Humble Legend

Yes, the mild mannered guy with the kind words and ready smile who’s driven Collegiate’s buses the past five years is an honest-to-goodness legend.

 

Long before he began shuttling athletes from place to place as a part-time retirement gig, Garrett taught social studies and physical education and coached a variety of sports in Chesterfield County.

 

It was at Midlothian High School, where he headed the girls basketball program from 1978 through 2008, that he achieved a level of success and respect that placed him among the crème de la crème of high school coaches in Virginia, the sport notwithstanding.

 

During his tenure, his teams won 522 games — top among girls basketball coaches in Virginia when he retired — and compiled a streak of 25 consecutive winning seasons. From 1993-2002, the Trojans averaged 22 wins a season, no small feat considering that they played in the ultra-competitive Dominion District.

 

His 2000 team finished 31-0, won the VHSL, Group AAA state championship, and ended the year ranked No. 13 nationally by USA Today.  At season’s end, Garrett was recognized as Central Region, Group AAA, and National Coach of the Year for girls basketball.

 

“Coach Garrett’s intentionality behind the Xs and Os was secondary to his intentionality behind character building,” said Anna Prillaman, the linchpin of that 2000 team, the state player of the year, and the former athletic director at Trinity Episcopal.

 

“As 14- to 18-year olds, you understand that he’s pretty hard-lined about the way we treat people, the way we treat our teammates, and the unselfishness we had to have to wear that jersey. Your appreciation grows over time. As you get into your 30’s, 40’s, and on, it’s like, ‘Wow! He was so good at that.’ I don’t think there’s anybody better as far as leading with character.”

 

There’s more.

 

“Coach Garrett was also an incredible listener,” Prillaman said. “He showed it with his body language. He leans in, leans with an ear, and has a very inquisitive look on his face as you’re talking. He’d do that at practice. He’d do that in a quiet gym after practice. He’d do it in the middle of a loud gym during a game. You knew he was listening to you whether it was a complaint or a grievance or a suggestion or just a simple comment to be funny. It was always that same look. He does that still. That’s just a quality you’d never think of in a legendary coach, but he was a master at it. The combination of him being incredibly humble and also incredibly competitive is a beautiful recipe for success.”

 

Garrett grew up in Blackstone in Southside Virginia and graduated in 1971 from Nottoway High School where he was a multi-sport athlete. A 1975 University of Richmond alumnus, he double majored in physical education and history, and played on the Spiders’ tennis and water polo teams.

 

He landed his first teaching/coaching job at Providence Middle School, where he remained for 23 years before transferring full time to Midlothian where he spent the remainder of his career that spanned almost four decades.

 

In 1977, he accepted the JV girls basketball position at Midlo and a year later became the head varsity coach. Along the way, he also coached track and field, and boys basketball at Providence and, at Midlo golf (one year, when the Trojans won the Central Region title and placed third in the state) and girls tennis (10 years, a stretch during which his teams went 222-20).

 

Basketball, though, was his hallmark.  His JV team went 14-1. His first varsity team finished 4-14. His second improved to 17-4. There would be no looking back. Under his leadership, Midlo became one of the preeminent programs in the state.

 

Garrett’s 1999 team reached the state quarterfinals where they lost 81-49 to West Springfield, whose star, Kara Lawson, a future All-American at Tennessee, WNBA standout, and college coach (Duke) lit them up for 47 points. That difficult loss fueled the fire for the Trojans’ championship run.

 

“We always tried to find the best competition,” Garrett said. “After that game, we realized that we could play with the very best. It made us stronger. In 2000, we had such a balanced squad. We had outside shooters. We had post players. We had wing players. We had two super point guards.”

 

Garrett’s understated intensity and attention to detail combined with his team’s talent and trial-by-fire experience mitigated any pressure they felt as the season progressed and the expectations increased.

 

“The girls just took everything in stride,” he said. “We’d been successful every year. The girls knew how to win, so this wasn’t really that different to us.”

 

How did Garrett instill that competitive edge while still making the game fun?

 

“Just with hard work,” he said. “If the boys had a home game on Friday night and the girls had practice at eight o’clock on Saturday, they’d be there early to crank down every basket and start warming up so we could start on time. They just loved to work. They wouldn’t dream of ever missing a practice. They’d arrange their appointments, everything, around practice.”

 

Does he miss coaching?

 

“I miss teaching the game,” he said. “When I got out, I thought it was time.”

 

He wasn’t completely through, however. He’s helped coach an AAU team. He’s conducted sessions on man-to-man defense — one of his specialties — at the behest of friends in the profession. He’s conducted classes on basketball at the University of Richmond’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

 

Though he had his commercial driver’s license and shuttled Midlothian students for years, the Collegiate gig became available as the world emerged from the Covid shutdown.

 

“I really enjoy the kids at Collegiate,” he said. “They’re just super polite, very nice, and friendly. An added advantage is that I get to watch sports. As a retired teacher and coach, this keeps you in contact with students.”

 

Most of whom have no idea that their driver has an impressive coaching résumé and has left an enduring legacy.

 

He’s just happy going about his business quietly and without fanfare.

 

“Sure,” he said with a smile. “Absolutely.”

~Weldon Bradshaw