NEW PALESTINE — From the outside looking in, nothing seems to faze Jordan Reid.
A multi-sport athlete with 11 varsity letters through four high school sports, the New Palestine senior naturally exudes confidence and calm.
But, there are moments of doubt.
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They creep in before big games on the basketball court, particularly against rival Mt. Vernon. Sometimes, those anxieties start to build while she’s pacing the lanes during a track meet.
“I just get the worse butterflies. I get really nervous and antsy before every single race. I had to learn how to breathe and stay calm. I get really anxious and get sick to my stomach,” Reid said. “I would think, just get it over with.”
It’s not fear, Reid admits. The culprit is her drive to compete and win for those around her. It’s her own inner critic sounding off in her head, if not for a brief few seconds, before she finds serenity again, like devouring a piece of her grandma Sue Reid’s strawberry rhubarb dump cake.
When the knots grow tighter, she turns to 18 words of inspiration: (1 Corinthians 10:31) “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
“I have a little Bible verse on my spikes, and I rub it before every race, and it’s on my basketball shoes,” Reid said. “It’s there to remind me and hopefully help me go out and do His work.”
Both spiritual and dedicated, Reid is a self-described Midwestern girl with a laid-back persona. Go “wherever the wind blows” is her philosophy in life and in sports, but it was a lesson Reid learned through adversity and gratitude.
Her speed stems from her father, Dale, who played collegiate football and baseball, and her mother, Tonya, who dabbled in every sport she could, except basketball.
Her hoops savvy is a byproduct of her grandma, Sue, who used to play against the boys every chance she had in her youth before she passed away in 2018.
Reid’s perseverance, however, unfolded with time, especially after enduring an ACL tear while playing soccer her sophomore year.
Already a state-qualifier in track as a freshman, Reid placed 10th in the 200-meter run and 12th in the 100 during the 2017 IHSAA girls track and field state finals.
A varsity competitor in both soccer and basketball as a freshman in 2016-17, Reid’s career was bright and promising until life decided to apply the brakes.
The ACL tear led to a knee immobilizer, surgery to follow, then an infection that ultimately complicated her recovery that winter of her sophomore year.
“She had a pretty bad infection. The first time I saw her after the (ACL) surgery was during a call-out for track in the beginning of December of her sophomore year. And, she lost so much weight from the infection and had the surgery again,” New Palestine girls track coach Chuck Myers said. “She did not look well. I honestly didn’t know if she was going to be able to run as a sophomore.”
Reid questioned plenty while trying to overcome the hurdle placed in front of her. While she was able to support her teammates through her rehabilitation, Reid also turned inward to find purpose and a rejuvenated motivation.
“I definitely had my doubts. I doubted God, and I was definitely at a low point, but I just had to keep the mindset that this was all for the bigger plan and that I’m going to get stronger one day,” Reid recalled.
“I had to remember that I would be stronger coming out of it, and I had a really good support system, too, in my family and friends. They were unbelievable.”
Her return was slow, contrarily to her patented quickness, but Reid’s appreciation grew with every stride along with her sense of appreciation.
“There’s never a perfect time ever to get hurt, but I definitely think, sophomore year, as bad as it was, it was good timing, if it was going to happen,” Reid said. “I managed to get out of it somehow, and I definitely feel stronger than ever.
“I’m definitely blessed to have gone through such a weird and difficult situation and injury. I honestly believe it’s made me who I am today. It’s definitely made me grow as an athlete and as a person. I’m thankful for what I have and not take it for anything less than it is.”
Her first step was running track in 2018 as she placed eighth in the 200 at the Shelbyville Regional and was part of the Dragons’ fifth-place 400 relay team.
Yet, there were a few hiccups along the way.
“We had her run the Franklin Central Relays at first,” Myers said. “I had her run the back end of a relay, and she got maybe 20 meters from the finish, and she falls. She just goes down. It was one of the worst moments in my coaching career. I thought, she tore it again. What it was, was she got too excited. She completely forgot how to run. She’s running, she’s leading and then she fell.”
From there, she barely stumbled.
Once she got back on the basketball court in 2018-19, her game escalated with 10.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game.
The Dragons won the Hoosier Heritage Conference title, and she honed her skills with Greenfield-Central standout Hannah Farrell on the Indy Magic during the AAU basketball season. Her offseason work ethic netted her an offer from Indiana Wesleyan where she committed for both basketball and track.
“Jordan is one of the best athletes I’ve ever been around,” New Palestine girls basketball coach Sarah Gizzi said. “She is also an incredible, unselfish teammate. She is very competitive and has high expectations for herself and her teammates. But, she has a way of lightening the serious, tense moments with her relaxed attitude, making her so much fun to be around.”
Fun was the norm for Reid, despite always being on the move. While Reid hates to lose, which remains an issue when she plays 1-on-1 hoops with her older brother, Dane, she strives to enjoy every opportunity.
Reid finished her prep basketball career with 675 points and 451 rebounds and as a sectional champion with the Dragons this past winter. This fall, she broke new ground by becoming the first female varsity football player for the Class 5A state champions.
This spring was going to be a farewell tour in track before the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak ended the season prematurely.
But, she left her mark regardless.
“She knows she’s a good athlete, but she wants to prove it every time she goes out there. That’s what’s special about her. She’s done it time and time again,” Myers said. “It’s just been wonderful to watch her these three-plus years. Last year was really special. Setting the school record in the 100, 200, 400 and the 4×400. That’s a great season and a career.”
Unbeaten in the Hancock County Track Meet, Reid smashed several records during the HHC championships last spring. She won the 100 in 12.14 seconds to top her own record and the league’s 16-year-old previous mark of 12.17.
She set a new HHC standard in the 200 with a time of 25.17, which bested her former time of 25.60 that she set as a freshman and the school record of 25.51, once held by Shelby Scocozza (2004).
During the state tournament, Reid placed fourth in the 100 at the Shelbyville Regional, was ninth overall at state in the 400 at 56.71 and the 1,600 relay team of her, Victoria Crowder, Maigan Williams and Sophia Taylor took seventh at state in 3:56.30.
“As much as I wanted to throw up before every race, I just like competing and staying in shape,” Reid said. “And, I got to know coach Myers and the girls, which was my favorite part of track, getting to know all of them and having fun with them.”
Thumbing through her multitude of ribbons, trophies, letterman jacket patches and other sports memorabilia that are being compiled for her open house this summer, has Reid feeling less anxious and more excited for what’s to come next.
“I’m definitely missing the adrenaline rushes right now (in quarantine). That’s the thing that’s making me antsy,” Reid said. “It’s kind of nice to get a little break because I normally don’t get a break, but I’m also ready to get it started and get it going.
“I’m ready to go to college (at Indiana Wesleyan) and get things started. I’m basically done with school, so I’m just working out every day. That’s how my day goes. Workout and then go to bed.”
Just another day “in the life of Jordan Reid,” she jokes, while eyeing the next chapter and beyond.
“I honestly can’t wrap my head around it. I’m like, ‘Really? I did that in high school?’ It’s never really sank in for me,” Reid said. “I’m always told I don’t know my own potential because really, I don’t. I doubt myself more than anybody else, but it’s definitely refreshing to know that not just my coaches but the community believes in what I can do and pushes me. I’m speechless about what I’ve done. It’s been humbling. It’s been an amazing opportunity.”
In college, she will compete in two sports and is considering a degree in marketing and possibly graphic design. Nothing is set in stone for Reid, who would rather take life as it comes at her.
“I feel like I’m pretty chill, so I just deal with what’s thrown at me and I move on and I grow from it,” Reid said. “I don’t really ponder on things thrown at me. I just kind of coast and go with the flow and see what happens. Free spirited. I prefer living in the moment. I just follow the wind wherever it takes me.”
Yet, like her “best buddy” Clyde the cat, Reid won’t let go of anything unless she has no other choice.
“I actually wasn’t going to do track in college at first, but my basketball coach pushed it a little to keep me in the same routine. I at least have to try it out. It never hurts to try,” she said. “Plus, you never know when it comes to me. I might be on the football team. I mean, they might just need me one day. You always have to be prepared.”
