On a winning streak
Midlothian High coach claims 500th victory
By Lynn Warren CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Elli Morris/Chesterfield Observer Doug Garrett, Midlothian High School's girls' basketball coach, recently celebrated his 500th victory on the court.

Physically, Doug Garrett is not a big man. About a half dozen of the girls he coaches on the Midlothian High School basketball team tower over him. The balance can see him eye-to-eye.

But it's almost a certainty that this eyeto eye relationship with hundreds of young basketball players has been the catalyst for the impressive success of Garrett's program.

During his 28 years at Midlothian, Garrett has had only two losing seasons - his first in 1978 and again in 2004-05.

His impressive coaching career includes a 31-0 state championship team in 1999-2000, six players that went on to Division 1 schools with full scholarships, a dozen more playing at Division 2 and 3 schools, two regional championships, eight district championships and the title as National Coach of the Year for 2000.

However, it is the Lady Trojans' 62-45 victory over Huguenot High School last month that put the exclamation point on Garrett's record. It was his 500th win.

Despite his monstrous number of victories and his remarkable winning percentage (.733), Garrett claims his players as his greatest achievement.

"I am most proud of the girls who played in our program," said Garrett. "They have played hard and played smart. They were both gracious winners and losers."

True, there have been exceptional players who came under his tutelage, and the coach remembers them fondly. Dianne Mamunes "led us in the late 70s," Lisa Kipple was "one of our best" in the 80s, and then there was Anna Prillaman followed two years later by Angel Ross. Prillaman, now Garrett's first paid assistant coach, played at the University of Virginia and Ross went on to University of Maryland. Garrett was in the stands at University Hall in Charlottesville when the two faced off in an ACC match up.

"It was a big thrill for me to see these two great athletes on the floor at the same time. Anna actually ran up in the stands and gave me a t-shirt," he recalled, obviously touched by the gesture.

Certainly the game of basketball has changed considerably over the years. It is faster, the girls are more athletic, and many hone their skills with year-round basketball competition, Garrett pointed out. In addition, effectively coaching girls takes a different approach than coaching boys.

"Girls have a tendency to get distracted by things in their everyday lives, but they listen better, are more coachable," he said. It is the girl's coachability and the coach's penchant for being able to identify with them one-onone that provided the blueprint for 500 wins.

"I am constantly teaching fundamentals. Preparation and repetition are key. They will only play as well as they practice. If you have done your job, very little game coaching is necessary, and I'm not much of a game coach," he admitted, "but I do love the practices. I teach the girls never beat up on yourself, but never give excuses either."

"Coaching has taught me more than just the Xs and Os," he continued. "Bonding and chemistry are perhaps as important as skills, particularly with girls."

His ability to bond with his team has resulted in a self-renewing resource for the Midlothian program: tradition. Girls coming into the program are aware of the tradition and want to be a part of it. It is this "dedication of the student athlete" that has built the program, not something that he might have done as a coach, Garrett insisted.

Remarkably, two years ago, Garrett considered giving it all up, "but when I considered what an honor it is to be around a group of such unselfish athletes and how blessed I was to have girls who care only about the team and not scores, I reconsidered. If it had not been for the quality of these girls, I would have. How much longer will I coach? Definitely unknown."

Fortunately, Garrett does not lack for endurance in either his coaching career or his personal life. In his off time he participates in triathlons.