Sharyland student to play soccer overseas in national program

MISSION - A shy smile widened across Joshua Castille's face.

Just moments before, the 14-year-old had declared himself a "decent athlete all around."

When pressed, though, the shy smile emerged. He hung his head slightly in humbleness and embarrassment.

Then he quietly admitted he might be a little better than a "decent athlete all around."

To this day, the eighth grader doesn't know who recommended him for the national People to People student sports ambassador program. But thanks to that someone, Joshua will be playing soccer and touring Vienna, Austria, this summer.

Former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower started the program in 1956 to encourage U.S. students to visit other countries and bridge across different cultures.

"It's cool to see new people," said Joshua, a student at B.L. Gray Junior High School in Sharyland. "Where they are from, what they do, what it's like being over there..."

Joshua is one of 200 soccer players slated to head over to Austria at the end of June. There are 1,000 students nationwide from ages 11 to 18 that are traveling to the country to play in sports. Students are recommended for the program by other students, teachers or coaches. Students' families pay for the trips themselves.

Ron Goddard, senior program director for the People to People program, could not specify how many recommendations the organization received.

Joshua and his family, who are all soccer fans, moved to the Rio Grande Valley about three years ago from Louisiana. The family flew to England last year to watch a few soccer games.

He realized when he turned seven or eight that he had a natural talent for soccer.

"I wanted to play all the time," he said. "I was one of the best ones on the team and I didn't practice all the time. I just comes naturally. I am just one of those people."

Joshua said when his family found out in February he had been accepted, they all started jumping on him, congratulating him. Then his father started buying new soccer jerseys for him to wear this summer.

Joshua still has some time to decide where he wants to go to college, but he knows he wants to get a scholarship to play somewhere. And he said he has the grades to help get him there - straight As.

"I have a good attitude toward soccer," he said. "I like to play the game. I think I am a decent athlete all around and I just have a passion for the game."