A Lakelander for 51 years | Head coach of Lakeland High School football since 1976 | 11th winningest high school coach in the history of football in America

C oach Castle was inducted in the Florida High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2002 – and 20 years later he is still piling up wins and giving locals something to cheer about on Friday nights.

Castle has coached and won more games than all other Dreadnaught coaches combined in the history of the program, and a 60-game win streak and seven state titles are among the most notable achievements by his teams.

He was born and raised in Hendersonville, Tenn. but the special players he has had the opportunity to coach and a community of people he calls “so friendly” have turned him into a Lakelander for life.

“I love going downtown on Saturday’s, after football season, with my wife, taking our two Jack Russell [Terriers] and walking around the farmer’s market and having lunch somewhere downtown,” he says.

He describes a Lakelander as “someone who likes to be active” and who truly enjoys living in-between two large metro areas full of opportunity.   

He acknowledges the city of nearly 115,000 people is a different version of the place that was home to around 45,000 residents when he moved here. 

“To be honest with you I would like to see it slow down and just keep improving what we have.”

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