COLD LAKE - When Edgar de Castro arrived in Cold Lake in 2010 from the Philippines, he didn’t expect that one day he'd be coaching kids, organizing tournaments, and officiating swim meets - all as a volunteer.
But now, 14 years later, he is known fondly in the community as Coach Eddie. He has become a familiar face in gyms, fields, pools, and at local tournaments.
"I'm working for the City as an equipment operator," de Castro said. But long before machinery and work boots, he was known for something else.
“Way back home, I was a sports science teacher, and I'm a coach. So, I'm involved in sports,” he explained. "When I first came here in 2010, I wanted to teach, but the problem was I had to go back to school first."
Like many newcomers, de Castro faced the pressures of providing for his family.
“Back then, I had to pay bills. I said, ‘I don't want to go back to school for a year because I'm paying bills, cars, etc. when I got here’.”
Still, opportunity found him.
“That time, 2010, in Cold Lake, they were looking for more volunteers for coaching, refereeing, stuff like that,” he said. “That's why I said at least I could still use my knowledge . . . coaching and refereeing.”
His first volunteer experience in Cold Lake was as an assistant coach with Cold Lake Minor Soccer and at a soccer camp on the military base. Over time, his volunteer work grew to include coaching basketball, filling a gap in the community where no club programs existed.
He didn’t just coach, he built a community.
"Whenever there's a program where I can help, we get involved. Since my background is in sports, the first thing I started doing was organizing tournaments - spring, winter, summer, and inter-city events."
The coach sometimes faces challenges with the basketball program, mainly due to a lack of a dedicated venue. He offers coaching for free, and many of the kids he works with can’t afford other sports like hockey, making basketball their only option.
Despite the hurdles, he persists, often driving kids to cities like Edmonton, Calgary, and Grande Prairie for tournament play.
He has also volunteered in the Lakeland as a referee for both soccer and basketball and even officiates for the Cold Lake Marlins swim club.
“I’m a coach there too, but they pay me to do coaching. The volunteer part is when they’re holding a kind of mini tournament here, sometimes I do the officials there,” explains de Castro.
He finds fulfillment in seeing the kids he coaches grow and succeed, especially when they go from being unsure, to becoming starters on their school teams. Their progress motivates him, and he sees coaching as his true passion, driven by a desire to help youth reach their goals.
And he has no illusions about what it takes to be a good volunteer.
“For volunteering, one thing that I learned is you need to be more patient - and then once you start it, don't give up. Because sometimes it can be a challenge.”
He believes the heart of volunteering lies not in recognition, but in the quiet impact.
“If you want to help, it's there . . . Volunteer because you love it,” he said, and not for the recognition.
His message to others is simple: “For me, if you want to volunteer, and that's your passion, go for it.”
National Volunteer Week ran from April 27 to May 3.
