The Johns Hopkins Department of Athletics debuted its Faculty-Coach initiative during the 2025-26 academic year. The program is designed to engage faculty members and create meaningful relationships and community between academic affairs and athletics by serving in a mentoring and supportive role of JHU's scholar-athletes.
Faculty Coaches will serve as honorary members of the coaching staff and act as an additional support person for scholar-athletes on the team. They are available to answer academic questions and help direct scholar-athletes, particularly first year students, to the many resources available to all Johns Hopkins students.
The initial two-year commitment, which comes with an option to extend, provides the faculty member the opportunity to attend as many games and practices as their schedule allows, to watch games from the sideline/bench area, and to attend team-specific events, including end-of-year banquets and awards ceremonies.
Throughout the 2026-27 academic year, HopkinsSports.com will utilize a Q&A format to allow fans to learn more about a team's designated Faculty-Coach. Today, we introduce Gagan Garg, the Faculty-Coach for the Blue Jay Women's Soccer Team.
Name:
Gagan Garg
Faculty-Coach Team: Women's Soccer
Alma Mater: IIT Delhi
Position/Title at Johns Hopkins: Associate Teaching Professor
Year at Johns Hopkins: 5
th
Tell us a little about your own athletic background: I was never a student athlete. But during my PhD days, I tried various sports. I trained for a half marathon, but ended up spraining my ankle a few days before the actual run. I learnt kung fu for six months only to get knocked out in the first tournament that I participated in. I played field hockey for a season and ensured that our team came 4
th in a tournament which had a total of 4 teams. I attempted to learn how to swim, but failed miserably. I drank so much pool water that I will never have a chlorine deficiency. So, as you can see, my own athletic background is quite commendable
What is your favorite sport: Cricket.
How did you become involved in the Johns Hopkins Athletics Faculty-Coach program: Since joining Hopkins, I have taught a few student athletes from the women's soccer team. Maria Romo Nichols,
Megha Salvi,
Ava Venuti and
Kendall Frederick have taken my courses. Ava recommended my name to be the faculty coach for the team, and I'm thankful to her for the recommendation.
While the program is still in its infancy, tell us about your experience working with your team thus far: I'm still getting to know the team. The first time I saw our team play was against Swarthmore in fall 2024. It was the first time that I experienced any college sport. As a spectator, I loved watching the game. The last few minutes were very fast paced and exciting. The second time I saw them play was also, coincidentally, against Swarthmore in the fall of 2025.
What has most surprised you, if anything, about working with and meeting the coaching staff and athletes on your team: I have enjoyed my conversations with Head Coach
Dan Weiler. Coach Weiler cares deeply about the well-being of his players as well as his coaching staff. I was surprised to learn how high the average team GPA is. I know how much time they give each week to training, to the games, to lifting, conditioning, and all the travel. Having such a rigorous athletic schedule and still maintaining a high GPA is really impressive.
As the faculty-coach for the team, what is your goal or what do you hope to accomplish: My personal goal is to learn about the offside rule, I still don't understand it. For the team, I am hoping to play the role of a faculty advisor. I am happy to talk about course selection, choosing a major, grad school applications, summer internships, and introductions to alumni.
Either since you assumed this role or before that time, what is your most memorable Johns Hopkins Athletics experience: Attending the team banquet in spring 2026. I absolutely loved that experience, especially the hilarious speeches by Maria and Megha. It was the first time that I saw how close knit the team is and how much they care about each other. There was some crying involved, but the food was great
If you have had the opportunity to have scholar-athletes in your class (from your team or others), please describe your experience with them as students: I have taught and worked with many student athletes and have always been amazed by their near 100% class attendance. I worked with Jamie Stelnik (women's track & cross country) for two years and was impressed with her professionalism, her attention to detail and the way she led our team of teaching assistants. Working with Jamie encouraged me to hire more student athletes as TAs. Since then, I have worked with Julia Tuinman (swimming), Max Apsel (wrestling), Sofia LoVuolo (cross country & track), Maria, Ava and Mirra Klimov (track).
What would you tell faculty members who are not involved about this program: Get involved. The time commitment is not high. I have been to games and the team banquet and that showed me a side I never see in class.
Tell us something about yourself that not many people are aware of or that you think people would find interesting: I was an avid motorcyclist in my 20s. I saw a lot of India on my Royal Enfield motorcycle. Riding through the Himalayan forests has been one of the most memorable experiences of my younger days. I still dream of settling down in a small town in the mountains after retirement.
