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Junior Jackie Grisdale a woman of letters for Poland
Poland High School’s Jackie Grisdale, a woman of letters,
looks to earn another one this fall in a new sport
By Tom Williams
POLAND
Born to run, Poland High School junior Jackie Grisdale is about to try a sport in which patience outweighs speed.
Halfway through her varsity career, Grisdale already has earned 10 varsity letters — two each in soccer, cross country, basketball, softball and track.
This fall, Grisdale is substituting soccer for golf.
“Golf is definitely a mental game and I think that’s part of my game in every sport that I need to work on,” said Grisdale, who already has competed at state four times as a varsity athlete. “Mental toughness, thinking things through more — I think it will definitely help.”
Grisdale, a 4.0 student, enjoyed an incredible sophomore year where two of her teams went undefeated until deep into tournaments.
Poland’s girls basketball team posted its first undefeated regular season, finishing 26-1 with a Division II regional final loss to Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary (56-46) on March 8.
The winning continued on the softball field as the Bulldogs won their first 29 games to earn the school’s fifth state tournament appearance.
On May 30, the Bulldogs’ season ended with a 6-3 loss to Plain City Jonathan Alder at Akron’s Firestone Stadium.
“It was incredible,” Grisdale said of two unbeaten regular seasons.
Then in Columbus on June 1, Grisdale was a member of the 4x400 relay team that finished sixth at the Div. II state meet, breaking the school record and earning first-team all-Ohio honors.
“She obviously is not your typical high school student,” said Nick Blanch, Poland’s girls basketball head coach. “She’s focused on taking in all experiences, she wants to make the most of her high school career.”
Jim Serich, Poland’s softball head coach, said Grisdale is a rare breed.
“An athlete likes her doesn’t come along very often,” Serich said. “It’s very rewarding to see all she does and be so successful. Phenomenal.
“She leads by example.”
As a freshman and sophomore, Grisdale qualified for the Division II state cross country meet. Last fall, she finished 24th.
Grisdale appreciates the difference between qualifying as an individual and with a team.
“They were different [experiences],” she said. “[Softball and the relay team are] more teamwork and trusting each other which I think are important factors.”
She’s been a two-year starter in basketball, averaging 12 points and five rebounds. She received first-team conference honors both years.
An outfielder in softball, she’s been a named second-team all-conference twice.
And now it’s time for golf, a sport she’s only been playing regularly for about a month.
“Soccer, I just wasn’t feeling it any more,” Grisdale said. “My teammates are still great, my coach [Joel Monaco] is still great.
“It’s more me — I just wasn’t enjoying myself when I was playing. And there definitely is a high injury risk in soccer,” Grisdale said. “I figured if I’m not loving what I’m doing, then I should take this time to try to prepare for [something] different.”
Years ago, Grisdale took lessons from Poland alum and former Youngstown State University golfer Allison Mitzel.
“I’m definitely excited,” Grisdale said. “The mental [challenges] opens up opportunities. It’s definitely frustrating, it’s so specific and you have to be able to do things correctly technique-wise.
“But I’m really enjoying it. It’s letting me spend a lot more time with my Dad. I like that aspect.”
Grisdale comes by her gifts naturally. He father, Ken, has been Poland’s boys varsity basketball coach since 1993. A Canfield High School graduate, he played football at the University of Akron.
Her Mom, Kim [Graf], is a Poland graduate. She played basketball and ran track at Kenyon.
“They definitely help me a lot — I’m super grateful,” Jackie said. “I joke that the gym is my second home because I would always be at practices with my Dad growing up.
“I enjoy it there.”
Although her parents are teachers (Ken is a retired as an economics and government teacher, Kim is a high school math teacher), Jackie said she not made future plans.
“I have no idea what I want to major in and I’m not sure where I want to go and I’m not sure what sport I want to play,” she said. “I definitely think I’d like to play a sport in college.”
Like Grisdale, outfielder Brooke Bobbey also was a starter on the basketball team.
“She’s a great teammate, she’s part of the reason why we had such great team chemistry,” Grisdale said of Bobbey. “She’s really upbeat, outgoing, really positive and I think her attitude spreads to the whole team.
“That’s really helpful because she’s really good at what she does. She’s not afraid to help teammates out when they are struggling.”
Grisdale and Bobbey also were teammates on the 2017 Junior League softball team that won the World Series in Kirkland, Wash.
“Such a great experience, definitely one of the best points in my life,” Grisdale said. “I really like to travel and to do it with some of my best friends.
“[We] got to stay in a room with [teammates] instead of with parents — that was a new experience that I enjoyed a lot.”
Blanch said Grisdale is the rare student who takes summer school classes “for fun, even a foreign language.”
“She’s self-motivated, leads by example,” Blanch said. “She makes the whole program better. As for coaching, she makes it easy for me.”
Grisdale is on target to graduate with 20 varsity letters.
“It’s kind of what I’ve just grown up doing,” Grisdale said. “I love to compete, that thrill of competition just gets [me] going. And my parents are so supportive.
“They are there all the time helping me practice.”