Despite the fact that ELL and Spanish teacher Ricardo Castro teaches doesn’t stop him from being a successful swimming coach for the freshman/sophomore girls’ swimming team.

“There is definitely a time management challenge. As I take on more responsibilities, it becomes necessary to become more disciplined when it comes to organizing my time with family, grading and lesson planning. I thank Coach Toler, Jensen and Tom for supporting the team in different ways as this new team transitions,” Castro said.

As the year continues, the swimming team is really looking forward to this school year with such great ideas.”I am really looking forward to our new after school practice times. We are doing a lot of team building, fundraising and swimming simulations in order to continue to build up this new group of girls. It is really exciting to see that many of our new team members were unable to swim a lap, and now they are competing in many events.”

With the progression of the season, Castro is encouraged to see how the girls beat their previous race times.

“In addition, I am enthusiastic about having our swimmers participate in Water Polo later this year as they continue to build their endurance. I think that we as a school embody diverse unity, and this is reflected in the swim team,” Castro said.

He believes he connects to Latino students as a Spanish for Native Speakers teacher. His circle of influence revolves around our Latino population, and this has brought many of his previous students to the team this year.

He also gives credit to the other members of the team. “I really want to give a shout-out to the older swimmers that are making our younger members feel welcomed and helping them become stronger swimmers,” Castro said.