SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — It’s 6:45 on a Thursday evening, and 10-year-old Jose Romero starts running laps with his soccer team around the gym at the recreation center.

Romero’s a defender on an American Youth Soccer Organization team. He also participated in baseball before he started his soccer season.

But if it weren’t for Sports Connection, Romero couldn’t have done any of these things.

Sports Connection started in June 2007 to help children in South Lake Tahoe overcome financial, language and transportation barriers to participating in activities, said organizer Amy Jackson.

Now Sports Connection serves approximately 55 youths, and the number is growing, Jackson said.

The activities vary. Participants can choose from Marcia Sarosik Dance Studio, AYSO, South Lake Tahoe Little League, Corey Escobar Martial Arts, Yasmin Sayed art lessons, boxing, music and a bike shop, Jackson said.

Sports Connection works in conjunction with the Police Athletic League and the Youth Task Force — a group of community members and representatives of various organizations with the mission to provide safe, positive alternative activities for South Shore youth.

Romero’s presence is an asset to the soccer team, said assistant coach Loreen Sanchez. He brings laughter to the team, and he’s also a good player, she added.

“He has that natural ability and he’s a good kid,” Sanchez said. “He’s come a long way since he first started.”

But kids don’t get all of this for nothing. Another part of the program is that participants have to keep their grades up.

“I have to have good grades, be good, no fights and be respectful,” Romero said.

Romero said he his grades are all C’s except for one B.

The program benefits the whole family and not just the kids. Johana Gonzalez has twin 9-year-old daughters in dance classes and on basketball teams because of Sports Connection.

“I want them to look forward to something, and grow up in a healthy environment,” Gonzalez said. “I didn’t have this opportunity as a kid, so I want my kids be involved.”

Gonzalez’s daughters like participating in dance and basketball. They practice their dance moves at home, she said.

Sports Connection serves youths in kindergarten through high school, but the focus is on early intervention, Jackson said. Many of the participants are referrals from elementary schools, community members or older siblings.

Once a child is signed up through Sports Connection and is placed on a team, the program helps meet equipment and transportation needs for the child.

Many groups that run activities offer scholarship rates for Sports Connection participants, and community members sponsor kids financially, Jackson said.

Most sponsors remain anonymous, but some like to attend games the kids play in, Jackson said.

Some people in town gave Sports Connection scholarships for Christmas gifts this year, some sponsor kids in the memory of some who has died, and others give up a bad habit and put the money toward a scholarship, Jackson said.

The El Dorado Community Foundation awarded the program a grant, and Jackson has applied for grants from other service organizations.

Businesses also pitch in to help. For example, Booster Juice is running monthly equipment drives, and Fox Gasoline is donating gas cards to help with transportation.