'I felt very lucky': Garza named strength and conditioning coach at Sharpstown

Aislinn Garza proudly wears her badge as a force of one.

As the strength and conditioning coach for the Sharpstown High football team, the 33-year-old former Olympic weightlifter is the only woman in the greater Houston area to do what she does for a varsity program. She also leads strength and conditioning for other boys and girls sports as well.

“Honestly, it felt normal,” she told the Houston Chronicle soon after being named strength and conditioning coach for all athletics at Sharpstown. “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.”

Garza is grateful to be part of a changing landscape. More and more, females are playing larger roles in the world of boys and men’s sports. There are now eight women coaching in the NFL and six in the NBA. Garza said she is happy to be an example to other female coaches in the Houston area, according to The Chronicle.

“It feels really validating, and it feels like an opportunity at the end of the day,” she added. “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's football coach has always viewed Garza as a natural, lobbying school officials to give her the job as soon as the opening came about.

“Knowing that she’s certified is a huge thing, and she knows what she’s doing,” Cirilo 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.”

Since stepping into it, Garza said it has all been smooth sailing.

“Kids will be kids you know,” she added. “I don’t know if they necessarily 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 said she finds added joy in showing other women what's possible.