After two decades of coaching college football at all levels, Paul Castonia has enjoyed his most successful seasons in 2007 and 2008 at Plymouth State.  He has re-established PSU as one of the dominant programs in New England small college football and a yearly challenger for the New England Football Conference championship.

            Now is his seventh year at PSU, Castonia has helped the Panthers work their way up the ladder. After a winless first season in 2003 and a 9-19 record over the next three years, Castonia led PSU to back-to-back championship seasons in 2007 and 2008.

            The Panthers posted a 9-1 overall record in 2007 with a second-place finish in the Boyd Division of the NEFC and a championship victory in the ECAC North Atlantic Bowl. They followed that up with a 10-2 mark in 2008, including the Bogan Division title (7-0), the NEFC Championship and a berth in the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.

            Castonia was recognized by being named NEFC Boyd Division Coach of the Year in 2007 and New England Division II/III Coach of the Year in 2008.  They were well-deserved honors for Castonia, who had long paid his dues with coaching stints at Divisions 1-A, 1-AA, 2 and 3.

            When Castonia took over in 2003 as the 11th head football coach in the program's history, he was well prepared for the job, with previous coaching stops at the University of Rhode Island, University of Maryland, Hartwick College, Ferrum College, the University of Massachusetts Boston and Bryant University.

            The Panthers have shown progress every season since Castonia arrived, and have built a solid foundation for success.  But Coach Castonia is about more than wins and losses.  While the Panthers no doubt aim to having a winning program year in and year out, being good students and quality citizens are equally as important.

            "We recruit young men who want to graduate, and who are willing to work hard to be successful in the classroom and on the football field," says Castonia, a 1986 graduate of Trinity College (Conn.) who earned a Master's degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1989.  "We try to put them in a position to succeed both as students and as football players."

            Castonia says the biggest rewards for him don't come on Saturdays in the fall, but on graduation day in the spring.

            "It's very gratifying when a guy graduates and is excited about pursuing his chosen career," says Castonia, "and he is using the habits and lessons he learned and developed on the football field in those endeavors."

            Coach Castonia, 44, and his wife Leslie reside in Ashland.          

            Coach Castonia can be contacted at (603) 535-2760 or pfcastonia@plymouth.edu