Dennis Castillo recently made his first start with the Rapids in a 3–1 win over the Seattle Sounders on April 23, notching the first assist of his career. This week, it was announced that Castillo would be loaned along with Zach Pfeffer to the Rapids' USL affiliate Charlotte Independence.
Ahead of the start of the 2016 MLS regular season, Castillo talked with Richard Clarke about what he did when he found out he was getting drafted, the increasing popularity of soccer in his native Costa Rica and much more.
(Editor's note: The following question and answer sessions have been edited for length and clarity.)
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Richard Clarke:Tell us your draft day story.
Dennis Castillo: I was by myself in my room. A friend of mine at VCU went on break with his family and he let me stay at his apartment. I watched the first round then I got too nervous and couldn’t watch, so I told my dad and my family back home to let me know what happens. I was going to grab food because I was hungry and as I was about to pay I got the call. Then, my phone started going off.
RC: What were you eating?
DC: It was a kebab place. I was going to get a shawarma sandwich, something real quick and then it happened.
RC:What did you do when you found out?
DC: My agent called me and my coach called me, and then Pablo called me as well. A week after that, I was in Denver. I just packed my things up which, pretty much everything was ready to leave - I was ready to leave and that was it. I was ready to move on.
RC:How has your time been so far with the club?
DC: I was telling some of the guys here that I couldn’t ask for a better position to land in after college. It’s a great group of guys. Very humble, very level-headed. Like you maybe have heard, there aren’t a lot of big egos around so that’s great. It’s very healthy for a team. I’m very happy running and taking it one day at a time.
RC:There’s still work to be done though, isn’t there?
DC: There’s plenty of work to be done. I keep telling people from home, it’s just one step. Nothing has been said yet. It’s one more step that of course you have to acknowledge as much as you can and go from there. Nothing is sure. Everything is in the air, that’s why every day is very, very important. You can’t take a day for granted.
RC:What was your highlight from college?
DC: I guess we didn’t win many titles, but we had some big games against top-ranked teams. We were ranked some years higher, some years lower, but it was a good experience overall. How I see it is, I got what I needed to get: my education. That was the whole point of it, and, of course, that you’re put in a position to step into the professional world in soccer. So I got what I needed to get from it and I moved on.
RC:What has led to the upswing in soccer in Costa Rica?
DC: I think a big part of it is that some players have realized the difference between the top level and the Central American level or the Costa Rican level sometimes is in your mindset. We have had plenty of players in the past years that have made the step to Europe. Those experiences have carried back to coaches and clubs back home so there is a little bit of a culture change in soccer. That’s why you see more Costa Rican players out in Europe playing in great leagues, and I think that’s showing off in the national team.
RC:Is your goal just to get signed on a permanent basis?
DC: Yeah, picturing that is unbelievable. Like I told you, I couldn’t have asked to land in a better position. I cannot pick any other words.
