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Where are They Now? An Interview With Amber Garret

After beginning her collegiate career at Otero Junior College, Amber Garrett found her way to success at North Dakota State as part of the 2005 and 2006 squads that helped establish NDSU at the Division I level during their independent era.

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After beginning her collegiate career at Otero Junior College, Amber Garrett found her way to success at North Dakota State as part of the 2005 and 2006 squads that helped establish NDSU at the Division I level during their independent era. In 2005, Garrett was named to the Division I AllIndependent second team. In 2006, Garrett was named the Division I independent Pitcher of the Year.

Now, after some time away, Garrett has found herself back to the game she loves as the Director of Operations for thr the University of Michigan softball team.

 

You went the junior college route, How did you end up at NDSU?

I’m a pretty proud native of Colorado and I went to a junior college down there. I remember being in the library in my junior college and just sending out email after email to college programs trying to gain some interest. And I saw NDSU, who at the time were the Divison II champions. So, I sent them a message just to see what would happen. But Darren Mueller ended up calling our head coach and wanted to fly down to see me. I remember him flying down and I think he took my head coach bowling. He was just trying to figure out who I was as a player and as a person. I think they also went to Wendy’s and talked about it.

I remember flying out with my mom to meet the team and get a tour of Fargo. It felt like home because I’m from a small town in Colorado—Pueblo, which is a farm town. I remember specifically when we were leaving the Fargo runway and I said, ‘Mom, this is where I’m going to go.’ That’s how the decision was made to go to Fargo. I felt like that was the right decision. I had a couple of other offers coming out of junior college, but nothing necessarily that I was really looking into. I felt like the culture was the right fit. That’s kind of the story of how I ended up in Fargo.

I’m still really good friends with a lot of the girls. We go to so many alumni events. I feel like I am a very, very proud alumni. Anytime there are softball events, football events, anytime we can get together, we will. I think that’s pretty cool.

Was the experience what you thought it would be when you committed?

I think that it was. I’m very proud to say that I went to NDSU. I had a great experience with Darren, who’s still there, which should tell you something about how he is as a coach, and then playing for Jamie [Traschel], who is at Ole Miss now, was also amazing. They treated us amazingly.

We didn’t really have much to play for. We were in that transition between Division II and Division I so we were in that independent stage. We just played everyone. We didn’t have a conference, we didn’t have conference championships to play for. But I think that kind of put a chip on our shoulder. And I think we set the groundwork for where the program is now. We did win the independent championship my senior year, but that was all that we really were playing for. I’m pretty proud of the foundation we set for where the team is now.

Do you still keep up with program?

Oh, yeah, for sure. Darren texts me every now and then. I’ll text him about different things as well.

And obviously, your passion for softball hasn’t waned at all.

Yeah. It’s interesting because after graduation, you are kind of like, ‘what do I do now?’ Because all you really had was your sport. I went back to Colorado and I coached at the junior college for a couple of seasons and then decided I should probably get a real job. I started my career very early as a recreation coordinator in Highlands Ranch. I did that for about 15 years. I thought what I was doing was what I was supposed to do. I coached here and there in high school and did some private pitching lessons, but to be honest, I kind of left softball alone for a while. I still had passion for it, but it was over, I thought.

But I’ve always wanted to be a part of a team. Now, I still kind of tear up being the Director of Operations for Michigan softball. Just being in the dugout with the girls, having that energy, being a part of something bigger than yourself—it’s pretty awesome. It just brings me so much joy to be competitive again. Being a part of a team is what I missed. It fires me up to be a part of this team right now.

What was your experience like working the “normal job”?

It was great for me just because I was coordinating youth and adult sports and special events. I was still in that sports realm. I still had a hand in all the sports. Dealing with crazy sports parents was interesting, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I think for sure it was what I needed to do. And I loved it. I did it for 15 years. I was loyal to it and didn’t really think I was going to do anything else. But I’m a sports fan at heart. I can give you random knowledge about football players and where they went to college. I’m just a junkie when it comes to that. I’ll watch hours and hours of college football, pro football, any kind of sport. I’m mildly obsessed with the Denver Broncos. My mom and I used to go to every Broncos home game. But it was what I thought I needed to do—get a good career. And my major at NDSU was recreation management. So I was doing that. And then a couple years ago, I started to feel like I wanted a different challenge. I’ve always wanted to get my master’s degee, but it was either too expensive, or I didn’t have enough time or whatever the excuse was at the time. So, I started looking into online programs. I really wanted to do a top-tier program. And so I’m doing my Master’s right now online at the University of Florida. It’s sport management degree with a specialization in athlete development. So kind of what we talked about, how to get athletes through that transition period of being an athlete to going into the real world and how to adjust to that.

Being such a sports junkie, was softball always your favorite sport growing up?

Yes, I grew up playing softball, basketball, and golf in high school. I still love golf. I think that’s just a lifetime sport. I would encourage anyone to get into golf. But playing-wise, it was definitely softball. Except at the time, I feel like your favorite sport is whatever you’re playing. But softball had an impact on who I am today.

How long do you have left in your master’s program and where do you see you see your career going from now?

I’m graduating in December of this year. My semester right now is about name, image, and likeness which is obviously a hot topic in college sports. I thought that it would be beneficial to do some NIL training to see where that might take me or at least to have a better heads-up of what the landscape in college sports might look like. I think it’s interesting. I never really saw myself as wanting to climb the ladder. I’ve never wanted to be supervisor, CEO, or anything like that. I just wanted to do my best or a good job at whatever I was doing at the time. I say that, but now I’ve kind of started to shift my focus and ask, ‘what do I want to do?’ And I think now that I have boots on the ground, I’m in the trenches with the coaches, I could see myself being a sports administrator at some point, helping coaches get the resources that they need and helping them in this college landscape. I think that’s where I see myself.

What are some things that you like to do in your free time?

One of my goals is to hit every major league baseball stadium. I feel like that’s a great way to travel. I love traveling and I only have five stadiums left. I just love to travel and watch sports. I also love golfing, going to breweries, trying new restaurants, and seeing my family whenever I can.

What is your favorite memory from your time with NDSU?

Just those memories on the road, on the bus trips, hanging out. One of my teammates started crying when we were going through Virginia. because she was seeing mountains for the first time. It’s just those little things that for me and getting to know people from all over the world.

Where are They Now? An Interview With Amber Garret
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