New plan
Uniontown grad Castor hopes to get Falcons back on track
Brownsville’s football program has struggled mightily in recent years and hasn’t had much stability at the head coaching position.
A year ago, the Falcons’ third as an independent, David Martin III began the season as coach and former coach Von Braddock stepped back in on an interim basis to finish it. The Falcons have thus had four head coaches in the last four years.
Cody Castor hopes to change all that.
The 2008 Uniontown graduate was recently hired as the newest coach at Brownsville.
“I think they’ve dealt with a great bit of change,” said Castor, a Penn State graduate who played four years with the Nittany Lions. “They haven’t had a lot of consistency. I’m hoping to bring that, and with that, improvement each year.”
Castor has already met the players and began implementing his program.
“We’re just trying to teach kids the right way to do things,” Castor said. “It’s all about our actions being intentional and forming great habits.”
Castor has already seen interest in the football team rise.
“People close to me and around me tell me it’s a situation where it’s going to take time to fix,” Castor said. “But I intend to work hard to give them the best I can right away and they’ve really taken well to that in the weight room.
“In my short time with the program we’ve grown in the weight room. We started with around four kids who would stay after school and we’ve had as many as 16 or 17 sometimes, probably a consistent group of about 12 this summer.
“It’s trying to give those kids quality instruction, trying to share some of the lifting I did at Penn State with them. For example, not only doing the power lifting but also how to work mobility into it so as to get the most out of it, so you’re able to move your body and not just be strong.”
Wins have been hard to come by for the Falcons. Brownsville was winless last season and had one win during the 2023 season under Skooter Roebuck to snap a 33-game losing streak.
Castor is confident he can get the program back on track.
“I am,” he said. “I think they like to learn. They’re really hungry kids who are excited for a good opportunity that stands in front of them. I think that’s helped to build more participation.”
Castor has been working on communicating with the players.
“We talk before lifting and after lifting and we’ve had some Saturday workouts where we try to come together and provide them with good messages,” he said. “The goals of the program are to try to make really good men and good people, and then good football comes from that, people who care about their work, who are accountable and responsible. It’s not a whole lot of sexy talk, it’s just kind of old-school family, faith and football and trying to be competitive. Iron sharpens iron is another thing we’re trying to build into the kids.
“I’ve been telling them they need to rise up, it’s time for them to stand up and represent the program and their community as best they can. We’re trying to put the things around them to support them as best as we can on our end of it.”
Castor has already run into a few minor obstacles he’s worked around.
“We’ve got our gym floor being remodeled right now so Coach Braddock is letting the kids use the West Brownsville gym so a thank you to him for that and for helping the program stay around with his efforts in transition last year,” said Castor who has already lined up several assistant coaches.
“I have started to put my staff together. Bill Rouse, Jeremy Orie, Ken Silva, and I’ve added some young names I’m really excited about. Amonti Marsh, who’s a Brownsville athlete, and Damani Stafford, are two, and Stephen Boone is going to remain on the staff. Nick Seto is going to help out with us also.”
The 34-year-old Castor, the son of Christopher and Terri Castor, played on the defensive and offensive lines and at tight end for the Red Raiders under John Fortugna.
“Great man,” Castor said of Fortugna. “He showed me what it meant to be dedicated to coaching a group of young men and showing strength and toughness. He was quite often doing the workouts with us high school players, and just as well if not better than most of us. He definitely set a high standard.
“I’m still very happy whenever I get to see him to this very day.”
Castor, who played under the late Joe Paterno for three years and under Bill O’Brien for one while with the Nittany Lions, got into coaching while he was at Penn State.
“I helped out at Penn State with spring ball after I graduated while I was student teaching,” Castor pointed out. “I coached at Berwick High School where I was teaching for the last 11 years prior to this year. I coached at the middle school and varsity level for probably a collection of five years.
“I’ve also coached three years at Bloomsburg University in the PSAC. That was a great experience. I spent time with the defensive line and one with the outside linebackers. That experience helped tremendously because not only are you looking at the position you’re coaching, you have to understand how every piece of it fits together. I see how that helped me grow and to learn more about defensive schemes of the game of football.
“This last year I volunteered with Laurel Highlands, so I’ve got about nine years of coaching experience.”
Brownsville will be Castor’s first head coaching job but he feels ready for the challenge.
“The last couple years I’ve started to wonder if I’d be able to structure a whole program or not,” Castor said. “I’m now confident I can. I’ve tried to put together the best resources and have good conversations with other people I’ve coached with.
“I think we have a lot of the right information for these kids. It’s trying to bolster their confidence and support. I feel we have a lot of really good ideas ready to go and want to give them clear instruction.”
Castor has felt welcome at Brownsville.
“Internally, I see a lot of amazing people,” Castor said. “Our superintendent Dr. (Kristin) Martin has been extremely helpful. Mr. (athletic director Jim) Barak has been very helpful also, communicating different things with me about the program to get me rolling. We’ve had a lot of cooperation among the coaches. I’m actually going to be on Mr. (Joe) Hough’s coaching staff for the boys basketball team. Even the teachers have been very kind to me here.”
The Falcons’ schedule for the upcoming season is still in flux but Castor hopes to play 10 games. Castor noted that one of those will be early in the season at Uniontown when, ironically, his dad will be honored and inducted into the Uniontown High School Hall of Fame as part of the 1975 Red Raiders WPIAL championship basketball team.
“I’m sure that will be memorable,” Castor said.
“My perspective is to put the kids in games they can be competitive in and to come out of them feeling they’re growing and competing and getting better. The more games the better for the kids in my opinion. What kid doesn’t like to play games? And also hopefully it gives some of them a chance to put some film of themselves out there if they decide they want to play at the next level.”
Castor is determined to make the Falcons relevant in football once again.
“The goal is to change the perception of Brownsville,” Castor said. “As I try to ask these kids to be competitive, I’m going to be as competitive as I can be, too.”