Player Bio

The Coloradical Freestyle team was nearly perfectly constructed. Bill Wright acted as the Team Captain and chief choreographer. Doug Branigan was the high flying dynamo. And Rick Castiglia was the technician. Together the worked closely to develop their craft redefining the Co-op division. When Rick moved to San Diego in 1984, he took that knowledge and experience and applied it to his newly constructed team “Art of Disc” with Joel Rogers and the young Dave Schiller. With Rick’s leadership they continued to push the envelope of the Co-op division. On top of that, Rick applied himself to creating new standards of play in the Mixed Division with Stacy (Anderson) McCarthy.

Rick “Casio” Castiglia was the consummate Professional Freestyler. As a member of the Coloradicals he quickly became accustomed to winning and playing at a very high level. He continued this tradition when he moved to San Diego in 1984. At that time, San Diego was the Mecca for Freestyle with more than a dozen top-flight jammers living in the area and easily another 2 dozen quality players. Being able to play fill time, Rick’s quality of play increased dramatically. Soon enough, he was the best player on the planet. Despite being a native counter player, he mastered clock as well which helped him become a complete player. He could riff counter with ease and riff clock almost as well. The same went for his brushing and roll games. He simply had no weakness. Rick was also one of the very first individuals who embraced the concept of ‘flowing-consecutivity’ as a high minded ideal. He was also one of the only top players who continued to develop his speed-flow game. During his time in San Diego, he served as captain of the new “Art of Disc” team with Joel Rogers and Dave Schiller, helping to guide them to two prestigious US Open Co-op titles. He was also one of the original Elite Open Division players to fully embrace the Mixed Division when he teamed up with Stacy (Anderson) McCarthy. Rick’s ascension also coincided with the blossoming of Freestyle play in general. He rode that wave of explosive popularity with elan, finding inspiration wherever he could find it and re-crafting it as his own. He was also a highly influential player. Every player who watched him play found something in his game that they could use as their own. His creative process and ability to discern subtleties made his one of the greatest players of all time.

Career Highlights

• 1980 Rose Bowl Champion (Wright/Branigan)
• 1981 FPA Co-op Champion (Wright/Branigan)
• 1983 World Disc Champion (Branigan)
• 1984 Open World Indoor Champion (Wright/Branigan)
• 1986 Mixed World Indoor Champion (Anderson-McCarthy)
• 1984 US Open Champion (Wright/Branigan)
• 1985 US Open Champion (Wright/Branigan)
• 1988 US Open Champion (Wright/Hubbard)
• 1989 FPA Co-op Champion (Schiller/Rogers)
• 1990 FPA Co-op Champion (Schiller/Rogers)
• 1990 FPA Mixed Champion (Anderson-McCarthy)

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