This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
11/17/2021 11:00 PMWhen Jordyn Gould arrived at Guilford High School as a freshman, she wanted to give diving a try after having competed in gymnastics for the past eight years. Jordyn’s decision paid instant dividends as she’s put together an excellent debut season with the Guilford girls’ swimming and diving team this fall.
Jordyn has seen plenty of success during her first year as a diver. While she’s new to diving, Jordyn does have some swimming experience and grew up in a family that’s spent a lot of time on the water.
“I have been a competitive gymnast for eight years, and I wanted to try something different, but something I could use my gymnastics skills toward,” says Jordyn. “My family has always been around the water. My oldest brother has been swimming competitively for years, and my younger brothers and I used to swim every summer on a local swim team, so getting involved in a water sport seemed like a natural fit.”
One of Jordyn’s favorite aspects of diving is the vast amount of technique that goes into every attempt. Jordyn considers herself a perfectionist and enjoys mastering different techniques on the diving board, especially the acrobatics of it.
“I have always loved flipping, whether it is in the gym, on a trampoline, or into a pool on a hot summer day. I seem to know my body pretty well, and it feels like a natural movement,” Jordyn says. “Now that I am doing twists and dives off a board, I like the challenge of landing the right way and having a smooth water entry. Nobody is trying to block me, like in a traditional team sport. It’s just me trying to be my best.”
Jordyn saw her diving scores improve as the 2021 season unfolded. Just last week, Jordyn turned in an outstanding performance at the Class M Diving State Championship, where she finished in seventh place with an 11-dive score of 322.85 points. Jordan set a school record for Guilford with her performance, eclipsing the previous mark of 316.65.
“I trained very hard for that meet and felt that my performance was my best yet,” says Jordyn. “It was an 11-dive meet, and all the girls competing were so supportive of each other, but at the same time, we all wanted to beat each other. It felt great knowing I made my school proud and no other freshman beat me.”
Head Coach Jenn Amasino was impressed with how Jordyn performed as a freshman this season. With junior Nikki Johnson and sophomore Madison Harrington also faring well, Coach Amasino feels confident in the Grizzlies’ corps of divers heading into next year.
“They have all been a huge asset to the team. Because of our divers and the points they score for the team, we have won some close meets this year,” Amasino says. “We love watching them perform and cheering for them. Hopefully, more gymnasts and dancers will consider diving as an additional sport to consider doing that at the high school level, so our diving program can continue to grow.”
Jordyn’s relationship with Amasino started long before she joined the swim team at Guilford. Amasino coached her when Jordyn swam at the Guilford Racquet & Swim Club during the summer and also coached Jordyn’s older brother Joey when he competed for the Soundview YMCA Stingrays.
“She was very encouraging when I wanted to transition into diving,” Jordyn says of Amasino. “Since my early days on the summer swim team, Coach Jenn has always told me how graceful my dives looked. It’s been great to build on her feedback.”
Repetition has been a big key in Jordyn’s rapid progression as a diver. Jordyn credits her time in gymnastics as being integral when it comes to figuring out specific diving techniques.
“Some things that improved my diving were repetition and figuring out how to turn a good dive off the side of the pool into a great dive off a one-meter board,” says Jordyn. “I spent hours at the gym working on my flips and twists and try very hard to get my gymnastic skills to translate into diving skills. I also look up to the other girls on the team who have been so helpful in teaching me a lot of little things to improve.”
With the swimming and diving season coming to a close, Jordyn will turn her focus back to gymnastics. A Level 7 gymnast, Jordyn is looking forward to representing Guilford on the mat the winter.
“I have been a gymnast since before I can remember and started out at the Guilford Community Center when I was probably three or so. Over the years, I have spent anywhere from 10 to 20 hours a week training,” Jordyn says. “Those gymnastics skills have really helped me become a pretty good diver quicker than I thought, but I still love competing as a gymnast.”