Southwestern Christian University
NAIA • Sooner
Date: September 25, 2023
Would Recommend
Tags
Coach Juan De Dios Castillo isn’t’ a perfect man but he did teach me what not to do as a college coach. I am currently a college coach and all the things I went through at that program was toxic. Like everyone has said he does have his favorites but the way he handled it was unprofessional. I was a favorite of his and I was promised so much by this coach but was let down too many times. From a kid coming from nothing he took me in and called me a “daughter”. I trusted him with a lot of personal information and he was there until I didn’t follow how he lead. A good leader will represent what they preach and he isn’t a man that does that. He hates DRAMA is what I’ve read but that is a lie. He fed into the drama of the team. What I mean is he would create the separations on the team. He would talk so much crap about players to other players. I eventually started to realize some of the toxic things he would say or do and tried to avoid it as much as possible. Instead of going to him about things I needed to improve on I went to our assistant. Let me tell you he did not like that and he made it his mission to bring me down. My goal was to focus on getting my degree as I was the first generation to get my bachelors in my family and was so close to getting out of SCU with my degree. It did not happen at SCU and I ended up playing somewhere else. When I finally got out of SCU and found another school to play for and finish out he tried to ruin my character to other college coaches. It was frustrating because he is a grown man and it felt like he wanted to see me fail. That fueled me to be better than him and instead of bashing his name I used him as someone that I didn’t want to become. Learning to be a college coach takes knowledge of the game but it also takes you being a good person towards EVERYONE that is on your team. The culture of SCU as a college is hypocritical not only the soccer program but the school as well. The school itself was really good at taking money and not telling you what it was for. They robbed me of 3 classes as I was thought to graduate on time but my advisor did not do her job. She insisted of creating courses and telling her students to take them because she said we needed it for our degree. Not only did I get robbed at the education piece, I also wasted my soccer talent. I would of never went to SCU if I wasn’t promised by Juan that he could take me to the next level in soccer. God put me through this path to learn what not do and be as a college coach. Their is no regret because of what I learned but if you are looking into this school make sure you ask about the education piece. Also, make sure the scholarship he gives you stays consistent through out the years. My scholarship that was given to me was not accurate the years I was there. He promises so much but does not fulfill anything that he says he will do for you. I am speaking the truth and just want players that are thinking of going to this school to realize that you can find better. You can find a school that will truly care for your education and a coach that stays true to his word and follows his own expectations. The community at SCU is toxic all around and you deserve better as a College Athlete. I hope this helps future athletes looking into this school.