WALDORF, Md. — Julio Castro is bringing a new vision to the Westlake High School boys soccer program.
Castro enters his first season as the Wolverines’ head coach with an emphasis on fitness, player development and building a team that refuses to quit.
Although this is Castro’s first season at Westlake, he has previous coaching experience, including stops at Suitland High School and Douglas High School, as well as experience coaching travel and men’s teams. He stepped away from coaching for a period of time before returning to the sideline.
His return to coaching was partly motivated by a familiar face on the Westlake roster: his son.
Castro retired from the U.S. Capitol Police and saw an opportunity to coach his son, something he had never previously had the chance to do.
“I’ve never had the opportunity to coach him,” Castro told The BayNet. “So, I saw an opportunity to do so.”
Castro takes over a program that he said was rebuilding last season. While he was not with the team at the time, he believes Westlake has the potential to take a step forward this season.
“Expectations for this season is to do better than last season and to constantly improve one day, one game at a time,” Castro said.
That approach has carried into the first week of practice, where Castro has placed a strong emphasis on physical fitness and movement.
Soccer requires players to cover significant ground throughout a match, and Castro believes being physically prepared will be critical to the style of play he wants the Wolverines to establish.
“We definitely need to be in shape,” Castro said.
Fitness, however, is only one part of Castro’s plan.
He wants Westlake to develop an identity based on hard work, resilience and a high soccer IQ. For Castro, that means players being able to read the game and make decisions without constantly relying on instructions from the sideline.
Players will be expected to recognize when to make runs, find passing opportunities, move the ball effectively and adjust to opponents during matches.
Castro also wants to improve Westlake’s ball movement and encourage players to make more overlapping and horizontal runs rather than relying primarily on vertical movement.
The goal is to develop players who understand not only where the ball is but what is happening around them.
“As a coach, it’s all about player development,” Castro said. “And bringing the best of your players.”
Castro also hopes to create a structured environment similar to a college soccer program. His long-term vision includes developing younger players so they can grow into high-level varsity contributors by their junior and senior seasons.
Ideally, he would like the program to eventually have enough players to field freshman, JV and varsity teams. That would give players additional opportunities to develop and potentially move between levels as they progress.
Academics will also be part of that structure.
Castro said he wants his players to understand that success in high school soccer is about more than what happens on the field.
The Wolverines enter the season with what Castro considers one of their biggest strengths: numbers and the potential for growth. He has also been encouraged by the attitude of the players he inherited.
“They’re very, very hard-working and very eager to become a better team,” Castro said.
Castro knows the competition will be challenging. Based on his research, he expects the conference to feature teams across several levels, including established contenders.
Rather than focusing exclusively on the standings, however, Castro wants his players to concentrate on continuous improvement.
For him, a successful first season would be one in which the Wolverines can look back and see progress from one game to the next.
He would also like to see players take ownership of their development beyond the season by continuing to train, work out and look for opportunities to improve.
And Castro hopes the Westlake community will be along for the journey.
“The parents, we definitely, we love your support and we want your support,” Castro said. “And the fans, we hope we can produce for you.”
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