Dublin ISD’s new athletic director and head football coach Greg Hardcastle is ending his first month in the position by leading the 7-on-7 Dublin Lions in their state tournament appearance at Texas A&M today and tomorrow.
Hardcastle took the reins from Bob Cervetto when Cervetto officially retired on June 1.
Coach Hardcastle (known as Coach Castle to many in the program) has been an educator for 31 years and a coach for 30. He started at Alvarado before transferring to Stephenville in 1992.
“I’ve been fortunate,” Hardcastle said in reference to the many successes he has seen as coach. “My second year [at Stephenville], we won the state championship. We won four while I was there.”
“When [Stephenville] hired me, they said I was going to be the head soccer coach,” he remembered. “I never played soccer before. I learned as we went.”
He still got to turn around the struggling program with the assistance of several team members who had been playing for years. It was Hardcastle’s third year in the program and the first time the school’s soccer team made the playoffs.
Hardcastle was able to participate in turning around another struggling program when he came to Dublin.
Cervetto had endorsed the new AD personally as the pair had worked together at Stephenville and Cervetto brought him over when he took on the AD position in 2011.
“We’ve got great kids [in Dublin],” said Hardcastle. “They’ve really responded well over the past 10 years in building the program.”
The past decade has been littered with playoff appearances by Dublin teams, and it stems from a rigorous training program which saw as many as 130 athletes attend strength and conditioning last summer.
Hardcastle also credits the support of the school, parents and community at large as well as upgraded facilities in building a sense of pride that drives athletes to strive for their best.
The program also encourages all coaches and programs to coordinate and help each other. Hardcastle is appreciative of all of the coaches he’s worked with at Dublin and although the 2021-2022 school year is one of transition, he’s looking forward to working with his crew in the fall.
This includes Tommy Simmons as head girls basketball coach, Wes Grisham as head boys basketball coach, Kaitlyn Embrey as head volleyball coach, Tommy Zmeskal as head softball coach, Scott Mitchell as head baseball coach and coach Wes Benfer.
“We’ve got a few spots to fill,” he said. “We’re looking forward to those people stepping in and continuing to grow our programs.”
Hardcastle added that his fellow coaches do a great job in working with and supporting their players.
Harcastle admits that there were a few stumbles the past year due to COVID complications and a large number of injuries.
“We want to step back in the right direction,” he said, while offering that quarantine and other situations resulted in a lot of underclassmen getting varsity experience.
Hardcastle has seen the performance of his 7 on 7 team as a promise of good things to come.
The Lions have appeared in three qualifier tournaments, earning their state spot after going undefeated in the first. This month, the team has been keeping sharp with weekly games against Brownwood, Hamilton, Hico and Comanche.
The league is not school sponsored, but the team features many members of the Dublin Lion JV and varsity teams. Harcastle said the 7 on 7 season offers a chance for his players to work on coverage since there are no linemen on the field.
This has provided some valuable experience for quarterback Chris Teten and receivers to grow into their roles while the whole team is getting more field practice in the summer months.
Hardcastle said one of the hardest parts of this week’s tournament is not being able to study who they’ll be playing, but the coaches are just urging players to play their best.
The coach and AD said he is grateful to the parents for organizing fundraising for the state tournament appearance and the community and local businesses for being so giving in their sponsorships.
Hardcastle said he is grateful for the support he has enjoyed in his career, especially that given by his wife of 31 years, Terri, and their daughters.
“I’m excited to get into the next season and see where everything goes,” he said.