AN INVERTED PERSPECTIVE

By: Jordan Gruendler

Champions' TriBUne is a special feature through Baylor Athletics that gives you the student-athlete's perspective and the chance for them to share their own story. Jordan Gruendler, the two-time NCATA Specialist of the Year and 2024 All-American, has helped Baylor Acrobatics & Tumbling win three-consecutive national championships and compile a 33-0 record over the last three years while introducing new acro elements to the sport like the ring, the pencil and the boomerang. A senior from San Antonio who is majoring in psychology, Jordan has also won five individual national championships. The top-ranked Baylor A&T team will open the 2025 season with a meet against No. 5 UMHB at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Mayborn Campus Center in Belton:

Thinking about the course of my life has always been one of my favorite pastimes. While yes, it could be said that I spend a little bit too much time in my head, I find it so fascinating to reflect on how my outlook upon my life's events can change just given a little bit of time. (It's also why I chose my major!) How moments where my life felt like it was crumbling to pieces can in retrospect become the moments I am most grateful for. Being a psychology student, the fact that the validity of our memory is incredibly overestimated, is no big news to me, but somethings feel a little more extraordinary when they become real instead of just a few lines in a textbook. With almost four years under my belt here at Baylor, I can say with confidence that no two years felt even remotely similar, even though externally each year has followed the same pattern, and it's pretty interesting to reflect on why.

I consider the path I took in life to be quite untraditional to the average American my age. I spent 25+ hours a week in practice from the age of 12 onwards. I missed countless school days to fly across the world and compete for Team USA. I even opted out of high school altogether and spent four years doing school online to continue with what I loved. Craziest part of it all was that it was for a sport that most people had never heard of. I didn't realize just how different it made my life until I got to Baylor, and how I like to refer to it, was "re-introduced" to the world. Finally stepping out of the bubble of acrobatic gymnastics was somewhat a shock that I don't think I fully grasped the extent of until now in my senior year writing this.

"I feel my path is one that only God Himself could have hand-crafted." - Jordan Gruendler

I feel my path is one that only God Himself could have hand-crafted, and there will never be enough space on paper for me to express how grateful I am for the life He has gifted me. While that is what I would tell you now, that's not what I felt in 2020 when, much like a large chunk of the population, my life seemed to come crashing down. I was in the midst of training for what I knew would be my third and final world championship. But, of course, that world championship didn't occur until a year after it was originally planned for. When we got the notice that the world championships would be postponed, it actually seemed like the perfect scenario, considering I had nothing planned for my senior year before heading to Baylor and could just continue training. What seemed like a blessing at first glance quickly shifted when my acro partner expressed he no longer wished to continue training together and he wanted to try out for the postponed championship with a new flyer. Just like that, I was left stranded filled with an overwhelming grief for the life I had given everything to, that I finally realized was coming to an end.

"My worth was based on how I performed, and my value was measured on my athletic achievements." - Jordan Gruendler

In hindsight, that feeling would have come if we finished out our partnership or not since I planned to go to Baylor, but now it was something I had to face even sooner. I had placed so much of my identity I had placed in sport. I had done nothing but eat, sleep and breathe acrobatic gymnastics for as many years as I could remember. My worth was based on how I performed, and my value was measured on my athletic achievements. Craziest of all, I had no idea.

Even though my transitions from home to Baylor still included an emphasis on athletics, my life felt completely different. I was busier than I had ever been, but I felt stagnant. I was surrounded by more people than I had been in years, but I felt incredibly lonely. I was doing things nobody had ever done in my sport, but I felt like an impostor who was accomplishing nothing. Of course, I believed that it was the difference in geographical location, the people around me, my schedule, etc., that made me feel so different. Now years later, while I recognize that these factors definitely contributed, my true issue was with the fact that I was faced with how little I knew about myself aside from athletics.

"I became increasingly aware of the fact that I was now responsible for my life and future." - Jordan Gruendler

"I became increasingly aware of the fact that I was now responsible for my life and future." - Jordan Gruendler

This whole "young adult moves to college and has a crisis" moment hit me pretty hard. I had all this new independence that I thought was going to make my life so much better, but the thing nobody told me was that learning to enjoy your independence takes much time and effort. While the excitement of living away from home slowly faded, I became increasingly aware of the fact that I was now responsible for my life and future. At first this excited me because, of course, I thought I knew best and had everything figured out.

To be clear, I had no clue what I was doing!

"I realized I had worked so hard on learning to be "likable," that when I finally took a look inward, there was nothing there." - Jordan Gruendler

I found myself constantly unhappy and discontented, and I believed it was fully my responsibly to fix completely on my own. I felt like independence meant not asking for help. Without knowing I was doing so, I began grasping at straws left and right, trying to get people to like me all in pursuit of finding exactly what I "needed to do" in order to be happy. I truly had no clue that everything I was doing was taking me further and further from where I wanted to be. Later, I realized I had worked so hard on learning to be "likable," that when I finally took a look inward, there was nothing there.

While the perfectionist in me would love to say that I have some miraculous event that changed my life and fixed everything instantaneously, I've come to learn now that life is a process of slow, beautiful change that makes every person who they are. Somehow, through my time at Baylor, I've become a completely different person that my former self would be so proud of. I've made mistakes, experienced tremendous amounts of fear, and felt more pain than I thought possible, but time has made mistakes into learning, fear into courage, and pain into growth.

While I don't have a specific event to thank for the growth I've experienced during my collegiate career, I do know exactly what got me to where I am, and that's the community of people I am so blessed to have surrounding me. The village of people that have supported and encouraged me over my four years here are the reason I am where I am today. Whether athletic, professional or personal support, Baylor and the sport of Acrobatics & Tumbling have given me a place and the means to develop into the strong, resilient, educated and hardworking woman I am today and I could not be more grateful. This place has also shown me the power of community, and I no longer feel the need to walk through life alone.

For all of this, I give glory to God, who brought me to Baylor and made me new through His grace and mercy.

The truth is, I feel like this sport has had so much more impact on me than I've had on it.

My time at Baylor has completely inverted my perspective, and not just because I spend most of my time on my hands. Throughout my time in Acrobatics & Tumbling, I've had the opportunity to help bring the acrobatic gymnastics skill set to the sport, and I often get asked what it's like to make an impact on the sport. The truth is, I feel like this sport has had so much more impact on me than I've had on it, and I am forever grateful to have been part of a sport that encourages the flourishing of women. I look forward to continuing growing after Baylor, and even though my time here has almost come to an end, Baylor will forever be with me.

Forever grateful and Sic Em Forever!

AN INVERTED PERSPECTIVE

Players Mentioned

Jordan Gruendler

Footer

AN INVERTED PERSPECTIVE

Players Mentioned

Jordan Gruendler

Related Videos

Promotional Background Photo

Footer