Magic LIFE D WORDS BY ALEX HAVARDANSKY / PHOTOS BY ALEX HAVARDASKY
Looking To Make a Little‘ Magic’
New coach, AD hopes to bring a new attitude to GHS
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If you could go back to that younger you, with the journey that you ' ve been on, what would you say to him?"
That was the question that made new Greenville ISD athletic director and football coach Chris Castillo pause, cover his mouth, take a breath and offer a simple remark with a pair of tears slowly streaking down his face.
" Listen to your dad," Castillo said. " Just be patient, my dad would annoy me and say‘ you ' re alright, just be patient, it ' s gonna happen.’ That would be the one, just listen to him, he know ' s what he ' s talking about."
Castillo described both of his parents, Nick and Denise Castillo, as hardworking and compassionate parents who he credits as the sole reason he’ s in the position he ' s in today.
" I ' m here because of them," Castillo said. " A 5-foot-9 200-pound Mexican kid ain ' t supposed to play Division 2 football [ in college ]. It ' s just not supposed to happen. It doesn ' t happen without them telling you it can happen and what you realize is, especially doing this, not all parents tell their kids that stuff. That ' s kind of the role we take on, to let them know they can do whatever they want.
Castillo grew up in Palmdale, California and despite never being poor, the family did have hardships. Castillo ' s father ended up suffering a significant work-related injury that forced his mother into finding a job until her husband was healthy enough to return to work and had to put herself through college in
14 GREENVILLE LIFE