A GREAT PERSPECTIVE

Even with a serious injury, three-sport athlete

Jordan Gross ’23 maintains an uplifting, supportive attitude.

By Weldon Bradshaw

It was a fast-paced, crisply executed block-out and rebound drill.

Jordan Gross ’23 had run it with her Collegiate Varsity Basketball teammates a million times, always with passion, maximum effort and a smile on her face. That was her style. When she hit the deck and stayed there longer than her usual bounce-back-up second or two, everyone in the Jacobs Gym knew something was amiss.

“It was a weird situation,” Jordan said of that transcendent moment back on Dec. 5. “I went up for a rebound and collided with someone. When I landed, I felt my right knee rotate a little bit. I was on my knees for about 10 seconds. I thought, This doesn’t feel right.”

Jordan collected herself and walked unaided to the training room.

“They checked it out,” she said. “I could do squats. I could flex my leg. Everything seemed relatively normal.”

For the next week, she focused her attention on strength and conditioning and watched practice and games from the sideline.

She’d miss a month, she figured, then be back by tournament time and, since she’s a Senior, finish her three-year varsity career on the court with her teammates.

A visit to the orthopedic a week later and a subsequent MRI brought bad news, however. On Dec. 20, she underwent surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Recovery time would be seven to nine months.

A gritty, dedicated threesport athlete, Jordan had just completed a tennis season where she earned All-League of Independent Schools recognition at No. 3 doubles and contributed significantly to Collegiate’s second consecutive LIS and VISAA titles.

Now, she’ll miss basketball, where, as part of the regular rotation, she was noted for her behind-the-arc accuracy. In an instant, her role had changed.

“Jordan is a great role model,” said Rives Fleming, her basketball coach. “She has a great attitude. There was never a thought of sympathy or negativity. There’re a lot of things in sports and life you can fuss about, but she hasn’t done that at all. She’s a really mature kid who has such a great perspective.”

She’ll miss softball as well, where last spring she led the Cougars in batting average (.364), hits (24), runs (21), sto- len bases (15), and putouts (98) and earned All-LIS and AllVISAA recognition.

“When they told me [the extent of the injury], I was shocked,” said Jordan, who will serve as a captain this spring. “I’d put a ton of work into softball. I was so excited. Now, I’m done with high school sports. I won’t wear the jersey again. That was the real thing that shook me. I felt really vulnerable. I don’t know another way to put it.”

Athletic competition has always been part of Jordan’s life. Early on, she swam, did gymnastics and played tennis, basketball and softball. Her favorite sport was the one in season.

Jordan is well into her twice-a-week physical therapy, supplemented almost daily by intentional, sweat-inducing sessions in Collegiate’s weight room. She’s uber-determined to regain her strength, mobility and range of motion while supporting, encouraging and nurturing her basketball teammates and serving as a player/ coach in softball.

“Working out makes me so happy,” she said. “ Getting that back quickly is really helping me. This entire process is about what you can do, not what you can’t. You just have to look at it as how can you get better the quickest and do the most.

“I’d never had an injury before. Never sprained anything. Hadn’t broken a bone. I don’t see this as a choice. I see it as something that’s got to get done. I want to be running, jumping. I want to do sports. I don’t want to worry about my knee popping out at any given moment.”

During her Upper School years, Jordan has heard several Senior speeches about the life-altering effect of injuries and other health issues.

“You listen and you kind of brush it off,” she said. “Once it happens to you, it’s, Oh, gosh, now I see what they’re talking about. I had sympathy but not empathy. As soon as this happened, that switch flipped.

“Problems and challenges aren’t given to you without a gift. I love pushing myself. That’s why I love athletics so much: because it’s a challenge. You get to push yourself without limits.”