What is a Lakelander?
Bill Castle
Photography by Jordan Randall
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
Coach 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.
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“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.
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“To be honest with you I would like to see it slow down and just keep improving what we have.”
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