When thinking of sports at Sedona Red Rock High School during the 2020-21 school year, it would be hard to not think of Jaiah Grondin.
Grondin made the most of his senior year athletically at SRRHS, playing four sports. He doubled up in the fall, playing both soccer and swimming for the Scorpions. In the winter, Grondin started for Sedona’s boys basketball team. In the spring, Grondin played on the baseball team, primarily playing shortstop but also pitching.
Due to his exploits on the field, the Sedona Red Rock News is naming Grondin as its Male Athlete of the Year for the 2020-21 school year.
Grondin made a huge impact on every team he participated on. The feeling was mutual.
“These past four years have been some of the best in my life,” he said. “The different experiences I’ve had in school and sports are definitely going to help with the career I choose after the Marines or during the Marines. Creating a bond with the guys that I’ve played with is something we’ll have for the rest of our lives, I know. These past four years have meant everything to me.”
Grondin juggled his two fall sports well. While he didn’t swim on Sedona’s 200-yard freestyle relay team that won a state championship, he did swim that event during sectionals, helping the Scorpions qualify. In soccer, meanwhile, he was the 2A Central Region’s Co-Player of the Year, was named All-Region First Team and was All Conference Second Team for the entire 2A Conference.
Grondin carried that effectiveness into the winter and spring. He was one of the key players on Sedona’s basketball team, which was on track to qualify for state before a COVID-19 outbreak ended the season. At the end of baseball season, meanwhile, Grondin earned All-Region Second Team Honors for the SRRHS team that reached the state tournament.
“Given the circumstances we had, we still managed to make it to the playoffs — that was our goal,” Grondin said. “We hit that. It was an exciting year. We never knew what was going to happen, with nine guys especially. It’s the final year with all of them. And I think it was the best year.”
Following high school, Grondin will join another team — the U.S. Marine Corps. Being a Marine is something that Grondin has known he’s wanted for a long time.
He’ll be heading to the Marines shortly, leaving for bootcamp at Camp Pendleton in San Diego on July 19.
“I’m excited,” he said. “I’m a little nervous but if I wasn’t nervous, it would be weird.”
And while Grondin doesn’t know if the Marines will offer anything in terms of potential sports, he’s more than eager to participate if they do.
“If they have it, of course I’m going to do it,” he said. “Basketball or something like that. Just having a little fun and staying with something I love — playing basketball, soccer, baseball, whatever they have. I’d definitely participate.”
An issue that persisted at SRRHS — particularly during this last school year — was numbers in the sports programs. Even the better teams at the school lacked in depth. While the soccer team was young and made up of predominantly underclassmen, Grondin was one of many seniors on the swim team as well as in basketball and baseball.
In some cases — particularly baseball — that’s created some doubt as to whether the Scorpions will even have a team going forward. With that in mind, Grondin hopes that some of the students who haven’t participated in sports in the past will be willing to try them out. If they do, he’s confident that the memories will be long lasting and positive.
“My encouragement for them is you’re only in high school one time,” he said. “You’ve got to put yourself in uncomfortable situations. If you’ve never tried a sport, why not try it? What do you have to lose?”
“It’s going to be some of the best moments of your life,” Grondin added. “Playing and forming a bond with your team. Even if you don’t know the guys. New guys coming in — you join a team and become brothers really fast. It’s another experience in life that you’ll cherish forever.”
