Dale Castro (born November 26, 1959) is a former American college and professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and coach. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the University of Maryland as a record-setting

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

and

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. Castro had a brief professional career in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

, and then spent two decades coaching

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

Early life and college

Castro was born in 1959 and grew up in

Shady Side, Maryland Shady Side is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 5,803 at the 2010 census. History In the 1790s the area was known as the Great Swamp. Among the his ...

. He attended the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

with the intention of earning a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

as a baseball

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

, but contracted

mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adu ...

during his first semester which caused him to miss the try-outs. After he recuperated, Castro decided to try out for the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

as a

walk-on Walk On may refer to: Music Albums * ''Walk On'' (Boston album) or the title song, 1994 * ''Walk On'' (John Hiatt album) or the title song, 1995 * ''Walk On'' (Randy Johnston album) or the title song, 1992 *''Walk On'', by Kellie Coffey, 200 ...

, a position he had played in high school. During his sophomore year, he was offered a scholarship. He joined another Maryland walk-on that season who gained national recognition, Charlie Wysocki, who was the nation's rushing leader in 1979. In 1979, Castro tied the NCAA record for most

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

s in a half, with four against

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

. In the fourth quarter of that game, he made a fifth field goal. He set a then-NCAA record when he made his first 16 field goal attempts. In total, he made 17 field goals during the season. Castro was named a consensus first-team

by the NCAA selectors: the

Walter Camp Football Foundation The Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF) is one of the organizations whose College Football All-America Team is recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit ...

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Football Writers Association of America The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...

, and ''

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''. He concluded his collegiate career in 1980, and as the end of 2008 season, he remains the school's fourth-ranked player in career punting yards (8,584), seventh-ranked in field goal percentage (69.2%), and tenth-ranked in career field goals (27).

Professional career

Drafted and then cut by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

after the 1981 pre-season, Castro had a tryout with the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

in 1982. In 1983, he played for the

Washington Federals Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A m ...

in the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

. He recorded three field goals on six attempts and two extra points on three attempts. He also played one season in the

for the

Washington Commandos The Washington Commandos were an arena football team based in Fairfax, Virginia. The Commandos were founded in 1987 and were an inaugural member of the Arena Football League (AFL), and were based in Landover, Maryland. After not playing during ...

in 1987. That season, he made 12 field goals on 21 attempts and 16 extra points on 31 attempts and was named Second Team

All-Arena An All-Arena Team, an all-star team consisting of the best players of their position was selected every season in the Arena Football League (AFL). Teams * 1987 All-Arena Team, 1987 * 1988 All-Arena Team, 1988 * 1989 All-Arena Team, 1989 * 1990 Al ...

. From 1981 to 1986, he served as an assistant coach at Southern High School in

Anne Arundel County, Maryland Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, Mar ...

. From 1987 to 1989, he was the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

for

DuVal High School Duval High School was a government-funded co-educational bi-modal partially academically selective and comprehensive secondary day school, located in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1974, the school enrolled approximately ...

Prince George's County, Maryland Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County or PG) is located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it ...

. In 1990, Castro was hired as an assistant coach at

High Point High School High Point High School (HPHS) is a public high school located in Beltsville, an unincorporated section of Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The school, serving children in grades 9 through 12, is part of the Prince George's Co ...

. He served as High Point's head football coach for the next 12 years, and also as its baseball coach. He resigned in 2001 in order to take some time off from coaching, but remained at his position in the school's guidance department. In 2003, Castro left High Point to become the head football coach at Annapolis High School. He resigned after one season when he could not secure a full-time position as a guidance counselor at the school. Castro said, "I think the Annapolis High football program needs a coach who works in the building. The kids deserve a full-time coach." In 2009, he was inducted into the

University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame The University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 1982 by the M Club Foundation to honor student-athletes, coaches, and administrators who made significant contributions to athletics at the University of Maryland, College Park, U ...

. In 1997, he was inducted into the Anne Arundel County Sports Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castro, Dale 1959 births Living people All-American college football players American football placekickers American football punters High school football coaches in Maryland Maryland Terrapins football players Players of American football from Anne Arundel County, Maryland Washington Commandos players