Athlete Wealth Podcast

Pursue Your Passion | Sarah Garver | AWM Capital Athlete Wives Series #2

Episode Notes

Sarah Garver, the wife of Ranger's catcher Mitch Garver, is passionate about being a wife, mother, and veterinarian. In this episode, Sarah shares why she pursues her career in conjunction with Mitch being a professional baseball player and the benefits her work provides even though she does not technically "need to work."

Given the above, it makes sense why the Garver family phrase is "It's only temporary." Sarah gives a great perspective on why that is their phrase, what it means to them, and how that governs what their family is working towards. Sarah understands that good and bad circumstance are only temporary, and as she states, "you can get through harder times if you understand that it is only temporary."

Sarah's success story is that she has fulfilled her childhood dream of becoming a veterinarian and continued practicing, even after Mitch was traded, after experiencing several cross-country moves and balancing her more challenging job of being a mother. As a veterinarian, Sarah provides her family flexibility, purpose, and application of the knowledge and skillsets she has obtained over many years. Through it all, Sarah affirms that she is a better mother and spouse because of her work.

Sarah's simple yet profound advice to other baseball spouses going through similar circumstances - if you want to pursue a career, do it!

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

• (1:59) Garver Family Story
• (2:10) Beginnings of Mitch & Sarah's relationship in high school
• (3:32) Transition to college - while Mitch was trying to figure out where to play baseball, Sarah began pursuing the education for her career as a Vet.
• (4:12) Sarah discusses Mitch being drafted by the Twins in 2013 and her acceptance to grad school at Oregon State 1 week later.
• (6:40) Sarah and Mitch navigated being a team while having different goals.
• (7:48) Sarah discusses the implications of Mitch being a walk-on in college and ultimately signing after his senior year of college, which included a negative experience with an agent relationship.
• (9:29) How important good advice and representation are as families navigate professional baseball.
• (13:07) Sarah discusses how they navigated their marriage on limited time and money while Sarah was a grad student and Mitch was a minor league player.
• (16:09) How they believed it was important to spend the money to see each other - even when they necessarily did not have the money to do so.
• (16:33) Sarah explains how almost everything in this life is, to quote her, "Only Temporary."
• (18:50) Sarah talks about why she is a Veterinarian and the benefits being a Vet provides to their family
• (19:47) Being clear on what you accomplish matters - even while being the wife of a professional athlete.
• (24:07) Flexibility in her career allows her to continue serving animals, pursuing her passion, balancing work, and being a mother.
• (27:37) Sarah discusses the importance of her career and the positive impacts on her being a mother, being a spouse, and being part of the Garver family.
• (32:56) Sarah's advice to others contemplating pursuing a career - is “just do it and figure it out later.”