Where Are They Now? Kayla Carto

Every day is an adventure for Kayla Carto.

Serving as a director for the global soccer team at the sports agency Wasserman, the former GW gymnast manages clients around the world.

Often, that means handling logistics far from home: Memorably, there was the two-day excursion to Barcelona for the launch of a new lines of cleats. ("That was the quickest 48 hours of my life," she says, "but it was fun.") And the trip to the Caribbean Island of Saint Lucia to assist a player on a Sports Illustrated photo shoot.

Then, there was the month Carto spent in France last summer for the FIFA Women's World Cup. She was five rows back at midfield to watch the United States, featuring her personal clients Abby Dahlkemper and Mallory Pugh, close out their championship run with a 2-0 win over the Netherlands before joining the party in celebration of a hard-earned title.

Even when she's at the office in Bethesda, Md., Carto stays busy with clients spanning the ranks of pro soccer – from the second-tier USL in this country to the German Bundesliga – needing all sorts of help. She has to be ready to jump into action at a moment's notice to help her players solve problems of all magnitudes.

"I handle all of their sponsors, their shoe deals, day-to-day things," Carto said. "Anything and everything you could probably think of."

Nearly three years in with Wasserman, Carto wouldn't have it any other way.

"It literally has been such a perfect fit for me," Carto said. "I can't imagine working anywhere else, to be honest."

In an uber-competitive field, Carto has established herself by showcasing the same commitment to excellence she brought to GW gymnastics from 2010-2014.

Representing the Buff & Blue, the Michigan native was a three-time NCAA Regional participant, two-time All-EAGL First Team selection and the recipient of the program's top honor, the Lindsey Ferris Award, as a graduate student in 2014.

For Carto, lessons learned in five seasons under veteran head coach Margie Cunningham are still paying dividends.

"Margie really stressed to us the importance of relationships and how valuable those can be," Carto said. "I think for my job it fits perfectly. Every client that I have I build this really unique relationship with, and I think those special relationships are what motivate me and keep me going and make this the perfect job for me. My clients are not just clients, they're like family to me."

Ultimately, Carto credits a shoulder injury that required surgery and caused her to miss the entire 2012 season for putting her on the path to her dream job.

After earning an undergraduate degree in Exercise Science in 2013, she completed the Tourism Administration master's program with a concentration in Sports Management through the GW School of Business as she competed her final season with the Colonials. She said her graduate studies provided the tools to find her place in a wide-ranging field.

"I feel like it prepared me because I got to learn every single aspect of what you can do in the sports world," Carto said. "You can do ticket sales. You can do PR. You can become an agent. You can become a team owner. There's so much variety of what you can do in the sports world that they really prepared us for everything we could possible do."

Carto's early professional experience included an illuminating stint as an assistant working for Venus and Serena Williams. It was Lisa Delpy Neirotti, director of the GW Sport Management program, who recommended she apply for the opening at Wasserman in 2017.

It's been a great fit with Carto steadily adding more responsibility within one of the world's leading sports agencies.

Right now, she supports day-to-day logistics for a host of men's soccer clients and works directly with a handful of the nation's top women on the pitch. Wasserman works with 14 of the 23 members of last year's World Cup champion squad, she said.

Carto said her experience in France on the road to a world title provided another reminder that she's exactly where she wants to be.

"Being there every single step of the way with them definitely brought us closer," Carto said. "It's a long period of time for them that they're so focused in on this one goal, and there's a lot of ups and downs and to be there with them through it all definitely defined our relationship with our clients and let them know that we're going to be there through whatever happens."

Still based locally, Carto has remained connected to GW gymnastics. She works the scorer's table for home meets, and she always looks forward to the opportunity to provide feedback on routines during the annual intrasquad meet.

Carto is also a part of the GW Athletics Student-Athlete Mentorship Program, and this year, she's enjoyed her pairing with senior Cydney Crasa, who has an interest in pursuing sports management. ("She's so hungry, and she has so many questions and she's so eager," Carto said. "I love her attitude and her personality.")

With her mentees, Carto stresses that it's not always easy in a male-dominated industry, but it's a truly rewarding career. And when the going gets tough, memories from her time in Buff and Blue often prove useful.

"Everyday when you walk into work, things might not go your way, but you have to remain positive," Carto said. "Margie has the Attitude Statement that we would always have to say out loud and word-for-word memorize. I think I still live by that every single day."

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