valley Christian in 1997, he didn't know if he'd cross paths with any kids who had developmental disabilities at the San Jose private school. Then he met Andrew Watson, the son of Valley Christian board members Pam and Rick Watson, who became VC's team manager for 26 years.

Andrew Watson, who has Down syndrome, was a camper and an inspiration to generations of Valley Christian players. He now lives in Florida, but Pam still helps run the camp.

Former VC star Collin Johnson, who led multiple drills at last week's camp, said the campers have touched his heart through the years, which is a big reason he continues to return.

"He had a significant impact in my life," Johnson said of Andrew. "But there are a ton of other campers I could mention by name. Trevor Lucken, he went to my signing day here when I signed to the University of Texas. I still have that photo to this day. We stayed in contact ever since, he texts me probably like every month, so it’s a real relationship."

Johnson, who retired from the NFL after a six-year career to pursue an MBA at MIT, was one of several counselors on the field with pro football experience.

There was Mariucci, who coached the 49ers from 1997-2022, as well as the quintet of current Niners, who took part in leading tackling, catching and throwing drills.

The 49ers have deep roots with the Valley Christian program. Machado not only coached Shanahan but also the sons of former Niners coaches Mariucci, Mike Nolan and Mike Singletary.

Alarcon, a native of Mexico who is the 49ers' International Pathway Program player, took a particular interest, spiking the football after some of his assigned campers practiced making diving catches onto a pad.

"It's great," Alarcon said of the event. "The kids are super pumped."

"Kid" is a relative term at Football Camp for the Stars. Though all the participants are certainly young at heart, their ages have ranged from 12 to 50 over the years, and Machado noted participants have come from as far as Pennsylvania and Hawaii.

As Machado chatted with various campers toward the end of Friday's session – including one young man who may or may not have swiped a plastic spray bottle in the midday heat – you could tell why he started the camp.

The roots grew at Saratoga when he worked with those in his Special Day Class and realized how much he enjoyed being around and helping them.

He also realized just how much they give back to those who spend time with them. It's the reason he's determined to keep the camp running despite stepping down as football coach after last season.

"I wanted our football players, who are the buddies, to understand that people are different, and just because they are doesn’t mean you ignore them," Machado said. "And I wanted the Down syndrome kids to have a chance to be the ones on the field, not the ones rooting for the guys on the field. That was my motivation."

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This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 7:13 AM.