Reid dives head-first into her new role... helping future stars make a splash
Scots Olympian is relishing new role shaping destinies of next generation
THE GOLD medals, podium finishes, Olympic experiences, even the daily thrill of pushing her body beyond all known aerodynamic limits, they all mean a lot to Grace Reid.
But acting as mentor to a group of young girls just finding their way in sport? That’s where the real joy lies.
The 24-year-old Scottish diver, a European and Commonwealth champion, wants to do more than merely excel in her chosen discipline. Reid, who made her Commonwealth Games debut in Delhi at the age of just 13, understands how ‘scared’ kids can be at different stages of their development. She remembers what it was like.
If the Edinburgh-born athlete — now based in London — can keep those girls involved and motivated, even if they choose to pursue a different sporting path, she’ll consider it a privilege.
‘Being a role model was something I didn’t think about until I was maybe 18,’ said Reid via a Zoom call this week. ‘I see a lot of kids around London and I grew up watching a lot of little kids learning to dive in Edinburgh.
‘When I see young girls and boys coming along for their first diving lesson, I find it so inspiring, thinking that’s how I started. Now that I’ve achieved quite a few things in my career, I hear the young kids say: “I want to be like you when I’m older”. That pulls on my heart strings. And it’s a reminder of why I do what I do.
‘I’m fortunate enough to coach an amazing group of young girls, all aged between eight and 13. They are just incredible.
‘To see them going through the things I went through, being able to pass on the lessons I learned, is a gift. And it’s a responsibility I do not take lightly. It’s an honour to have that expertise to pass on. I’m really enjoying doing that.
‘Because of my training commitments, it’s not feasible to be there all the time. But I will go in and see where they’re at. Even with some other kids just learning to dive, I’ll go and see them.
‘I wanted to have more of an impact. It’s great to come in, do my diving and go home — but the kids learning to dive can be really struggling mentally.
‘They’re scared, they’re learning that really difficult skill. I can see it happening. And I wish, when I was going through that, someone had just come up to me and said: “Just think about this instead. It really helped me”.
‘If that helps one young girl stay in the sport or even have that bit of confidence, even try another sport, that impact is exciting to me.’
It’s tempting to assume that, given her own status as a childhood diving prodigy, Reid’s path to the 3metre springboard has been all smooth.
Surely she didn’t have time for the whole ‘I’d rather spend time with friends’ experience that causes so many young athletes, especially girls, to take a step back from the demands of elite competition.
Apparently not, as she explained: ‘We all have that. The same way that everyone goes through their teenage years, wondering what they want to do.
‘Do I really want to spend 26 hours a week in a pool when all my friends are shopping and doing other stuff?
‘It’s hard seeing your friends do the normal things. And sport isn’t normalised in the same way, it’s maybe not seen as cool.
‘The biggest thing that kept me in the sport was that element of fun. If you’re not enjoying it, you’re not going to stick at it.
‘So you’ve maybe had a horrible day at school, you’re fretting over exams, you didn’t sleep well. Come in and have a session that’s maybe more fun.
‘That doesn’t mean go crazy.
But you have games that get the kids excited, achieve things by bringing out that fun and competitive nature.
‘I’ve been so lucky to have coaches who have provided that in my career. And I’m the first person to ask for a game. At age 24, I’m like: “Please can we play a game?”’
Returning to her training environment has definitely been a boon to Reid, who spent lockdown doing somersaults in her back garden. And going ever so slightly stir crazy.
She laughed as she admitted: ‘I take part in a predominantly individual sport. I’m an only child. So I’m quite happy in my own company. By the end of this, I was asking anyone who would listen to please talk to me!
‘When the squad finally got back together, we were so much closer, we’d really missed each other.
‘If I look back six months to March, swapping out diving in the pool for doing somersaults in my back garden, it was tough.
‘We went from preparing for an Olympic Games to there being no
Olympics that summer. I look back on it now and think: “That was actually quite challenging”. And there were days when I struggled for motivation.
‘But I used the time to work on things I wouldn’t normally have a chance to. When I got back to training, I was further ahead than I thought I might be. I rekindled my love for the sport and feel very fortunate to be back in full training.
‘Being disciplined and motivated is a huge asset. I wasn’t getting up at noon or anything, I was still up at 6.30 most days. And I was still training, keeping up my fitness. The only thing athletes found is we’re so used to having goals.
‘We move at 100mph, always looking to the next event. And we then didn’t know what we’d be doing in a week’s time, never mind six months. We lost that control. That was a huge hurdle to overcome.
‘Our new motto is prepare for anything. Prepare for a green pool. Prepare for no Olympics. Prepare for an Olympics in your back garden!
‘But we’re hoping to work towards at least some sort of competitive season come January, with Tokyo still the aim.’
The return of competition will give Reid, who famously said she took up the sport because it was ‘the closest thing to flying’, a major morale boost.
Gradually, despite a wobbly start on day one back in training, she’s getting in shape to contend for the top prizes.
‘I looked like a bit of spaghetti being thrown off the board,’ she said of that first session. ‘It wasn’t pretty. But we’d done a lot of socially distanced work outside, just getting used to being upside down again, doing somersaults.
‘That first session back, there were a few wipeouts, a few minor injuries. By the time the cobwebs were dusted off, it’s amazing how quickly it all comes back.’
National Lotteryfunded Grace Reid is one of more than 1,100 elite athletes on UK Sport’s World Class Programme, allowing her to train full-time and have access to the world’s best coaches.
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It pulls on my heartstrings to hear kids say: ‘I want to be like you’