Coach Castellano: The Team As Family

John Castellano has been coaching Nyack High School's football team for 23 years.

Over his two-decade career, he's won 177 games. And since 2000, his team has won five sectional titles and two state championships.

What's his strategy?

Castellano's priority as a coach is to make his team a family—he notes that the key to a good football team is chemistry. On the field, he places a strong emphasis on teamwork, explaining that even athletes of average ability can be successful when they work for one another.

"No player can give 100 percent every time," he said. "But when one player is only giving 80 percent, another player is giving 120 percent to make up for it."

This sense of togetherness extends beyond the players.

"I try to involve everyone in our program," Castellano said. "The players, the parents, the school and the community."

Castellano cited ways that the football program has brought the community together—from former players returning to help the team practice to Nyack residents attending Friday night games.

"Nyack becomes exciting around football season," Castellano explained. "Football has become part of what Nyack is about."

And as Nyack comes together to rally around its team, Castellano has gotten team members to be active in the community. Players volunteer in churches and soup kitchens. After 9/11, the team collected food and clothing for victims.

"I want them to understand that when they give to the community, the community gives back," Castellano said.

Castellano's own family has been involved with his team, too. His wife Donna holds dinners for the players and cheers them on from the sidelines; both of his daughters have worked as watergirls and statisticians; his son has been a waterboy, a ballboy and now plays for the team.

(Also: Nyack High School recently hired his daughter Erica as a math teacher, continuing the legacy of a family that has made a strong impact on their community.)

For Donna Castellano, it's rewarding knowing the students that her husband coaches.

"When my husband talks about one of his players, I know who that player is," she explained.  "I've met him."

In addition to supporting her husband, Donna Castellano serves as co-president for the Red and Black Club, an athletic booster club that holds dinners, hosts concession stands and gives scholarships to student athletes. She is also a member of Inspire Nyack, which fundraises for education purposes.

John Castellano's own involvement in Nyack goes beyond coaching. For ten years, he served as dean of students, getting to know all the students, and not just the athletes. He currently works as an academic student mentor, aiding students balance academic work with extracurricular activities.

And while Castellano stresses the importance of family and community, he also recognizes the importance of individual achievement.

"For me, it's not about wins and losses—it's about working with young adults and turning them into men," he explained. "It doesn't matter what they end up doing; what matters is that they're happy and successful."

For all his wins, Castellano's biggest victory is when his players use what he taught them on the field to become the men they are now.

"If I've done that, then I've done my job," he said.