Afew little tips that I can offer on the casting are, don't try to throw the line with the rod. Start the motion fomr a slow start and accellerate through to a fast stop. Also alot of beginners have a habit of sropping their back cast, make sure you keep an eye on it, I hear alot of people say 10:00 and 2:00 positions but end up in 9:00 and 3:00. It's really more like 11:00 and 1:00.
If you watch the loop you make while casting it will tell you alot, if it's a big 6ft or larger loop then you are flopping the rod to far, it should be fairly small loop and be kept moving almost paralel to the ground.
Practice with about 20ft or so of line out of the rod tip. Practice with that amount until you can keep it under control. For most the best you're gonna be able to cast the line is about 40 or so ft. After that you will need to learn how to haul the line, that's where the left hand gets put to work, and things get fun
I forgot to add, timing and form are the most important thing, never try to use more muscle it will just go bad. At least not until you get good.