There’s a New Sheriff in Town
With the start of the regular season fast approaching we here at Gang Green thought it would be a great time to introduce you to one of the new arrivals into the Vermont Green family. Jackson Castro will be spending his first ever summer in Vermont and is part of the “Creighton Pipeline” that has seen MANY talented players head north and spend quality time at Virtue Field.
We hope you enjoy the conversation!
What is your soccer origin story, how did you get into the game?
My dad played pro in Chile, Germany, and the United States while my mom played at the top level available for women in the US at the time, so I was born into a family where that was really the only path I could've taken. I played my whole youth career with Solar SC in Dallas, Texas.
Vermont Green has already formed a strong connection with Creighton, with many players spending the summer in Vermont over these past two years. When did you first hear about our team and what made you want to play here?
I first heard about Vermont when Owen O'malley and my roommate Miguel Ventura played there two years ago. They said it was the best summer they've had and I saw clips of the fans and thought it looked amazing.
What do you bring to the pitch in terms of playing style?
My playing style is about creating for my team. I play in between lines, I turn quickly, I can dribble past or play around defenders and set my teammates up with goal scoring chances. I also create a lot of chances for myself. My finishing was poor last fall season, which is why my goal scoring numbers dropped, but I'm working on that and I'll be scoring a lot this summer.
Is there anything in particular former Vermont Green players have mentioned about the experience that you are most looking forward to?
My teammates mentioned the beach that they go to all the time after practices and they mentioned how high level the team is because of the talent the team recruits. My main focus is improving myself, so I know a group of top level players will do that for me, but I'm also looking to have an enjoyable summer and the beach sounds like a fun place to do that.
What are your hopes or ambitions for your soccer career? Do you want to go pro?
My goal is to go pro after this last season of college soccer. Since I'm a senior, it's my last chance to make the most of my opportunities. My biggest goal is to make the World Cup roster in 2026. Whether that's realistic or not, I know there is a path there where it's possible and I might as well shoot as high as possible and try the best I can to achieve it.
Vermont Green FC has made no bones about the fact that it is a team with a very defined climate justice and social justice mission. Is this something that helped your decision to come play here?
It's not something that helped my decision to go to Vermont. I was focused on soccer itself, how much I'll enjoy the summer, and the atmosphere at games when making my decision to come. I think it's really impressive that the club and its fans feel so strongly about these causes and I think it's important for programs and for individual people to have a bigger purpose, though, and not only play soccer for themselves.
Is there anything non soccer related that you are looking forward to doing in Vermont?
Looking forward to going to the beach and hanging out with my teammates throughout the summer. I won't know a ton of guys going into the summer, so I'm looking forward to meeting a bunch of new people.
Thanks again to Jackson and UTFG!