JACKSON — Natchez native Garret Rayborn has always been interested in exercise and working out.

And Rayborn has taken that interest and turned it into a career path.

Rayborn, a 2002 graduate of Adams County Christian, was named the head strength and conditioning coach at Belhaven College in Jackson last month and has wasted no time diving in head first.

Rayborn is in charge of the in season and out of season strength and conditioning programs for all 13 of Belhaven’s varsity sports.

And landing his first head strength and conditioning coaching job so soon after graduating from Southern Miss is a dream come true for Rayborn.

“I got my bachelor’s degree in exercise science and my masters in sport coaching education from Southern Miss,” Rayborn said. “I was always interested in training athletes, and Southern Miss head strength coach Scott Bennett asked me if I would be a graduate assistant. So I did that the past two years.”

Rayborn said he has learned quite a few things in his days at Southern Miss and has adapted those to the Belhaven strength and conditioning program.

“As I got into college, I started learning how the body adapts to exercise and how it functions during stress-related exercise,” Rayborn said. “It made me want to learn more about training athletes and adapt them to make them better at their sports. I don’t want to turn them into power lifters. I want them to do things in the weight room that will make them better at their sport.”

And Rayborn said each sport has its own specific needs that should be addressed in the weight room.

“Soccer demands more aerobic capacity and endurance than baseball, which is more of a power sport,” Rayborn said. “Every program is designed around the demands that sport needs.”

Even though Rayborn has only been at Belhaven a few weeks, he has already immersed himself in the program and is loving every minute of it.

“I couldn’t ask for anything better than be a head strength coach,” Rayborn said. “The kids at Belhaven are great kids, and it’s a great environment to work in. I have support from everybody in the athletic department, and every sport.”