Silent Champion

Kristy Mangos Arizona Daily Wildcat Carla Garrett, UA's assistant strength trainer, spots women's basketball player Lakeisha Taylor during a routine strength building exercise. Garrett conditions members of the UA's softball, men's tennis, and women's basketball and volleyball teams.

However, ask either one of these athletes who should take the credit for much of their success and they will point to a woman standing in the shadows, Carla Garrett.

Though her name might not be familiar to the general public, this UA assistant strength and conditioning coach comes highly regarded by the athletes she trains.

Pineda, a third baseman on UA's softball team, said she would not be hitting home runs if it was not for Garrett helping her increase her strength and speed.

Salave'a agrees.

"When I succeed, it's just a reflection of Carla," the former defensive lineman said.

Perhaps they know she leads by example. After all, Garrett, who has held her current position for nearly four years, had some success as an athlete herself.

As a Wildcat track and field thrower from 1985-89, Garrett defined excellence. This 10-time All-America in the discus and shot put events was the first UA woman to win a Pacific 10 Conference title, which she claimed in both events her senior year.

She won all three women's NCAA throwing events - the indoor shot put and outdoor shot put and discus - in 1989.

Although Garrett's collegiate success earned her a place in UA's Hall of Fame, she said the pinnacle of her career was qualifying for a trip to Barcelona, Spain's 1992 Summer Olympics.

Garrett will not soon forget her trials performance, which landed her a spot on the Olympic discus team.

"I was in sixth place going into the last throw and I was the last athlete up," Garrett recalled. "When I heard the announcer say 6-0 (meters), I looked up at my mom and Meg (Ritchie, her strength coach while at UA) and I threw my arms up in the air."

Garrett ended up finishing second at the trials in New Orleans, which was good enough for a berth to the Summer Games.

"That moment was more unbelievable than actually walking into the stadium in Barcelona," she said.

Garrett credits Ritchie with teaching her that being big was not necessarily bad.

"I think people are intimidated by my size," the 5-foot-9, 218-pounder said. "They can't see past the outside. I was always picked first for sports but everything else I was left out. If it wasn't for athletics, it would have been really hard."

It was Ritchie who also encouraged Garrett to try power lifting. As a rookie in international weightlifting competition in 1993, Garrett took home five silver medals and one bronze at the World Championships.

Though Garrett could be dubbed one of the strongest women in the world, she said it is her mother who has been the true strength in her life.

"My dad (former pro football player Carl Garrett) gave me the genes for athletics (but) my mom is the one who inspires me because she taught me about sacrifice," Garrett said as tears swelled in her eyes. "She was always there for me whether it was the smallest competition when I was nine or the Olympics. She is the true strong woman."

Now Garrett is in the position to motivate and encourage others.

She can be seen in the northwest corner of McKale Center during virtually every volleyball and women's basketball game, cheering on the teams and ranting at the refs. However, coaches believe her training technique is the most significant contribution Garrett makes to their players' success.

"She's a very integral part of the conditioning and psychological aspects of the team. She pushes players more than I can and drives them beyond limits they set for themselves," head volleyball coach Dave Rubio said.

In addition to working with UA's volleyball and women's basketball teams, Garrett trains softball and men's tennis. She also assists any other UA athlete seeking a "power-cleaning" program, which is an intense weight training workout.

Garrett coached Salave'a for two weeks as he prepared for the NFL Combines earlier this month.

"She worked with (former UA football player) Frank Middleton and now he plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I figure working with her is the best way I know how to prepare for these combines because she gives 100 percent commitment to helping me achieve my goal," Salave'a said.

And commitment is all Garrett asks of her athletes in return.

Most of them say getting motivated for conditioning is the most difficult aspect of being a UA athlete. Yet Garrett seems to find a way of bringing out the best in those she coaches.

"Nobody else can get you willing to give 100 percent at 6 a.m. in the morning," said DeAngela Minter, a guard on UA's women's basketball team.

Garrett believes she has this impact because she knows what it is like to be an athlete. She expects only the best from those she trains because she asked that from herself.

"I can never hear, 'you don't know how I feel' because there is nothing they can feel that I haven't been through," she said.

However, her perspective about training has changed since she crossed over from athlete to coach.

"As an athlete, you tend to just look at the present. You can't see what a hard workout means in the long run," Garrett said. "As a trainer, I can appreciate that what they are doing now is just a step to something six months down the line. It took becoming a coach to realize that."

Her athletes obviously trust Garrett's demanding style.

"It's either her way or the highway and I have no problem with her way," Salave'a said.

Yet there seems to be something about Garrett's influence that extends deeper than being able to relate to her players on an athletic scale.

Spending every day with them has placed her in a counselor position as well, serving as a listener and advisor. As a result, athletes like Salave'a have a respect for Garrett the person, not just the athlete/trainer.

Garrett said it is all in the job description and that she takes pride in what she does because she cares about her work. The benefits come, not in trophies or records for herself anymore, but in the successes of the athletes.

"The reward for me is when someone says after a big win 'now I know what all that pain was about.' They include me in their victories too," Garrett said. "That is my reward."

UA's assistant strength and conditioning coach Carla Garrett's file

• 1982-High school All-American in basketball; two time All-New Mexico in soccer

• 1984-Top-ranked high school thrower in the shot put and discus

• 1986-Second place in shot put at the NCAA Indoor Championships

• 1987-Second place in shot put at the NCAA Indoor Championships

• 1989-NCAA Champion in the indoor shot put and outdoor shot put and discus

• 1991-Olympic Festival Champion in discus

• 1992-Second place at the Olympic trials