Former Olympian does the heavy lifting
Strength coach is only woman in role in the area
Aislinn Garza walks straight to the Sharpstown High weight room and rumbles through her keys to unlock the doors.
The 33-year-old former Olympic weightlifter picks up 10-pound dumbbells to keep the doors open for the football team.
When she hears the boys coming into the building and heading to the weight room, she stands outside to greet every one of the Apollos. She gives a high-five to all of the players and even cracks a joke or two — then it’s time for her to get to work.
Garza, who stands at 5foot-1, is the only woman in Greater Houston that oversees strength and conditioning for a varsity high school football program, according to the National High School Strength Coaches Association. She also leads strength and conditioning for other boys and girls sports as well.
“Honestly, it felt normal,” Garza said about being named the strength and conditioning coach for all athletics at Sharpstown in March. “I felt very lucky to be at a school where they recognize there’s a need for strength and conditioning. I’m an Olympic weightlifter, and it’s what I have always loved to do my whole life. … I get to impact all the sports in a different way, and right now it’s football season.”
Changing the narrative
Garza is one of several women who have taken on more coaching roles in boys and men’s sports. There are eight women coaching in the NFL compared with six in the NBA. Garza is happy to open doors for Houston women looking to get into high school football.
“It feels really validating, and it feels like an opportunity at the end of the day,” said the Hebbronville native. “You know strength and conditioning is not assigned a gender position. To be the woman that I am and get to do what I wanted to do my whole life is special. When you see these women pursuing what they love regardless of their gender, it is just really exciting.”
Sharpstown football coach Cirilo Ojeda knew about Garza’s background and her history with strength and conditioning before she was hired. Ojeda also liked that Garza worked with the LSU weight room instructing and coaching while she was a graduate assistant in the kinesiology department in 2013.Shortly after, Ojeda lobbied athletic coordinator Carlos Quintero to hire Garza.
“Knowing that she’s certified is a huge thing, and she knows what she’s doing,”
Ojeda said. “For this job, it doesn’t matter if it’s a man or woman. Getting to know her more and hearing how she helped out the LSU program. … She earned this opportunity and is qualified for this position.”
Commanding respect
Garza can lift more than the Apollos in the weight room, which gives her more respect once the boys see it live.
However, Garza said she knew there wouldn’t be any issues because Sharpstown has a coaching staff that is trying to change the culture.
“Kids will be kids you know,” Garza said. “I don’t know if they necessary look at me differently, but I will say it starts with the coaching staff. If the coaches respect me, which they do, the kids will respect a female coach. Ojeda and his staff have done a great job with their words and actions. What it comes down to at the end of the day is to view me as an equal. Everything has gone the right way.”
Garza is also the drill team director for the Apollo Queens, which won their first title since 2013 in the Marching Auxiliaries contest last school year and took home first place in multiple categories, she said.
Making a difference
Garza, who lives in Katy, drives 40 minutes back and forth every day to southwest Houston.
The drive is worth it to help a community that needs love and attention, she said.
At Sharpstown High School, 95 percent of the students are classified as economically disadvantaged, according to the Texas Education Agency. Economically disadvantaged means that a student is eligible to receive free or reduced lunch.
She also wants to see a woman leading strength and conditioning to become normal.
“I want it to get to a point where I’m not a news story anymore,” Garza said. “I want to get it to where it’s normal for a female to do strength and conditioning. Women are knowledgeable and strong and know what to do and just have to be respected by their athletes. I hope one day this will be the new normal for women.”