HUNTSVILLE, Ala — In Coach Garrett Keith's weight room, there's no limit to lifting loads. The Westminster Christian Academy Transformational Teaching and Coaching Director wants his students to know that anything is possible.
Keith keeps the music going in the weight room. "Obviously there's a vibe that should be there. there's an excitement. You want to have music that's fun and music that they enjoy."
He stresses that everyone belongs. "The weight room is for everybody. One of the things that I explained to them at the beginning of the year, every year, is this is not the football team's weight room. It's not the guy's weight room. It's not the girl's weight room. It's everybody's weight room."
It's been his message for fifteen years at Westminster Christian Academy. This year, he celebrates twenty years total in the field of education.
Eleventh grader Elizabeth Riley explains his impact. "I've been in this class since the middle of ninth-grade year. I've, like, loved it. Because when I first came here, I wasn't sure about it. But I like being in here. He's made it so much better. He encourages us to do more weight and, like, he never makes us feel uncomfortable. I've gotten better. But you know, numbers aren't important."
Numbers aren't important, neither does it matter who's lifting those weights. Just ask High-School Academic Lead, Alyssa Knight, who nominated Keith. "I was a female athlete specifically and wasn't allowed to use the weight room. Didn't understand how I fit in as a student-athlete in a school, and Garrett is empowering, and not only empowers student-athletes but all students."
Coach Keith is a witness to physical fitness and faith. "Biblical integration doesn't just happen at chapel. It doesn't just happen in a bible classroom. It should happen in Lifetime Fitness and middle school P.E. I want to use this platform that God's given me, a passion to help influence our students not just for sports and not just for the health and fitness, but for God's purpose and passion for their life."
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