Dale Castro (born November 26, 1959) is a former American college and professional football player and coach. He played college football for the University of Maryland as a record-setting placekicker and All-American. Castro had a brief professional career in the Arena Football League, and then spent two decades coaching high school football.
Castro was born in 1959[1] and grew up in Shady Side, Maryland. He attended the University of Maryland with the intention of earning a scholarship as a baseball pitcher, but contracted mononucleosis during his first semester which caused him to miss the try-outs. After he recuperated, Castro decided to try out for the football team as a walk-on placekicker, 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.[2]
In 1979, Castro tied the NCAA record for most field goals in a half, with four against Mississippi State. In the fourth quarter of that game, he made a fifth field goal.[2] 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.[3] Castro was named a consensus first-team All-American by the NCAA selectors: the Walter Camp Football Foundation, United Press International, Football Writers Association of America, and The Sporting News.[4] 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).[3]
Drafted and then cut by the Dallas Cowboys after the 1981 pre-season, Castro had a tryout with the Seattle Seahawks in 1982.[5][6] In 1983, he played for the Washington Federals in the United States Football League. He recorded three field goals on six attempts and two extra points on three attempts.[7] He also played one season in the Arena Football League for the Washington Commandos in 1987.[8] That season, he made 12 field goals on 21 attempts and 16 extra points on 31 attempts.[1]
From 1981 to 1986, he served as an assistant coach at Southern High School in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.[9] From 1987 to 1989, he was the offensive coordinator for DuVal High School in Prince George's County, Maryland.[10] In 1990, Castro was hired as an assistant coach at High Point High School.[11] He served as High Point's head football coach for the next 12 years,[9] and also as its baseball coach.[12] He resigned in 2001 in order to take some time off from coaching, but remained at his position in the school's guidance department.[9]
In 2003, Castro left High Point to become the head football coach at Annapolis High School.[13] 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."[14] In 2009, he was inducted into the University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame.[3] In 1997, he was inducted into the Anne Arundel County Sports Hall of Fame.[15]
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