Osceola junior has competed at state 3A dive meets twice

By Rick Pedone

Sports Editor

Divers are among the best athletes of any high school sport.

Their ability to twist, spin and somersault from a 1-meter diving board, while at the same time displaying a perfect technique, is a rare and unique talent.

Osceola High junior Jordan Parrish has it.

“She’s special. She’s the best diver we’ve ever had here and maybe the best-ever (female)  in the county,” Osceola  High swimming coach Krystle Singleton said.

That puts Parrish in elite company. Three county divers have won state championships: Gateway’s Bryan Gillooly and Erin Gillooly and St. Cloud’s Brandon Hulko.

Several more local divers have placed at state meets over the past two decades.

But, Singleton said, Parrish is a rare talent, and others like OHS assistant coach Jane Adams, who has taught diving in Osceola County for 21 years, agrees.

“I’d say she is one of the top divers I have coached. Her twisting ability sets her apart,” Adams said. “She probably could have completely missed a dive at the OBC meet and still won, she was that superior in skill.”

Former Olympian Mark Ruiz, director of the Orlando YMCA Dive Team, formerly Dive Orlando, is another who has noticed Parrish’s ability, Adams said.

“When he saw her (at the state meet) he wondered why she isn’t diving year round. He thinks she has remarkable talent and that she can easily earn a college diving scholarship,” Adams said.

Parrish, the Osceola News-Gazette Female Swimmer/Diver of the Year, has qualified for the past two Class 3A state tournaments. She placed 15th this season with a 344.20 total. As sophomore last year she was 21st.

“Jordan didn’t have her best meet (at state) this year. She was probably a little nervous since it was at state, and the stakes are high,” Adams said. “But, her degree of difficulty is the same as most of the girls who placed higher, the divers who started when they were (age) 4. The skill set isn’t that far apart.”

Parrish started diving as a freshman.

“One of my friends from middle school, Jordan Copeland, asked me to try it. I did, and I really enjoyed it,” Parrish said.

She can’t concentrate totally on diving because she competes for a travel cheer team in Orlando, which requires her to practice several days each week. That leaves little time for dive practice.

“It’s amazing what she has accomplished for the little bit of time I have to work with her. When you train outdoors, you know how many practices are canceled due to weather,” Adams said.

Parrish has been a championship-level athlete since she was young, first in inline speed skating, where she won several national championships, and then cheerleading.

“I’m thinking after my junior year that I’ll train year round in diving,” Parrish said. “I really like it, and I think I’ll have an opportunity to dive in college, which I would love to do.”

Singleton and Adams said Parrish is not only an excellent athlete, but she is an all-star in the classroom (4.0 GPA, among the top three in her class) and she is an outstanding teammate.

“Jordan truly believes that she is no one special, that she has to work hard to accomplish her goals. She is always encouraging her teammates when they are down, she never makes them feel inadequate because she is doing so well and she has all of this talent,” Adams said.

Parrish, whose nickname from Adams is “Little Bit” because of her slight frame, displayed her toughness and work ethic this season when she had an emergency appendectomy in September and forced herself to rehab in time to compete at the conference tournament a month later.

“I told her at first to go easy, but she said no, that she had to get herself ready to compete,” Adams said.

Parrish said the emergency surgery is just one of the medical obstacles she has had to overcome during her athletic career.

“I should have won OBCs when I was a freshman, but I broke my ankle,” she said. “I was so mad. I still can’t do tumbling in cheer because of the surgery, so I have to take it easy for now until it heals.”

Parrish’s immediate goal is to do better at the state diving meet next season.

“I’m sure I can be in the top eight, maybe better,” she said.

Long-term, she has thoughts of being an Olympian.

“I would love to do that,” she said.

Adams said that is not an impossible goal.

“Yes, she has that kind of ability,” Adams said. “She’ll have to transition to the 3-meter board and then the platform, but she has those skills and she can do it, no question.”