Head Above Water
The Jordyn Miller Story
It is seven in the morning on a dark and cold Saturday. The cold water of the GLSHS Natatorium runs through Jordyn Miller’s body as she dives in. Early practices like those are most common on weekends with hard workouts and two and a half hour pool sessions. For Jordyn, these practices are only the beginning of an extensive diving season.
Before even thinking about swimming and diving, Miller was an 8-year-old gymnast and hard work was even at a young age. “My mom wanted me to try something different, so she chose diving. Neither of my parents have any history or background with diving, but I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for my family,” Miller said. “They have given me an opportunity to always do my best and I am greatly appreciative for their support over the years.”
Miller discovered a love for diving when she went to see her sister, Taylor, who graduated from GLSHS in 2018, at a regular two days a week Pitt diving practice. “At first, I had no interest in it at the time, but my mom thought I would enjoy it, so she brought me to watch. I remember sitting on the bleachers wanting to get on the board,” Miller said.
“I remember sitting on the bleachers wanting to get on the board.” — Jordyn Miller
Sharing the love of the same sport with her older sister, who is a freshman diver at Ohio University, the bond between them has become unbreakable. “Jordyn works so hard, I see amazing things out of her diving career. She has unreal potential and works towards her goals everyday,” Taylor Miller said. “Jordyn has a huge heart and even though we are far away from each other now, she will always be the person I will go to.”
Miller has stayed with the same coach, Trish Brownlee, and is very thankful for the help that she has received throughout the years to make her more confident as a student diver. “She has taught me all that I know, I think of her as another mother, and I will continue to dive with her until I go to college,” Miller said.
A junior, Jordyn Miller has a high bar to raise after her sister, set the current diving record of 324.56, but with that pressure, she continues to show improvement and success with continuous help and support of her coaches, teammates, family and friends.
Now with an overall dive record of 284, freshman and sophomore year feel like an eternity ago when she was diving with Taylor and other accomplished diver, Lily Barta. Both graduating in 2018, they left Miller and other swimmer, Carrie Lenz, with more leadership roles to step into and a goal to possibly break the current record.
“I was also very close with a senior this year, Carrie Lenz. Even though, we were two different sports [swimming and diving], we were always in the pool at the same time practicing. I am going to miss her very much next year,” Miller said.
Another teammate, sophomore Lauren Bisignani has become very close to Miller this year. They constantly push each other to do their best and are always be happy for one another. “Jordyn’s always laughing or making me laugh, which make practices and meets more enjoyable overall. I look forward to us enjoying our last season together and having fun,” Bisignani said.
Miller has successfully gone onto WPIALS her freshman, sophomore, and junior year and all years have been competitive for her. Instead of doing six dives, Miller, Bisignani, and others do eleven at meets like counties and WPIALS usually with thirty five girls that qualify. Out of the thirty five, the ones that place top five move onto states. This year, Miller was especially close, placing seventh. She will put in a lot of work to raise the expectations and get to states for her senior year.
Miller’s aspirations and goals are not just on the board, but also in the classroom. She has future goals to further her education and hopes to continue her diving career into college with getting the most out of it that she possibly can. Miller has decided that she wants to study speech pathology. “I love helping people and I think that speech pathology is a very rewarding career,” Miller said. She would like to attend a four year university and is starting to go on visits to find her perfect fit. She is undecided on the rest of her future after college, but she wants to stay close to her family who have helped her along the way to achieve success.
With Miller’s junior year almost up, her sister advised, “Enjoy it while it lasts. It goes fast. As cliche as it sounds, I didn’t listen to that, but don’t get caught up in the future. Live in the moment and enjoy every second of it.”
Miller has shown that goal setting and determination are keys to success and making anything possible. To fellow teammates, friends, and family she is seen as a true role model and always advocates to try new things.
Hello! My name is William Beddick and I am 15 years old. I am a Sophomore at Greater Latrobe Senior High School and this is my first year on The High Post...
