Retired California detective Jon Castellano isn’t ready to completely stop patrolling one beat.

His passion for coaching and guiding young athletes started in the late 1970s and continues to this day. When he settled in the far West Valley about three years ago after his wife received a promotion and transferred jobs, Castellano resumed coaching.

During his search for a better practice facility for a club basketball team, he came across Buckeye’s Odyssey Institute. Once Odyssey and Castellano got acquainted, the school asked him if he’d be interested in coaching the football team.

At 55 years old and filled with loads of life lessons, Castellano became a head football coach for the first time. The marriage so far seems to be blossoming, as Odyssey, the only unbeaten team in the 3A Conference, is 4-0 in its honeymoon season with Castellano.

The coach expects an all-out effort from his kids and himself. He implemented an offseason regimen, which is paying dividends this season late in games, and also helped boost the program’s war chest to purchase the extras teams crave for.

“Since I was 18 years old, I’ve always wanted to make life better for kids,” Castellano said.

But Odyssey got a packaged deal when Castellano came on board.

His daughter, Nicole, transferred from Verrado, where the 5-feet-11 swing player was a first-team all-region basketball player.

(The Castellanos, Jon and daughter Nicole.)

She also used to play with a high level club soccer team in California, where her dad kept his foot in coaching as an assistant while working. Thanks to soccer, Nicole is flexing her strong right foot to boot extra points for Odyssey.

The kick could have been good from at least 40 yards. Nicole decided to give football a try this year for the first time.

But one big piece was already in place at Odyssey, junior running back Chris Weaver, the state’s second leading rusher.

“We have the hardest working kids,” Castellanos said. “They are respectful and work their butts off. We’ve faced adversity and been down two or three games and don’t give up.”

The same can be said of Castellano, a former SWAT and undercover officer.

But when it comes to his police work, starting a Police Activities League chapter in Ventura, Calif. for at risk youths and implementing a peer counselling program for officers who experienced tragic events in the line of duty is what he is most proud of, he said.

Even while serving his community, Castellano was also playing. He was his team’s quarterback in a national law enforcement league.

(Odyssey Institute football coach Jon Castellanos used to sling it for his law enforcement team in California. Photo courtesy of Castellanos.)

When he moved to Buckeye, Castellano reconnected with a player he coached against in high school, Joe Martinez, the former head coach at Willow Canyon, where Castellano assisted. Castellano also reconnected with a former baseball player he coached in California, John Snyder, who pitched in the Big Leagues for five years and also lives in the West Valley.

Snyder is now assisting Castellano, and Snyder’s son, Carson, is Odyssey’s quarterback. Carson is 6-3, and the junior is in his first season playing under center after transferring from Shadow Ridge.

Another Shadow Ridge transfer, linebacker Teryn Bland, is expected to contribute a lot after sitting the first five games out. With only five seniors on the roster and a handful of two-way players, Odyssey can use the extra bodies.

But so far so good for one of the big surprises in the 2018 Arizona high school football season and its dedicated coach.