By Ale Ibarra Posted February 22, 2019
Many people know that in order to qualify as The Brand’s Student-Athlete of the Issue, the student-athlete needs to meet certain requirements such as responsibility, dedication, a certain amount of talent, and integrity. All of which our athlete, Rachel Garrison, surpasses.
Rachel has played more than one high school sport since her freshman year and has continued that work ethic through her senior year.
“I’ve played soccer all up until my junior year. I’ve been playing basketball and participating in track from my freshman to senior year,” said Garrison.
Garrison has been involved in sports since she was in her early middle school years.
“I’ve just played soccer, basketball, and track since the fifth grade,” said Garrison.
Track has been Garrison’s preferred sport since she started playing sports. She started with running events, but in her eighth-grade year, she leaned towards throwing as she doesn’t consider running as her main focus.
“Track is my favorite because I started getting interested in it in my freshman year, because my dad is my coach,” said Garrison. “It’s fun to learn the sport with him. He introduced me to and has given me some pointers in discus and shot put. We make a good team together. That’s what makes it fun.”
Rachel thinks of her dad as her “definite” role model since he has a background in sports like track from his high school years and early coaching years.
“He inspires me a lot,” said Garrison. “He coached our soccer team last year; he was an assistant coach. He has also helped coach some of my [AYSO] soccer teams when I was younger. He was my basketball coach for a time. He’s coached everything.”
Rachel’s father, Ray Garrison, knows she has put in a lot of time and effort, regardless of the time of year.
“Rachel and I started working on throwing the shot and discus when she was in junior high. With throwing, weights, and doing drills, we do five to 10 hours a week, depending on the time of year,” said Ray.
Although her dad has been more involved as far as coaching goes, her mom has been there every step of the way as well.
“They have always been there for every one of my games. They’re always really supportive,” said Garrison.
Her sister Shelby was Student-Athlete of the Year last year, and Rachel admits that she deserved the title because of her influence on other players, including Rachel.
“She works really hard at everything she does, and we’ve never been competitive against each other; we just push each other to keep doing better,” said Garrison. “We are more of a supportive duo.”
Rachel knows that in order to get better, practice is needed. Her father can attest to her level of dedication.
“Rachel is determined and patient,” said Ray Garrison. “It takes years to get to her level of throwing. Physically, she isn’t a big thrower, but she is quick and strong, which is more important than size. She has become more self-confident and has worked hard to become fast and more powerful.”
Garrison is interested in going to UNR to be on their track team after graduation.
“I have talked to the UNR [track] coach, and he said that he could have a spot for me on the team,” said Rachel Garrison. “It’ll be fun because my sister Shelby is on the UNR team already. So, we could go there together.”
