From a jab to serving the ball, to touchdowns and baskets. Sophomore Joel Castillo has become a versatile athlete.

Castillo started off boxing throughout middle school, but once high school started he saw it as an opportunity to get involved in a diversity of sports.

“As a freshman I knew to invest my time more to school,” Castillo said.

With that in mind, he quit boxing to be committed to nothing but school and sports it provides. Castillo’s first sport as an incoming freshman was football, which led to basketball, then eventually tennis. And since then he has continued with the same three sports.

“It keeps me busy and out of trouble.”

As a freshman, Castillo picked up tennis fast, earning the starting spot on the top three doubles team. “I was the only freshman who made a spot, I believe,” he said.

Although he managed to get through each season with no troubles, this basketball season Castillo had to undergo septum surgery.

“I couldn’t breathe through one side of my nose and always had problems with it.”

From being hit so much on the nose during boxing, overtime Castillo developed nose issues. The surgery took place two days before JV’s basketball Ripon tournament.

“I felt like I disappointed the team,” he said. “The fact that I was out for a week was horrible.” After the long week of recovering, Castillo came back working his hardest to make up for what he felt he needed to.

Castillo hopes to continue his athletic lifestyle with his remaining years of high school and even get a sports scholarship to college.

“Any sport, I’ll go to the next level,” he said. “I’ll do any sports that offers me a scholarship.”

Castillo hopes to give back to his parents by making them proud and not making them pay for any of his tuition.

“They’ve done so much for me, it’s the least I can invest my time in.”